Effects of Virtual-real fusion on immersion,presence,and learning performance in laboratory education

Background Virtual-reality(VR)fusion techniques have become increasingly popular in recent years,and several previous studies have applied them to laboratory education.However,without a basis for evaluating the effects of virtual-real fusion on VR in education,many developers have chosen to abandon this expensive and complex set of techniques.Methods In this study,we experimentally investigate the effects of virtual-real fusion on immersion,presence,and learning performance.Each participant was randomly assigned to one of three conditions:a PC environment(PCE)operated by mouse;a VR environment(VRE)operated by controllers;or a VR environment running virtual-real fusion(VR VRFE),operated by real hands.Results The analysis of variance(ANOVA)and t-test results for presence and self-efficacy show significant differences between the PCE*VR-VRFE condition pair.Furthermore,the results show significant differences in the intrinsic value of learning performance for pairs PCE*VR VRFE and VRE*VR-VRFE,and a marginally significant difference was found for the immersion group.Conclusions The results suggest that virtual-real fusion can offer improved immersion,presence,and self efficacy compared to traditional PC environments,as well as a better intrinsic value of learning performance compared to both PC and VR environments.The results also suggest that virtual-real fusion offers a lower sense of presence compared to traditional VR environments.