A seated VR research experience combining first-person drone footage over natural landscapes with motion-simulated immersion.
VR Tilt Lab is a collaboration between Professor Gina Grimshaw’s psychology research team at VUW, and indie VR developer Ed Davis (Lucidtripper). The project investigates how subtle physical motion enhances emotional and physiological responses to immersive virtual environments.
Participants remain seated in a 2-axis motion simulator chair while wearing a VR headset. They experience first-person drone flights over natural New Zealand landscapes — including mountains, rivers, forests, and coastlines around Central Otago, Queenstown, and Wānaka. The chair gently tilts and dips in sync with the motion of the drone, using a moderate range of movement to deepen immersion without inducing motion sickness.
Sentiment is tracked in real time using a dial strapped to the participant’s leg, which they rotate to indicate moment-to-moment changes in emotional response. Pre- and post-experience interviews supplement the data to give researchers a fuller picture of how immersive media affects mood, presence, and perception.
Currently in R&D at Department of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington.
Type: Supervised undergraduate psychology research project
Institution: Department of Psychology, Victoria University of Wellington
Collaboration: Prof. Gina Grimshaw (lead researcher) & Ed Davis (developer, Lucidtripper)
Experience: Participants remain seated and belted in for the entire session
Motion Sim: Custom “H2” DOF Reality chair with moderate tilt synced to drone flight paths
Interactivity: Participants rotate a sentiment dial to record moment-to-moment feelings
Purpose: Study emotional and physiological response to immersive environments
Environment: Passive, data-driven, seated