Virtual reality crowd simulation: effects of agent density on user experience and behaviour

Agent-based crowd simulations are used for modelling building and space usage, allowing designers to explore hypothetical real-world scenarios, including extraordinary events such as evacuations. Existing work which engages virtual reality (VR) as a platform for crowd simulations has been primarily focussed on the validation of simulation models through observation; the use of interactions such as gaze to enhance a sense of immersion; or studies of proxemics. In this work, we extend previous studies of proxemics and examine the effects of varying crowd density on user experience and behaviour. We have created a simulation in which participants walk freely and perform a routine manual task, whilst interacting with agents controlled by a typical social force simulation model. We examine and report the effects of crowd density on both affective state and behaviour. Our results show a significant increase in negative affect with density, measured using a self-report scale. We further show significant differences in some aspects of user behaviours, using video analysis, and discuss how our results relate to VR simulation design for mixed human–agent scenarios

Effects of gender mapping on the perception of emotion from upper body movement in virtual characters

Despite recent advancements in our understanding of the human perception of the emotional behaviour of embodied artificial entities in virtual reality environments, little remains known about various specifics relating to the effect of gender mapping on the perception of emotion from body movement. In this paper, a pilot experiment is presented investigating the effects of gender congruency on the perception of emotion from upper body movements. Male and female actors were enrolled to conduct a number of gestures within six general categories of emotion. These motions were mapped onto virtual characters with male and female embodiments. According to the gender congruency condition, the motions of male actors were mapped onto male characters (congruent) or onto female characters (incongruent) and vice-versa. A significant effect of gender mapping was found in the ratings of perception of three emotions (anger, fear and happiness), suggesting that gender may be an important aspect to be considered in the perception, and hence generation, of some emotional behaviours. \ua9 2014 Springer International Publishing