More heat! Effects of Avatars' Clothing in Virtual Reality on Thermal Perception and Skin Temperature

The visualization of thermal cues in virtual reality has been the focus of multiple studies. Prior research showed that virtual[2,3,4,5,6,7] and non-virtual temperature cues, such as color temperature[1] or the appearance of the virtual world[6,7], affected body temperature as well as a person’s thermal comfort in VR. Thermal comfort has been described as one’s subjective perception of the thermal environment[8], which has been confirmed to influence people’s productivity[9]. Due to technological progress, both private and industrial work environments are being augmented by applications in virtual reality through more accessible technologies like the Microsoft HoloLens and Apple Vision Pro.

Previous research on this has already examined the effects of virtual stimuli, such as flames and ice, and the influence of the virtual environment on the human body. These studies have shown that visual and auditory stimuli in VR can have physiological effects. Hence, we know that there is a correlation of one’s thermal environment and their well-being/productivity, but we still don’t know how the representation of a person’s avatar affects thermal perception and skin temperature in VR. Therefore, we want to investigate this to strengthen our understanding of thermal cues in VR.

Previous research in this field has already examined the effects of virtual stimuli, such as flames and ice, and the influence of the virtual environment on the human body. These studies have shown that visual and auditory stimuli in Virtual Reality can have physiological effects.

The aim of this study is to investigate how the representation of one's own avatar in a virtual environment affects perceived and actual skin temperature, as well as thermal comfort in various scenarios. Additionally, the participants in the resulting study will be examined regarding their immersion ability and personality using questionnaires to determine if trends can be identified in the context of thermal perception.

• Literaturrecherche
• Design der Studie sowie Ausarbeitung geeigneter Fragebögen
• Implementierung einer virtuellen Umgebung für die Studie
• Analyse der Daten
• Verfassen der Arbeit

• Erfahrung mit Unity
• Studiendurchführung
• Datenauswertung

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• [2] Takakura, J., Nishimura, T., Choi, D., Egashira, Y., & Watanuki, S. (2015). Nonthermal sensory input and altered human thermoregulation: Effects of visual information depicting hot or cold environments. International Journal of Biometeorology, 59(10), 1453–1460. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-015-0956-3
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• [6] Kocur, M., Jackermeier, L., Schwind, V., & Henze, N. (2023). The Effects of Avatar and Environment on Thermal Perception and Skin Temperature in Virtual Reality. Proceedings of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–15. https://doi.org/10.1145/3544548.3580668
• [7] Blaga, A. D., Frutos-Pascual, M., Creed, C., & Williams, I. (2020). Too Hot to Handle: An Evaluation of the Effect of Thermal Visual Representation on User Grasping Interaction in Virtual Reality. Proceedings of the 2020 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–16. https://doi.org/10.1145/3313831.3376554
• [8] Wang, C., Zhang, F., Wang, J., Doyle, J. K., Hancock, P. A., Mak, C. M., & Liu, S. (2021). How indoor environmental quality affects occupants’ cognitive functions: A systematic review. Building and Environment, 193, 107647. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.buildenv.2021.107647
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