INVESTIGATION OF THE ACCURACY OF SPACE PERCEPTION IN VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS

Abstract

This paper investigates the accuracy and identifies the features of spatial information perception in virtual reality (VR). Virtual environments provide promising solutions for training personnel to manage complex technological objects and situations. This study conducts two full-scale experiments, one in the real world and the other in VR, with subjects estimating distances to objects without reference objects or metric assistance. Results indicate a compression of the immersive virtual environment and show that distances are underestimated in VR compared to the real world. These findings underscore the need for metric support in VR training environments, especially for long distances. This research provides valuable insights for the development of virtual training simulators for transport and technological machine operators.