Sit, stand, and swivel: posture affects visual exploration of panoramic scenes in virtual reality

This 45-minute study, composed of 27 participants (20 female, 7 male) from the University of British Columbia (mean age 21.5 years), systematically examined how posture - sitting in a stationary chair, standing, or swiveling in a chair - affects visual exploration of immersive virtual environments. Using 360° panoramic scenes, we analysed eye, head, and torso movements to assess the spatial extent and coordination of visual behavior. Standing posture enabled the greatest movement range and scene coverage, while fixed sitting constrained exploration, resulting in compensatory eye-in-head activity. The swivel condition closely approximated standing, suggesting that rotational freedom, not upright posture alone, drives naturalistic gaze behavior. Analyses confirmed that posture significantly shapes horizontal movement distribution, especially for head and torso. Eyes led head and torso movements, revealing a dynamic, nested coordination pattern. These findings, based on the unique integration of high-precision oculomotor data with a systematic comparison of different postures, extend prior work and emphasise posture’s critical role in shaping embodied vision in virtual reality. Beyond research design implications, our results inform VR-based physical therapy and immersive skill training, highlighting the need to consider physical movement affordances in immersive contexts.