Evaluating distance perception for architecture design alternatives in immersive virtual environment: a comparative study

Purpose Immersive virtual environments (IVEs) aid in perceiving spaces by providing a platform for all stakeholders to make better decisions at early design stages. Nevertheless, they are not widely used in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. This paper aims to illustrate the impact of level of details (LODs) in participants’ perception for architecture design alternatives in IVEs. Design/methodology/approach This paper presents an approach to estimate how distance perception varies between real and virtual environments when different design alternatives are implemented. First, a fully three-dimensional (3D) model for a replica meeting room was created and the level of details (LODs) inside the IVE was gradually modified. Second, a questionnaire was designed to collect responses about how the perceived experience of an IVE is compared to that of the physical environment, where the two environments have the same dimensions. Twenty-six participants were recruited in this study to estimate eight distances in the IVEs while putting on a head-mounted display. Findings Obtained results show that decreasing LOD has negative effect on users’ perception. Thus, when all of the available LODs were added to the IVE, the perceived perception was significantly enhanced. These findings emphasize the relation between the physical details and distance perception in IVEs and shed light on how to design virtual reality architectural models in an efficient manner. Originality/value Different experiments were conducted to analyze perception differences associated with factors such as LODs, gender and whether participants are wearing glasses.