ILERo - Entwicklung und Nutzung eines immersiven Hörerfahrungsraums (Immersive Listening Experience Room) in verschiedenen Bereichen

The positive effects that bioacoustic environments in nature can have on people raise the question of the extent to which bioacoustic recordings can have positive effects as well when played back via VR in the context of a hospital. This paper presents a study in which the effect of a 3D soundscape recording including a 360° still image on geriatric patients in a clinic was investigated. 28 test subjects each spent 15 minutes in a 360° VR room, surrounded by six projection screens and 14 loudspeakers. The study was conducted in a geriatric rehabilitation ward. The recording location was chosen in a nearby recreation and nature reserve. The subjects' state of mind was measured at four points in time using a standardised psychological measurement procedure. During the 15-minute stay in the virtual nature, biosignals of various vital parameters were recorded. In addition, the room was opened to patients and staff at defined times and their use was recorded. The staff were asked about their experiences. The results show that playback increased the well-being of most participants. The therapeutic possibilities of using 3D bioacoustic recordings are discussed and future research and application scenarios for the system are presented.

In dieser Untersuchung wird die Frage gestellt, welche Bedeutung der Ton in VR-Anwendungen haben kann, wenn immersive AV-Aufnahmen aus der Natur wiedergegeben werden. Zwanzig ProbandInnen verschiedener Altersgruppen wurden ausgewählt. Ihnen wurde jeweils mittels VR Brille und Kopfhörer (3D-Sound) eine AV-Aufnahme aus der Natur einmal ohne und einmal mit Ton vorgelegt. Es wurde eine Biosignalmessung über den gesamten Verlauf der Untersuchung durchgeführt und die subjektive Befindlichkeit der Testpersonen in Fragebögen festgehalten. In der Auswertung lässt sich feststellen, dass die Anwendung mit Ton positiver wahrgenommen wurde und bessere Auswirkungen auf das mentale und körperliche Wohlbefinden hatte. Die VR-Anwendung ohne Ton wurde als wesentlich negativer wahrgenommen und löste teilweise sogar körperliche Stressreaktionen aus. Das Paper erläutert Background sowie Methodik der Studie und erläutert die Ergebnisse.

A study is presented which investigates whether audiovisual nature soundscape recordings in virtual reality can have positive effects on subjective well-being. Twenty people from different occupational and age groups were selected for the study. They were presented with a VR application with a 3D nature soundscape recording. To exclude the placebo effect, the test subjects listened to their favourite music instead of the soundscape recording in a second examination. Subjective well-being was recorded by means of several questionnaires and physical well-being by measuring blood pressure and pulse. The results show that the soundscape recording had a significant positive effect on subjective and physical well-being even compared to the favourite music of the participants.