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Description
The project aims to understand how multisensory virtual experience impacts real environmental behaviours. Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that can reflect the real world but it can also enrich it with elements exceeding reality. We can experience VR through both head mounted displays and ordinary smartphones. The latter also allow to experience virtual environments in the form of augmented reality, where virtual elements are overlaid on the real world. For now, virtual environments provide mainly visual and auditory experience. Nevertheless, new multisensory solutions and products are being developed and implemented. Air pollution can be detected by our bodies only when it reached dangerously high level. But polluted air is dangerous for us much before we can smell and see it. The aim of the study is to investigate the influence of multisensory air pollution experience on actual human behaviour. In our analyses, we will take into consideration also economic and socio-cultural factors to understand better what influences the air quality in small Polish and Norwegian towns. VAPE is a transdisciplinary project in which we link a multisensory experience in VR, real-time air pollution measurement, economic and psychological analysis, and civil engagement. We plant to build a network of low-cost air quality sensors in selected cities in Poland and Norway. We will use the data recorded by us to build a multi-sensory virtual experience. We expect that the basic benefit of the project will be a change in behavior and increased social engagement in solving the problem of clean air. The scientific benefit lies mostly in the understanding of the mechanism behind this change, in particular the usefulness of multisensory VR and participatory activities. We hope to develop a solution that can be transferred to the scale of the country, Europe and the world.