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Abstract

Airlines passengers often complain about their personal space and the lack of comfort due to confined space and flexibility in body posture during long-haul flights. Using immersive virtual reality head-mounted displays and self-avatars we can alter the experience people have of their own body and the surrounding space. In VR-Hyperspace we have investigated the use of self-avatars and the positive influence this can have on personal comfort (led by Prof. Mel Slater) and on the perception of the interior space. We have further investigated how body posture influences space perception and what outdoor spaces people consider to be vast or where they experience awe (i.e. the beach, mountains). Finally, we have integrated these positive illusions of space and self into the Max Planck Cybermotion simulator to determine if these positive illusions also work under in-flight conditions i.e. turbulence. Specifically we are interested in understanding the level of comfort of wearing a head-mounted display and consider ways to avoid motion sickness.