Virtual Urban Field Studies: Evaluating Urban Interaction Design Using Context-Based Interface Prototypes

TL;DR

This paper introduces virtual urban field studies (VUFS) using mixed-reality prototypes to evaluate auditory interface designs for autonomous vehicle-pedestrian interactions, combining realism with lab testing efficiency.

Contribution

It presents a novel VUFS methodology for assessing urban interaction designs, integrating psychometrically validated presence measures and spatial audio to enhance realism.

Findings

Higher presence with spatialised audio improves user engagement.

VUFS effectively predicts real-world interaction outcomes.

Design guidelines for immersive urban interaction testing.

Abstract

In this study, we propose the use of virtual urban field studies (VUFS) through context-based interface prototypes for evaluating the interaction design of auditory interfaces. Virtual field tests use mixed-reality technologies to combine the fidelity of real-world testing with the affordability and speed of testing in the lab. In this paper, we apply this concept to rapidly test sound designs for autonomous vehicle (AV)--pedestrian interaction with a high degree of realism and fidelity. We also propose the use of psychometrically validated measures of presence in validating the verisimilitude of VUFS. Using mixed qualitative and quantitative methods, we analysed users' perceptions of presence in our VUFS prototype and the relationship to our prototype's effectiveness. We also examined the use of higher-order ambisonic spatialised audio and its impact on presence. Our results provide insights into how VUFS can be designed to facilitate presence as well as design guidelines for how this can be leveraged.