Introduction

Cycling has a positive impact on physical, mental and social health, and slows the aging process. However, there is still a large potential to increase the cycling levels in Belgian older adults. In order to promote cycling for transport, safe and attractive street characteristics have previously been investigated by using cross-sectional surveys and manipulated photographs. As VR-technology is still rarely used in transportation research, the aim of this study was to develop and compare the use of two different novel VR-applications, i.e. cycling in a 3D-CAVE and cycling with a VR-headset, as experimental approaches with regard to the sense of presence, the representation of the reality, and simulator sickness. Furthermore, the moderating effects of personal characteristics and test sequence were investigated.

Methods

In total, 108 older adults (≥65 years) participated in the cross-over experiment. The participants performed two cycling tests (i.e. cycling through virtually displayed existing streets in Ghent) using both VR-applications (3D-CAVE and VR-headset) in random order. After each cycle test, participants had to complete the same questionnaire.

Results

Both VR-methodologies are equally good to be used among older adults (≥65 years) in future research, i.e. identify which characteristics in the physical environment have an impact on cycling for transport. Additionally, there are no specific requirements for particular target groups regarding the kind of VR-application. General preference was given to the test setup that was completed in second place, indicating the importance of habituation to the virtual environment.

Conclusions

Both VR-applications can be used in future research. The advantage of the VR-headset in comparison to the 3D-CAVE, is that the VR-headset is more practical to use at different locations. Especially in regard to the older populations, it is more convenient to bring the test setup closer to the subjects themselves.

中文翻译：

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使用虚拟现实技术调查与老年人骑行相关的物理环境因素：两种方法之间的比较

介绍

骑自行车会对身体，心理和社会健康产生积极影响，并延缓衰老过程。但是，仍有很大的潜力可以提高比利时老年人的自行车骑行水平。为了促进骑自行车出行，以前已经通过使用横断面调查和经过操纵的照片来研究安全和吸引人的街道特征。由于VR技术在交通研究中仍然很少使用，因此本研究的目的是开发和比较两种不同的新颖VR应用程序的使用，即在3D-CAVE中循环和使用VR耳机循环作为实验方法关于存在感，现实的表现和模拟器疾病。此外，研究了个人特征和测试顺序的调节作用。

方法

共有108位年龄较大（≥65岁）的成年人参加了交叉实验。参与者使用两个VR应用程序（3D-CAVE和VR耳机）以随机顺序进行了两次自行车测试（即，通过根特虚拟显示的现有街道骑自行车）。每次循环测试后，参与者必须填写相同的问卷。

结果

两种VR方法在将来的研究中都适合在老年人（≥65岁）中使用，即确定物理环境中的哪些特征会影响自行车的运输。此外，对于特定的目标群体，对于VR应用程序的类型没有特殊要求。总体上优先考虑了在第二位完成的测试设置，这表明习惯化对虚拟环境的重要性。

结论

两种VR应用程序都可以在未来的研究中使用。与3D-CAVE相比，VR耳机的优势在于，VR耳机在不同位置使用更加实用。特别是对于年龄较大的人群，将测试设置更靠近受试者本身更为方便。