In a research study by Stephan Fremerey and colleagues from various universities in Germany, the use of audiovisual immersive virtual environments (IVEs) was explored to evaluate cognitive performance in settings resembling a classroom. This study aimed to overcome the limitations of traditional acoustic and visual representations by employing a test paradigm known as “audiovisual scene analysis (AV-SA)” using speaker-story mapping. Originally developed for virtual reality (VR) hearing research, AV-SA was adapted to assess audiovisual scene analysis in a virtual classroom scenario.
The study involved varying factors of acoustic and visual scene representation to understand their impact on audiovisual scene analysis. Two acoustic representations were utilized: a simple “diotic” presentation where the same signal was delivered to both ears, and a dynamically live-rendered binaural synthesis (“binaural”). Visual representations included 360°/omnidirectional video with intrinsic lip-sync and computer-generated imagery (CGI) without lip-sync. Three experiments were conducted with different combinations of acoustic and visual conditions, each involving a specific number of participants.
Participants in the experiments were tasked with mapping stories’ topics to corresponding speakers in a simulated classroom environment. The experiments presented different scenarios with varying numbers of active speakers, while the remaining speakers remained silent but visible. The primary measure of performance was the accuracy of assignments within a fixed time frame, followed by assessments of mental load using questionnaires after each trial. Participants also completed questionnaires on simulator sickness, noise sensitivity, and presence before or after the experiments.
Results showed that the experimental conditions significantly influenced task performance, mental load, and user behavior. However, there were no notable effects on perceived simulator sickness and presence. Performance varied across experiments, with a decrease observed in the 360° video and “binaural” audio condition compared to the other scenarios. This highlighted the effectiveness of the test method in examining influences on cognitive audiovisual scene analysis performance in virtual classroom environments.
The study’s findings contribute to the understanding of how audiovisual immersive environments can be leveraged to assess cognitive processes in educational settings. By utilizing speaker-story mapping and AV-SA techniques, researchers can gain insights into how individuals perceive and analyze audiovisual information within virtual classroom scenarios. This research may have implications for the design and implementation of virtual learning environments, offering new perspectives on enhancing educational experiences through immersive technologies.
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