Interior design students’ perception of virtual reality

Virtual reality (VR) is the term used when we generate the illusion of being somewhere else. Adding passive VR technology to university education of interior designers, is an opportunity to support student-centered learning for 3-dimensional design development. However, analyzing the capabilities of the passive VR display formats can give insight into which technology is the most effective tool to support the students’ human sensory experiences. It is important to supplement the research with an ongoing comparison of passive VR display formats, as this emerging technology evolves. Understanding the impact of passive VR is in line with the literature. The theoretical framework of the Model of Spatial Presence defines spatial presence as the user consciously experiencing the sensation of presence, based on a cognitive feeling and an unconscious process. Spatial presence can be measured using the Measurements, Effects, Conditions—Spatial Presence Questionnaire and noting spatial presence in three variables: Spatial Situation Model; Spatial Presence: Self Location; and Spatial Presence: Possible Action. The methodology incorporated a cross-sectional, mixed-methods process using experimental survey research and qualitative exploratory research as the data collection tools. This research analyzed the spatial presence capabilities of three passive VR display formats, each displaying the same researcher-provided interior design scene. The three formats were Homido V2 with iPhone viewing 360° panorama jpeg, Oculus Rift viewing Unity (set to passive mode), and Digital Light Processing (DLP) technology shutter glasses (XPAND Edux3) with VR cube viewing Unity. These were labeled A, B, and C, respectively. The study sampled university interior design students (n = 33). A statistically significant difference was revealed between the spatial presence capabilities of the three passive VR display formats; however, course level of the participants did not moderate the results. This is an important contribution to the body of knowledge of interior design education and peer-reviewed research incorporating VR. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.