Virtual Reality: Impact of Vibro-Kinetic Technology on Immersion and Psychophysiological State in Passive Seated Vehicular Movement

Abstract

In this paper, we investigate the effect of a vibro-kinetic seat, i.e., a seat using movement and vibration synchronized with a given media, on psychophysiological states and head movements of users immersed in virtual reality. The aim of this study is to explore the extent to which a vibro-kinetic seat can contribute to create a more immersive virtual reality experience than with a classic seat, including fewer cybersickness discomfort symptoms. We test our hypothesis with a between-subject design where we assigned 45 participants to a specific condition: Vibro-kinetic condition (with the seat moving according to the virtual reality experience) or non-vibro-kinetic condition (where the seat was motionless). Users’ physiological states were captured using electrodermal activity and heart rate variability. Users’ head movements were captured using automatic video detection. The results suggest that the vibro-kinetic condition leads to more immersion and a better psychophysiological state to livirtual learning environmentve a more optimal virtual reality experience without cybersickness symptoms. Also, based on the head movement detection, the vibro-kinetic seat seems to contribute to increasing head movements for a large number of users, an indication of the increased presence feeling in virtual reality. Moreover, users in the vibro-kinetic condition live an enhanced experience and are more immersed in the VR experience.