VR Immersion during cycling-exercise data collection results

<b>Impact of virtual reality immersion on exercise performance and perceptions in young, middle-aged and older adults</b>This study compared the effect of high and low levels of virtual reality (VR) immersion during moderate and high intensity cycling-exercise in younger (18-35), middle-aged (36-50), and older (51-69) adults. Thirty participants (5 female and 5 males per age-group) completed moderate (15min at 60-75% maximum heart rate (MHR)) and high (x10 30s sprints at 75-85% MHR) intensity cycling in four conditions: VR using a head-mounted display (High HMD), room-projector (Low Room), screen-projector (Low Screen), or No VR. Exercise performance measures (cadence, distance, power output) were recorded. Following each VR condition, enjoyment (PACES) and engagement (Flow State Scale) were measured. Results showed (1) no difference in exercise performance measures between conditions (except HR) was observed (for all age groups), (2) exercise engagement (e.g., sense of control and loss of self-consciousness) were higher in the Low Screen condition (for all age groups), and (3) exercise enjoyment showed non-significant age group preferences when exercising in VR immersive environments (younger group preferring high immersion, middle and older groups preferring no VR and low immersion exercise respectively). The findings indicate that VR immersion impacts exercise engagement in different age-groups and therefore should be considered when using VR to promote exercise behaviour.<br>虚拟现实沉浸感对青年、中年及老年人群运动表现与感知体验的影响 本研究针对青年（18~35岁）、中年（36~50岁）及老年（51~69岁）人群，对比了中、高强度骑行运动中高、低程度虚拟现实（VR）沉浸感的影响效果。本研究共招募30名受试者（每个年龄组男女各5名），在四种实验条件下完成中、高强度骑行任务：中等强度为以最大心率（maximum heart rate, MHR）的60%~75%持续运动15分钟，高强度为以最大心率75%~85%完成10组30秒冲刺训练；四种实验条件分别为：头戴式显示器VR（高沉浸度，High HMD）、房间投影VR（低沉浸度，Low Room）、屏幕投影VR（低沉浸度，Low Screen）以及无VR对照组。研究记录了多项运动表现指标：踏频、骑行距离与功率输出。在每种实验条件结束后，分别采用PACES量表与心流状态量表（Flow State Scale）评估受试者的运动愉悦感与投入度。研究结果显示：1. 所有年龄组的运动表现指标（除心率外）在四种实验条件下均无显著差异；2. 所有年龄组在屏幕投影低沉浸度（Low Screen）条件下的运动投入度（如掌控感与自我意识消解）均更高；3. 在VR沉浸环境中运动时，运动愉悦感的年龄组偏好未达到显著水平：青年组更偏好高沉浸度VR，中年组与老年组则分别更偏好无VR与低沉浸度运动。本研究结果表明，VR沉浸感会对不同年龄组人群的运动投入度产生影响，因此在利用VR推广运动行为时，应将该因素纳入考量范畴。