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Scientific study on VR user engagement

Associated Press (AP) teamed up with neuroscientists at Multimer to investigate how immersive experiences like virtual reality activate physical and physiological stimuli

The study was conducted on August 12, 2017, at Black Box Theater in New York University's MAGNET (Media and Game Network), which provided the motion capture system and different types of VR headsets.

The immersive experiences presented included three 360-degree video stories as well as a CGI room-scale experience. These stories featured the fight against ISIS in Iraq, a cultural parade in New Orleans, an exploration of the ivory trade in Thailand and an underwater experience exploring biodiversity and marine species.

Watch 3D Content Videos Of This Study

VR Devices

While study participants experienced each story in VR across multiple viewing devices, AP and Multimer team recorded their brain activities, heart rates and body motions. The graph below shows how various VR devices affect user engagement.

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