Virtual Reality and Psychophysiology Laboratories
The members of the three research groups have access to Physiological measurement facilities and Virtual Reality VR laboratory along with specialist support. Projects cover a wide range of topics including, for example, the use of VR in education, road safety and simulation, and the physiological measurement of reactions to vehicle behaviour and the detection of deception.
Current physiological equipment includes a suite of Biopac Physiological measurement devices for the recording and analysis of electrodermal activity (EDA), heart rate and heart rate variability (via ECG), pulse rate, respiration rate, and skin temperature. These devices are supplemented by custom interfaces to allow the synchronisation of events and stimuli between systems.
VR systems include HTC VIVE HMD, and Meta Quest headsets ranging from Oculus Go devices to Meta Quest 2 and 3 systems. These HMDs can be tethered to a high-performance workstation for high-end graphic applications or used standalone for applications that require natural movement through an environment. Studies are typically developed and conducted using custom designed and programmed Unity3D applications.
Representative publications:
Allcoat, D. &von M眉hlenen, A. (2018)..Research in Learning Technology, 26.
Allcoat. D., Hatchard, T., Azmat, F., Standfield, K., Watson, D.G., &von M眉hlenen, A. (2018)..Journal of Educational Computing Research, 59, 795-816.
Ritchie, O.T., Watson, D.G., Griffiths, N., Misyak, J., Chater, N., Xu, Z., & Mouzakitis, A. (2019).Transportation Research Part F: Traffic Psychology and Behaviour,66, 406-418.
Norman, D.G., Gunnell, D.A., Mrowiec, A.J., & Watson, D.G. (2020).,Memory & Cognition,48, 1388-1402.
Norman, D.G., Wade, K.A., Williams, M.A., & Watson, D.G. (2020)..Journal of Applied Research in Memory and Cognition, 9,118-127.