Virtual reality (VR) is known to cause a "time compression" effect, where the time spent in VR feels to pass faster than the effective elapsed time. Our goal with this research is to investigate if the physical realism of a VR experience reduces the time compression effect on a gas monitoring training task that requires precise time estimation. We used physical props and passive haptics in a VR task with high physical realism and compared it to an equivalent standard VR task with only virtual objects. We also used an identical real-world task as a baseline time estimation task. Each scenario includes the user picking up a device, opening a door, navigating a corridor with obstacles, performing five short time estimations, and estimating the total time from task start to end. Contrary to previous work, there was a consistent time dilation effect in all conditions, including the real world. However, no significant effects were found comparing the estimated differences between the high and low physical realism conditions. We discuss implications of the results and limitations of the study and propose future work that may better address this important question for virtual reality training.

翻译：虚拟现实（VR）已知会导致“时间压缩”效应，即用户在VR中感到的时间比实际经过的时间流逝得更快。本研究旨在探究VR体验的物理真实感是否会在需要精确时间估计的气体监测训练任务中减少时间压缩效应。我们在高物理真实感的VR任务中使用了实体道具和被动触觉反馈，并将其与仅包含虚拟物体的标准VR任务进行比较。同时，我们以完全相同的现实世界任务作为时间估计的基线。每个场景包括用户拿起设备、开门、穿越设有障碍物的走廊、执行五次短时间估计，以及估算从任务开始到结束的总时间。与先前研究相反，所有条件（包括现实世界）均出现一致的时间膨胀效应。然而，在高物理真实感与低物理真实感条件的估计差值比较中未发现显著效应。我们讨论了结果的启示与研究的局限性，并提出了未来可能更好解决这一虚拟现实训练重要问题的研究方向。