Using Virtual Reality and 360 Cameras for Learning Space Research

I have now been at Michigan State University for 10 months and the opportunities for my learning space research and projects are amazing. I’ve connected with several colleagues from different disciplines and units who share my interest in this work. There’s also an infrastructure in place and available talent and support that I simply didn’t have at my two previous institutions.
As we are embarking on scaling up research possibilities not just for myself but also others, including graduate and undergraduate students, I’ve been working on possible plans for such projects.

Virtual reality equipment, such as 360 cameras and headsets, have rapidly become more sophisticated and affordable in just a few years. It is easy to capture 360 images and videos with these (now) lightweight technologies. I am working on capturing many different learning spaces so that we can use the files to get user feedback and ideally track eye movements when test subjects are shown these images and videos.

Here’s a very early (for demonstration purposes only; apologies for the unpolished quality) capture of our B-125 space that we are starting to c-design (or rather re-design) in the coming weeks.

I’m looking forward to purchasing an Insta 360 One X very soon and a VR headset. I’m also hoping to be able to use our amazing 360 room at the MSU Library Digital Scholarship Lab.
More to come soon!