[03]

The Science Underneath

Beneath the projects run seven research threads sustained across the decade, the lab's contribution to how digital media and the built environment are understood, developed in the peer-reviewed literature and in Dr. Chandrasekera's forthcoming book, Digital Media and the Built Environment.

Immersion & Presence
RT.01

Immersion & Presence

What makes a mediated environment feel like a place. Comparing physical, passthrough mixed reality, and fully immersive workspaces, where a hybrid passthrough office produced the highest satisfaction.

Embodiment
RT.02

Embodiment

The feeling that the virtual body is your body. In a 72-participant study, avatar view changed cognitive load more than presence: hands-only first person was lightest, third-person full body heaviest.

Navigation & Wayfinding
RT.03

Navigation & Wayfinding

How people find their way, and which cues help. Auditory landmarks, AR overlays, and controlled virtual mazes turn wayfinding into a measurable design variable.

Color, Light & Biophilia
RT.04

Color, Light & Biophilia

XR lets one variable change while everything else holds still: store-wall hue and purchase intent, hotel-room color across cultures, classroom lighting and teacher stress, nature elements and recovery.

Psychophysiological Measurement
RT.05

Psychophysiological Measurement

fNIRS, EEG, ECG, EDA, and eye tracking paired with validated instruments, so claims about experience rest on what bodies do, not only on what people say.

Tangible Interaction
RT.06

Tangible Interaction

Thinking with the hands. A tangible AR interface produced significantly lower workload than a graphical VR interface, evidence that physical, epistemic action supports a more fluid creative process.

AI & Design Cognition
RT.07

AI & Design Cognition

Generative AI as co-creator in early design: enhanced design quality with managed cognitive load, plus ongoing studies of how learning styles shape AI adoption in design education.

Full publication record on Google Scholar ↗
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Instruments

The lab operates across the full reality-virtuality continuum, with the apparatus to build any environment on that spectrum and the sensors to measure any human inside it.

VRVirtual Reality

Virtual Reality

Immersive computer-mediated 3D environments, precisely tailored and controlled for human-behavior research.

AR / MRAugmented & Mixed Reality

Augmented & Mixed Reality

Virtual objects overlaid on physical space, and responsive mixed-reality interaction across headsets and mobile devices.

FAB3D Printing

3D Printing

Rapid physical prototyping that closes the loop between virtual models and tangible, testable artifacts.

SCAN3D Scanning & Drones

3D Scanning & Drones

Artifact digitization and drone-based point clouds of buildings for heritage preservation and architectural analysis.

HOLOProto Hologram

Proto Hologram

Life-size holographic projection for immersive storytelling, virtual presence, and interactive design review.

AIAI Toolchain

AI Toolchain

Generative, conversational, and AIoT systems, studied as design tools and deployed inside lab-built environments.

BRAINfNIRS & EEG

fNIRS & EEG

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy using Biopac equipment, measuring prefrontal activity from 16 locations, alongside EEG for electrical brain activity during design and spatial tasks.

GAZEEye Tracking

Eye Tracking

Tobii Pro 3 screen-based eye tracking plus VR-integrated gaze tracking, revealing exactly where attention lands inside physical and virtual environments.

BIOECG & EDA

ECG & EDA

Heart rate (ECG) and skin conductance (EDA/GSR) sensing, including Mindfield eSense systems, capturing arousal and stress responses to designed space in real time.

© Mixed Reality Lab · Oklahoma State University · Est. 2016 Contact the lab ↗