Forest digital twin as a relaxation environment: A pilot study

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60460709%3A41320%2F22%3A106374" target="_blank" >RIV/60460709:41320/22:106374 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/00216208:11240/22:10450892

Result on the web

<a href="https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virtual-reality/articles/10.3389/frvir.2022.1033708/full" target="_blank" >https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/virtual-reality/articles/10.3389/frvir.2022.1033708/full</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/frvir.2022.1033708" target="_blank" >10.3389/frvir.2022.1033708</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Forest digital twin as a relaxation environment: A pilot study

Original language description

Forest environments have been proven beneficial for physiological well-being, supporting relaxation and meditative processes. Unfortunately, some groups, predominantly those with reduced mobility, are prevented from forest visitation. Presenting such environments in virtual reality could provide a viable substitute. However, as forest structure and composition are important aspects of its restorative power, to accurately compare the efficacy of virtual forests to that of real natural spaces, the virtual environment should match the real location as closely as possible. Furthermore, if participants achieve similar benefits in both settings, virtual copies (digital twins) of forests could be a viable option for studying forest bathing in a controlled environment. We collected LiDAR scans of a forest location near Prague, took spatial audio recordings of the forest ambiance, and built the forest's digital twin in Unreal Engine. To compare the therapeutic efficacy of the virtual forest with its real counterpart, groups of volunteers spent half an hour in either the real forest, the virtual forest, or both. We collected participants' demographic and psychometric data, assessing their relaxation, emotional state, and cybersickness before and after the session. Our data show an increase in relaxation with no significant differences between the environments, although participants' emotional states did not improve in either condition. We found that participants' experiences were comparable between the environments, but cybersickness limited the potential efficacy of virtual forest bathing. The limitations of the virtual forests as a platform for research into forest bathing are discussed

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10201 - Computer sciences, information science, bioinformathics (hardware development to be 2.2, social aspect to be 5.8)

Project

<a href="/en/project/EF16_019%2F0000803" target="_blank" >EF16_019/0000803: Advanced research supporting the forestry and wood-processing sector´s adaptation to global change and the 4th industrial revolution</a><br>

Continuities

P - Projekt vyzkumu a vyvoje financovany z verejnych zdroju (s odkazem do CEP)

Publication year

2022

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Frontiers in Virtual Reality

ISSN

2673-4192

e-ISSN

2673-4192

Volume of the periodical

3

Issue of the periodical within the volume

2025

Country of publishing house

CH - SWITZERLAND

Number of pages

14

Pages from-to

1-14

UT code for WoS article

001023324000001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85143418818