Analysis of Viewing Behaviors in a Head-Mounted Virtual Geographic Environment

With the rapid development of virtual reality technology, the head-mounted virtual geographic environment is becoming a popular research tool. It offers unique advantages for conducting human behavioral research and experiments. In this study, we gathered movement trajectories and viewing trajectories data from a head-mounted virtual geographic environment to analyze participants' viewing behaviors. We started by defining four types of viewing behavior. Second, we used a sliding window algorithm to classify participants' behaviors in accord with this typology. Third, we calculated the cumulative times by type of behavior at each place of interest. Finally, we visualized these viewing behavior data using heatmaps and analyzed their spatial distribution patterns. We found that the walking-scanning behavior occurred mainly in open areas and at road intersections and that the cumulative time of walking-scanning increased with the number of crossings. In the end, we discussed the potential advantages of the head-mounted virtual geographic environment for conducting behavioral research.