Getting started with virtual reality for sensory and consumer science: Current practices and future perspectives

Normative ratings for the Kitchen and Food Sounds (KFS) database

Sounds are important sensory cues for food perception and acceptance. We developed and validated a large-scale database of kitchen and food sounds (180 stimuli) capturing different stages of preparing, cooking, serving, and/or consuming foods and beverages and sounds of packaging, kitchen utensils, and appliances. Each sound was evaluated across nine subjective evaluative dimensions (random order), including stimuli-related properties (e.g., valence, arousal) and food-related items (e.g., healthfulness, appetizingness) by a subsample of 51 to 64 participants (Mdn = 54; N = 332; 69.6% women, Mage = 27.46 years, SD = 10.20). Participants also identified each sound and rated how confident they were in such identification. Results show that, overall, participants could correctly identify the sound or at least recognize the general sound categories. The stimuli of the KFS database varied across different levels (low, moderate, high) of the evaluative dimensions under analysis, indicating good adequacy to a broad range of research purposes. The correlation analysis showed a high degree of association between evaluative dimensions. The sociodemographic characteristics of the sample had a limited influence on the stimuli evaluation. Still, some aspects related to food and cooking were associated with how the sounds are evaluated, suggesting that participants' proficiency in the kitchen should be considered when planning studies with food sounds. Given its broad range of stimulus categories and evaluative dimensions, the KFS database (freely available at OSF ) is suitable for different research domains, from fundamental (e.g., cognitive psychology, basic sensory science) to more applied research (e.g., marketing, consumer science).

Application of virtual reality for supportive care in cancer patients: a systematic review

BACKGROUND

In recent years, virtual reality (VR) technology has been widely used to support cancer patients with physical, emotional, and functional needs. This systematic review aimed to investigate the application of VR in the supportive care of cancer patients.

METHOD

This systematic review was conducted in 2024. In this study, various databases including PubMed, Web of Science, Scopus, the Cochrane Library, Ovid, IEEE Xplore, and ProQuest were searched, and quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-method studies which were in English and published up to 20th May 2024 were included. The keywords consisted of "virtual reality," "supportive care," and "cancer". Studies were assessed in terms of quality and risk of bias using standard tools, and results were analyzed and reported narratively.

RESULTS

A total of 33 articles were reviewed. VR interventions, primarily using fully immersive head-mounted displays, were associated with significant reductions in anxiety, pain, and fatigue. VR also improved mood, relaxation, and overall quality of life, and some studies noted enhanced vital signs such as heart rate and blood pressure. This technology could be used along with other medical interventions. Both patients and healthcare providers reported high level of satisfaction with VR, and appreciated its ease of use and therapeutic benefits. However, some technical barriers, like inadequate visual performance and realism, were reported.

CONCLUSION

VR demonstrates substantial potential benefits as a supportive care tool for cancer patients, effectively addressing their psychological, physiological, psychosocial needs. Despite technical challenges, high level of user satisfaction and benefits underscore the need for further research to optimize VR interventions in cancer care.

Sensory Analysis Performed within Augmented Virtuality System: Impact on Hedonic Scores, Engagement, and Presence Level

Sensory analysis methodologies are performed in sensory booths designed to minimise external stimuli, lacking ecological validity. Immersive environments are used to introduce contextual cues, but there is a lack of studies using mixed reality systems. The main goal of this study was to evaluate an augmented virtuality (AV) system where participants are inserted into a virtual environment and evaluate a real product, being able to interact with both dimensions. A panel of 102 consumers evaluated five samples of commercial peach nectars in three sessions, each in a different environment: public food court, living room (AV environments), and laboratory (traditional sensory booth). Consumers rated overall liking, followed by open comments, and also answered an Engagement (EQ) and a Presence Questionnaire (PQ). The type of environment only affected hedonic discrimination among samples, with the laboratory setting being the only one with sample discrimination. Nonetheless, each sample was not evaluated differently across the different environments. Concerning engagement, the environment only significantly influenced the EQ's 'Affective Value' factor, being higher when using an AV system. The level of presence in the virtual environment was significantly higher in the public food court, being significantly correlated with the EQ factor scores.

Unhealthy Food and Beverage Marketing to Children in the Digital Age: Global Research and Policy Challenges and Priorities

Food and nonalcoholic beverage marketing is implicated in poor diet and obesity in children. The rapid growth and proliferation of digital marketing has resulted in dramatic changes to advertising practices and children's exposure. The constantly evolving and data-driven nature of digital food marketing presents substantial challenges for researchers seeking to quantify the impact on children and for policymakers tasked with designing and implementing restrictive policies. We outline the latest evidence on children's experience of the contemporary digital food marketing ecosystem, conceptual frameworks guiding digital food marketing research, the impact of digital food marketing on dietary outcomes, and the methods used to determine impact, and we consider the key research and policy challenges and priorities for the field. Recent methodological and policy developments represent opportunities to apply novel and innovative solutions to address this complex issue, which could drive meaningful improvements in children's dietary health.

Immersive sensory evaluation: Practical use of virtual reality sensory booth

Sensory booths enhanced with VR technology have displayed promising potential for improving sensory evaluation, perception research, and educational experiences. However, there remains an insufficient of data on VR's utilization in sensory science. In our research, we designed a virtual sensory booth (SB) utilizing Virtual Reality (VR) to complement sensory analysis and foster applications in the field of sensory science. The experiment involved the utilization of diverse sensory methods and product samples for examination within the virtual SB, which was compared to the traditional SB. A total of forty-three participants took part in the study to scrutinize the implications of the virtual SB. The results of a post-VR questionnaire demonstrated the participants' positive reception of the virtual SB. The study's findings suggest that the virtual SB could serve as a valuable resource for sensory scientists and individuals keen on exploring the emerging opportunities offered by VR. Notably, the virtual SB has proven to have potential applications, particularly within the food industry, with a special focus on sensory science. •Virtualized SB incorporating VR technology is a promising sensory evaluation and perception studies approach.•Virtual SB intends to use various sensory methods in VR applications for sensory analysis.•The creation of new VR-based technological solutions for sensory analysis can serve as a supplement to traditional sensory analysis.

An advance in novel intelligent sensory technologies: From an implicit-tracking perspective of food perception

Food sensory evaluation mainly includes explicit and implicit measurement methods. Implicit measures of consumer perception are gaining significant attention in food sensory and consumer science as they provide effective, subconscious, objective analysis. A wide range of advanced technologies are now available for analyzing physiological and psychological responses, including facial analysis technology, neuroimaging technology, autonomic nervous system technology, and behavioral pattern measurement. However, researchers in the food field often lack systematic knowledge of these multidisciplinary technologies and struggle with interpreting their results. In order to bridge this gap, this review systematically describes the principles and highlights the applications in food sensory and consumer science of facial analysis technologies such as eye tracking, facial electromyography, and automatic facial expression analysis, as well as neuroimaging technologies like electroencephalography, magnetoencephalography, functional magnetic resonance imaging, and functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Furthermore, we critically compare and discuss these advanced implicit techniques in the context of food sensory research and then accordingly propose prospects. Ultimately, we conclude that implicit measures should be complemented by traditional explicit measures to capture responses beyond preference. Facial analysis technologies offer a more objective reflection of sensory perception and attitudes toward food, whereas neuroimaging techniques provide valuable insight into the implicit physiological responses during food consumption. To enhance the interpretability and generalizability of implicit measurement results, further sensory studies are needed. Looking ahead, the combination of different methodological techniques in real-life situations holds promise for consumer sensory science in the field of food research.

Assessment of a virtual sensory laboratory for consumer sensory evaluations

As technology advances in the field of food sciences, the sensory experience of food consumption remains complex and influenced by various factors. Traditional consumer testing, often conducted in isolated booth environments, presents challenges in terms of construct validity and user engagement for perception formation. The growing accessibility and sophistication of virtual reality (VR) technology offer a promising avenue for research. This study focuses on the assessment of a virtual sensory laboratory, seamlessly integrating traditional sensory practices into the virtual realm to explore disparities in consumer responses, especially in sensory analysis. The virtual laboratory, designed for compatibility with VR gear, closely resembles a sensory booth. The virtual environment enables the researchers to change the visual clues of the products being tested as well as the surroundings (e.g., colors, furniture, or even the environment). Additionally, the level of immersion can be enhanced by playing any type of music, if needed. One crucial question is to assess the opinions of the participants, if they feel comfortable in the created environment. Specific participant numbers are omitted, and the study engages participants. The success of this initiative could signify a substantial advance in analysis and cost savings, adding a layer of significance to the study's potential impact on optimizing research practices. The study lays the groundwork for optimal VR practices and anticipates further exploration with immersive elements to deepen our understanding of how virtual reality influences consumer behaviour in food selection compared to traditional sensory methods.

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality as a versatile tool in food consumer behavior evaluation: Recent advances in aroma, taste, and texture incorporation

The perceptual behavior of consumers on a product displayed in the market has a vital role in analyzing the importance given to that product. Therefore, various strategies have been developed to understand this consumer behavior in the selection of products. Immersive technologies like virtual, augmented, and mixed reality are among them. With the foremost feature of immersion in the virtual world and interaction of users with virtual objects, virtual reality, and augmented reality have unlocked their potential in research and a user-friendly tool for analyzing consumer behavior. In addition to these technologies, mixed reality also has a significant role in investigating consumer behavior. Studies on immersive technologies in food applications are vast, hence this review focuses on the applications of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality in the food selection behavior of consumers. The behavioral studies are elicited to develop new products based on consumer needs, to understand the shopping behavior in supermarkets for real-time usage, and to know the influence of emotions in a selection of products. The findings suggest that virtual, augmented, and mixed reality induce immersion of the users in food selection behavioral studies. Information on the technological advancements in the tools used for bringing immersion and interaction are discussed for its futuristic applications in food. Though immersive technology gives users a realistic virtual environment experience, its application in food systems is in the budding stage. More research on human response studies would contribute to its innovative and inevitable application in the future.

The development of an immersive mixed-reality application to improve the ecological validity of eating and sensory behavior research

Introduction

The modern eating environment has been implicated as a driving force of the obesity epidemic. Mixed reality applications may improve traditional methodological assessments of eating behavior by improving the ecological validity of the laboratory setting.

Methods

Research experts evaluated the utility and ecological validity of a mixed reality application that allowed immersion within virtual environments through utilizing the passthrough cameras of the head mounted display to view and interact with real foods. An initial evaluation was conducted that involved three virtual environments: a traditional laboratory booth, a non-textured restaurant, and a full-textured restaurant. The feedback from the initial evaluation was used to create a new virtual restaurant environment and a subsequent evaluation was conducted.

Results

Nearly all research experts suggested adding social cues such as people and background noise to create a more authentic and ecologically valid experience. The experts scored the new virtual restaurant environment to be more acceptable than eating or conducting research in a sensory booth but scored lower when compared to conducting research in a real-world restaurant setting.

Discussion

The results of this evaluation suggest that mixed reality applications may be a new methodology to assess environmental influences of eating behavior and may be a promising direction for eating behavior and sensory science research.

Effect of perceptive enrichment on the efficiency of simulated contexts: Comparing virtual reality and immersive room settings

This study was designed within the methodological framework of sensory and consumer sciences, where conventionally internal and external validity are approached separately (e.g. CLT vs HUT). Here is explored the added value of new immersive strategies, such as virtual reality, on their ability to achieve both: internal and external validity. This article presents a comparative study between different experimental setups, involving more than 270 consumers. Two different immersive setups were appraised, simulating the consumption episode 'eating a sandwich for lunch in a park': a context room (N = 57) and a VR environment (N = 55). We added two control conditions: a real park in summer (N = 56) and scenario-only in sensory booths (duplicated condition, N1 = 59, N2 = 52). A set of sandwiches were evaluated in a between-participants design, with one duplicated recipe for a reliability assessment. Participants evaluated samples on hedonic criteria and closed the experiment with a questionnaire measuring their level of immersion. After classification of the questionnaire variables, seven underlying dimensions were identified, with significant differences between conditions on the credibility of the environment and the scenario. As expected, with strong external validity, the simulated environments were more immersive than the conventional booth with scenario and less immersive than a real-life environment. Although the immersive conditions did not stand out from the other conditions on the product evaluation performance, all the conditions revealed a high level of internal validity. Mean scores and rankings of the products, participants' repeatability and discriminatory power remained comparable to the real park environment indices.

Consumer Studies: Beyond Acceptability—A Case Study with Beer

Beer is one of the most consumed alcoholic beverages in the world; its consumption and preference are evolving from traditional industrial beers of low complexity to novel craft beers with diverse flavour profiles. In such a competitive industry and considering the complexity of consumer behaviour, improvement and innovation become necessary. Consequently, consumer science, which is responsible for identifying the motivation behind customer preferences through their attitudes, perception and behaviour, has implemented strategies ranging from simple hedonic measurements to several innovative and emerging methodologies for a deeper understanding of the variables that affect the product experience: sensory, affective and cognitive. In this context, we offer a review inspired by previous research that explores some of the quantitative and qualitative methods used in consumer studies related to beer consumption, ranging from traditional approaches (acceptability, purchase intention, preference, etc.) to techniques that go beyond acceptability and allow a different understanding of aspects of consumer perception and behaviour (segmentation, expectations, emotions, representation, etc.). Also, innovative applications (contexts, immersive technologies and virtual reality, implicit measures, etc.) and current trends related to consumer science (Internet, social media, pairing, product experience, etc.) are addressed.

Food Desires and Hedonic Discrimination in Virtual Reality Varying in Product–Context Appropriateness among Older Consumers

Immersive virtual reality (VR) videos can replicate complex real-life situations in a systematic, repeatable and versatile manner. New product development trajectories should consider the complexities of daily life eating situations. The creation of immersive contexts of a product with varying levels of appropriateness could be a useful tool for product developers in evaluating the extent to which context may influence food acceptance and eating behavior. This study explored virtual reality (VR) as an efficient context-enhancing technology through evaluations of protein-enriched rye breads and compared the effects of a VR-simulated congruent (VR restaurant) and incongruent (VR cinema) contexts on the acceptance in older consumers. A total of 70 participants were immersed in the two VR contexts and a neutral control context in a randomized order. The responses indicating the desire and liking for rye breads were measured, and the extent of immersion during context exposure was assessed by levels of the sense of presence and engagement. Immersive VR induced positive sensations of presence and a heightened level of engagement. The VR restaurant and neutral contexts were perceived as more appropriate for consuming rye breads and induced higher desire and liking for rye breads, which supported the notion of the alignment of congruent contexts with food desire and liking. The study provides new perspectives, practical methodologies, and discoveries in regard to the creation and application of VR-immersed contexts in food product evaluation. Moreover, it focused on a consumer segment (older consumers) that has seldom been investigated in previous relevant studies. The findings suggest that immersive VR technology, as a tool for evaluating contextual factors, is important for new product development. The good user experience among older consumers further indicated the potential value of VR as a context-enhancing tool for product development.

You Eat How You Think: A Review on the Impact of Cognitive Styles on Food Perception and Behavior

Sensory perception is understood to be a complex area of research that requires investigations from a variety of different perspectives. Although researchers have tried to better understand consumers’ perception of food, one area that has been minimally explored is how psychological cognitive theories can help them explain consumer perceptions, behaviors, and decisions in food-related experiences. The concept of cognitive styles has existed for nearly a century, with the majority of cognitive style theories existing along a continuum with two bookends. Some of the more common theories such as individualist-collectivist, left-brain-right-brain, and convergent-divergent theories each offered their own unique insight into better understanding consumer behavior. However, these theories often focused only on niche applications or on specific aspects of cognition. More recently, the analytic-holistic cognitive style theory was developed to encompass many of these prior theoretical components and apply them to more general cognitive tendencies of individuals. Through applying the analytic-holistic theory and focusing on modern cultural psychology work, this review may allow researchers to be able to answer one of the paramount questions of sensory and consumer sciences: how and why do consumers perceive and respond to food stimuli the way that they do?

An Explorative Analysis of the Influence of Landscape Visual Aesthetic Quality on Food Preferences in Italy: A Pilot Study

As some previous research has highlighted, landscape characteristics are useful for improving the market share of some food products and the market power of companies in the agrifood sector. The purpose of this study is to verify whether the visual aesthetic quality of the landscape can influence food preferences and the willingness to pay for agrifood products. To this end, the preferences of 64 participants for three types of juice (orange, peach and pear) were analysed through a blind tasting experiment. Each participant tasted three pairs of fruit juices, one for each type of juice. The juices belonging to each pair were the same, but before tasting, the participants were shown two photos portraying the orchards where the fruits were produced, so participants were induced to think that the juices were different. The landscape associated with each pair of photographs had a different visual aesthetic quality (high or low). Participants were asked to provide three measures while tasting the juices: their overall juice assessment using a seven-point hedonic scale, the visual aesthetic quality of the photos on a seven-point Likert scale, and their willingness to pay as a percentage variation of the price that they usually pay to buy fruit juices. According to our results, the mean overall liking score and the mean willingness to pay percentage variation for the juices associated with a preferred landscape was higher and statistically different. Despite the need for further research, our results suggest that landscape acts as a proxy for quality in the evaluation of some food products and that the use of landscape photos could be a valid marketing strategy in agribusiness.

Design of experiments meets immersive environment: Optimising eating atmosphere using artificial neural network

Design of experiments (DOE) is a family of statistical tools commonly used in food science to optimise recipes and facilitate new food development. In a novel cross-disciplinary twist, we propose to adapt DOE approach to the optimisation of restaurant atmosphere. In this study, an artificial neural network (ANN) with particle swarm optimisation algorithm (PSO; hereafter ANN-PSO) was selected and compared with classical Response Surface Method (RSM) as ANN-PSO has been reported to yield better reliability and predictability compared to RSM. Recent research has increasingly demonstrated that perceived food quality, enjoyment, and willingness to pay are influenced by contextual factors such as lighting, decoration, and background noise/music. Moreover, virtual reality (VR) technology, which has become increasingly accessible, sophisticated, and widespread over the past years, presents a new way to study scenarios which may be otherwise too expensive/implausible to test in real life this includes delivering immersive environment. We hereby demonstrate a novel proof-of-concept study by varying the degree of illumination and of background sound level in an immersive restaurant setup. Participants (N = 283) watched immersive 360° videos while rating situational appropriateness and food wanting for two different dishes in various ambient conditions as determined by DOE's Central Composite Design (CCD). Participants did not actually consume the foods but rather only viewed them. Optimal restaurant lighting and sound levels were then estimated using ANN-PSO model which was found to be at 289 lux and -21.38 Loudness Unit Full Scale (LUFS) for burger and 186.9 lux and -30 LUFS for pizza. While the results of our study are of obvious interest to those in the hospitality industry, this work further highlights the transferability of methods across different disciplines and the applicability of time-tested methods to new emerging areas.

Consumer Consciousness in Multisensory Extended Reality

The reality-virtuality continuum encompasses a multitude of objects, events and environments ranging from real-world multisensory inputs to interactive multisensory virtual simulators, in which sensory integration can involve very different combinations of both physical and digital inputs. These different ways of stimulating the senses can affect the consumer's consciousness, potentially altering their judgements and behaviours. In this perspective paper, we explore how technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can, by generating and modifying the human sensorium, act on consumer consciousness. We discuss the potential impact of this altered consciousness for consumer behaviour while, at the same time, considering how it may pave the way for further research.

Investigating the relative merits of using a mixed reality context for measuring affective response and predicting tea break snack choice

Sensory evaluation for the investigation of food consumption is often conducted in a controlled laboratory environment, which does not reflect consumption behaviour in real world. Here, we compared the effect of consumption setting (traditional sensory booth, mixed reality projection café, and a café) on consumer affective responses, and to investigate the effectiveness of using Microsoft HoloLens technology, an Augmented Mixed Reality device, as an ecologically valid alternative to natural consumption eating for sensory evaluation. Participant [(n = 120): 86 females/34 males, aged 18-65 years] affective response (overall liking, attribute liking, emotional response, and snack choice) towards two commercially available tea break snacks (caramel slice and chocolate digestive biscuit) was assessed in three different consumption settings using a balanced crossover design. There were no significant differences for most affective ratings between data obtained from the HoloLens evoked café and real café (p ≥ 0.10), suggesting that mixed reality could provide an ecologically valid context for consumer research. However, response differences were observed between these two contexts and the sensory booths. For example, interested, joy, enthusiastic emotion terms were rated slightly higher in the evoked café in comparison to the booth context and slightly higher emotional engagement was observed for joy in the café compared to the booths (all p < .10). This study highlights key considerations for deciding where consumer testing should be conducted and the importance of using a combination of overall liking, attribute liking and emotional response to obtain data representative of real-world environments in consumer studies.

Impossible (Food) Experiences in Extended Reality

We introduce a model to think about impossible experiences in mixed and virtual reality, while emphasizing the role of said experiences in the context of food. This reality-impossibility model includes two continua, namely, the reality-fantasy character of objects and environments, and the extent to which they follow the laws of physics-other laws. We present a series of examples in each of the quadrants of the model and discuss both the research possibilities and implications of impossible experiences.