Fidelity of Immersive Representations of Luminous Atmospheres in VR HMDs: Comparing Real Daylit Iconic Interiors and their 360° images

In recent years, immersive head-mounted displays (HMDs) have seen increasing use in wide swathes of research and industry domains. In architectural education, lighting design shows particular interest in immersive technologies. While HMDs offer the potential to visualize various daylit environments, the fidelity of the luminous atmosphere of photographic scenes projected in virtual reality (VR) remains less explored. This study aims to evaluate the fidelity of immersive representations in VR HMDs by comparing subjective impressions of daylit iconic buildings with those experienced in VR through 360° stereoscopic photographs. This comparison supports impression evaluation and lighting decisions in daylight design and education. A challenge addressed is assessing the impact of the choice of tone-mapping operators (TMOs) on the subjective impressions in VR. Experiments were conducted in seven iconic buildings involving 225 participants, rating 70 different impressions divided into five aspects. Sixty-three participants evaluated the same scenes in the VR HMD, using three different TMOs. The results indicate that VR HMDs are a reasonable tool to replicate subjective impressions of luminous atmospheres. However, challenges emerge from limitations, such as the headset’s weight, restricted field of view, and the static nature of the image. Significant differences were observed in bodily sensations, possibly attributed to the headset’s weight, and in spatial impressions, due to its restricted field of view. Other atmospheric impressions were less accurately reproduced, likely impacted by the static nature of the image projection. Finally, the study highlights how the choice of TMO influences impressions of light, such as “alternating light and dark.”