Impact of VR Settings on Immersiveness in VR-Based Construction Skills Training: Case Study of Scaffolding Work: Fid-Bau Portal

Impact of VR Settings on Immersiveness in VR-Based Construction Skills Training: Case Study of Scaffolding Work

Kim, JiHwan / Ahn, Seungjun / Han, SangUk

In response to the issue of acute skills shortage in many construction trades, increasing attention has recently been paid to the application of virtual reality (VR) technologies to construction skills training. Notably, the construction works involved with high levels of safety risks, such as scaffolding, have been suggested as the potential area where VR-based training can be particularly useful. However, research efforts to understand the impact the conditions of a VR environment have on the trainee’s sense of presence have been scarce. The sense of presence in VR would be essential in the context of training because the effectiveness of a VR-based training can be highly influenced by the level of similarity of the user’s subjective experience in the VR environment. Against this background, this paper aims to investigate whether or not the VR settings used to augment the sense of presence, such as the use of scaffold walking board (“a tangible VR”) and construction site noise sound effect, affect the feeling of being in a real construction site (i.e., sense of presence) or side-effects such as VR-sickness during the VR experience. As an instrument for this research, a prototype of a VR-based scaffolding work training program was developed and used to measure the differences in VR-experience between two different VR settings, one with the immersion-enhancing factors and the other without them. Additionally, self-report surveys were used to measure the psychological aspects of trainees before and after the VR training. The results indicate that immersion-enhancing factors have a significant impact on the users’ experience in VR and their psychological responses.