Potential Usages of Virtual Reality in Design Research and Practice – A Review

Abstract

Besides application fields such as entertainment and marketing, the technology of Virtual Reality is also applied in research and practice, including domains such as automotive, architecture, and construction. Furthermore, VR has been utilized for several activities in design practice and design research. However, the impact of this technology on design as a profession remains to be investigated. Thus, in the present study, an integrative literature review is presented to investigate the potential impact of Virtual Reality on design research and design practice. The findings indicate potential advantages on different levels. VR has the potential to enhance problem identification due to laboratorial environments and to foster co-creation due to enhanced motivation and the establishment of synergies between the involved stakeholders. Furthermore, it supports prototyping activities due to its capabilities for realistic scaling and perspectives. And lastly, VR has proven to be advantageous for design evaluations and reviews due to its visualization and immersion potential. Drawbacks of using VR for design research and practice involve technical limitations such as restricted field of view, limited performance, but also aspects such as missing accuracy for prototyping and the absence of haptic feedback. Future work will involve an extended review involving further literature and application domains.