A study on perceptual equivalence between virtual and physical environments
(2026) In Fire Safety Journal 163.- Abstract
Virtual Reality (VR) is widely used to study fire evacuation behaviour due to its repeatability, low risk, and relatively low cost. Many VR experiments are based on 3D models of real buildings, but reproducing a real building in VR for research purposes is a challenge. It remains unclear how realistic a virtual building must be to be a useful replica. Since photorealism is not achievable, researchers must balance the resources required to generate the environment with a acceptable level of realism. This may not convince the participants that VR is reality, but may make the experience similar enough for experimental purposes. Therefore, validating VR as a data collection tool requires examining how closely virtual environments replicate... (More)
Virtual Reality (VR) is widely used to study fire evacuation behaviour due to its repeatability, low risk, and relatively low cost. Many VR experiments are based on 3D models of real buildings, but reproducing a real building in VR for research purposes is a challenge. It remains unclear how realistic a virtual building must be to be a useful replica. Since photorealism is not achievable, researchers must balance the resources required to generate the environment with a acceptable level of realism. This may not convince the participants that VR is reality, but may make the experience similar enough for experimental purposes. Therefore, validating VR as a data collection tool requires examining how closely virtual environments replicate real-world cues. In this study, we assessed whether virtual versions of a real room offer participants similar perceptual cues. The results showed that while a good level of fidelity is needed for a virtual room to be similar to the real one, simplifications can be made. Second, distances assessed in VR and in reality were similar, even if no manipulations were made to address the expected underestimation. Lastly, the reaction to sounds in VR is less frequent than in reality.
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- author
- Arias, Silvia LU ; Wahlqvist, Jonathan LU ; Eriksson, Joakim LU ; Mattsson, Pimkamol LU and Frantzich, Håkan LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2026-09
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- Distance perception, Fire evacuation, Realism, Virtual reality
- in
- Fire Safety Journal
- volume
- 163
- article number
- 104848
- publisher
- Elsevier
- external identifiers
-
- scopus:105037749922
- ISSN
- 0379-7112
- DOI
- 10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104848
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 0ba9688f-1a47-4476-af99-d5c97ca84e20
- date added to LUP
- 2026-08-17 12:56:25
- date last changed
- 2026-08-17 12:57:24
@article{0ba9688f-1a47-4476-af99-d5c97ca84e20,
abstract = {{<p>Virtual Reality (VR) is widely used to study fire evacuation behaviour due to its repeatability, low risk, and relatively low cost. Many VR experiments are based on 3D models of real buildings, but reproducing a real building in VR for research purposes is a challenge. It remains unclear how realistic a virtual building must be to be a useful replica. Since photorealism is not achievable, researchers must balance the resources required to generate the environment with a acceptable level of realism. This may not convince the participants that VR is reality, but may make the experience similar enough for experimental purposes. Therefore, validating VR as a data collection tool requires examining how closely virtual environments replicate real-world cues. In this study, we assessed whether virtual versions of a real room offer participants similar perceptual cues. The results showed that while a good level of fidelity is needed for a virtual room to be similar to the real one, simplifications can be made. Second, distances assessed in VR and in reality were similar, even if no manipulations were made to address the expected underestimation. Lastly, the reaction to sounds in VR is less frequent than in reality.</p>}},
author = {{Arias, Silvia and Wahlqvist, Jonathan and Eriksson, Joakim and Mattsson, Pimkamol and Frantzich, Håkan}},
issn = {{0379-7112}},
keywords = {{Distance perception; Fire evacuation; Realism; Virtual reality}},
language = {{eng}},
publisher = {{Elsevier}},
series = {{Fire Safety Journal}},
title = {{A study on perceptual equivalence between virtual and physical environments}},
url = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104848}},
doi = {{10.1016/j.firesaf.2026.104848}},
volume = {{163}},
year = {{2026}},
}