Abstract
Virtual reality (VR) provides the ability to simulate stressors to replicated real-world situations. It allows for the creation and validation of training, therapy, and stress countermeasures in a safe and controlled setting. However, there is still much unknown about the cognitive appraisal of stressors and underlying elements. More research is needed on the creation of stressors and to verify that stress levels can be effectively manipulated by the virtual environment. The objective of this study was to investigate and validate different VR stressor levels from existing emergency spaceflight procedures. Experts in spaceflight procedures and the human stress response helped design a VR spaceflight environment and emergency fire task procedure. A within-subject experiment evaluated three stressor levels. Forty healthy participants each completed three trials (low, medium, high stressor levels) in VR to locate and extinguish a fire on the International Space Station (VR-ISS). Since stress is a complex construct, physiological data (heart rate, heart rate variability, blood pressure, electrodermal activity) and self-assessment (workload, stress, anxiety) were collected for each stressor level. The results suggest that the environmental-based stressors can induce significantly different, distinguishable levels of stress in individuals.
Highlights
Astronauts have used virtual reality environments (VRE) to practice extra vehicular activity, mass handling, and robotic arm manipulation [1,2,3]
While some research exists on virtual reality training for spaceflight emergency operations [18,19,20], more research is needed on the stressors present in the emergency and how manipulating stressors in VEs can approximate the physiological and subjective responses expected during a stress response
Pairwise comparison indicated the change in heart rate was significantly higher (p = 0.017, d = 0.58) for participants in high stressor (M = 1.41, SD = 3.05) compared to low stressor (M = 0.37, SD = 1.42), but not significantly different (p = 0.16) for high stressor compared to medium stressor
Summary
Astronauts have used virtual reality environments (VRE) to practice extra vehicular activity, mass handling, and robotic arm manipulation [1,2,3] These VR training scenarios have focused on tasks external to the International Space Station (ISS), rather than tasks on the interior of the station. Full-scale interior mock-ups of the ISS modules and visiting vehicles (e.g., Soyuz capsule) are used to train emergency procedures for fire, depressurization, or contaminant leaks [4,5] While these training models are effective for task acquisition, the simulation of stressors is constrained by the resources available and physical infrastructure. While the primary and secondary appraisals may be shaped by personal
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