Impact of Virtual Reality-Based Design Review System on User's Performance and Cognitive Behavior for Building Design Review Tasks

Virtual reality (VR) can potentially enhance various design and construction assessment intensive tasks, such as construction design and review. However, it may lead to cognitive overload, adversely affecting the participants' performance. It is critical to understand the effects of VR cognitive behavior for implementing VR technology in the construction industry. The principal objective of this study was to investigate the participants' cognitive load (CL), task performance (TP), and situational awareness (SA) in the VR environment for the evaluation of building design review tasks. Participants were asked to review the design task based on their memory knowledge and understanding in one of the three environments: paper-based, monitor-based, and immersive virtual environment. Participants' CL was measured using the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA TLX), TP was evaluated on completion time and the number of errors correctly detected, and situational awareness (SA) was assessed using the Situational Awareness and Review Technique (SART). The statistical results show a high CL and better performance in the immersive virtual environment. These findings can contribute to a better understanding of cognitive process characteristics and capabilities for design review activities in the VR environment.