In our daily lives, we are often choosing the preferred space for ourselves while seeing the comfort and atmosphere of the space. It is the best way to visit and see real space in order to evaluate the space, however it is also hard to compare different spaces because of varied conditions. Therefore, many researches have been conducted to evaluate spaces using secondary media.
In this research, the whole sky image which can be easily composed and shows the entire space of 360 degrees horizontally and vertically from the shooting point, was utilized to make various studies on the hypothesis that the spatial evaluation by the whole sky image is better than the evaluation by the conventional panoramic image which is only captured 180 degrees horizontally, as the alternative of real space. The whole sky image's feature has potential to be an important function to get similar results of psychological evaluation through the experience in the real space with diverse perspectives. Concretely, the average evaluation score profiles with the statistical test results, such as the correlation coefficients and t test, were compared in order to understand the characteristics of each experiment with respect to the items relating to the space evaluation and the impression evaluation. In addition, the relevance to the spatial characteristics and the relation between the evaluation items by the factor analysis were examined for each experiment. Followings are the knowledge gained from this study.
· In the spatial evaluation and the image evaluation, certain similarity was found between the results of the evaluation by on-site experiment and whole sky image experiment expect a few evaluation items. Beside these items, the whole sky image could be a better alternative over the conventional panoramic image and it shows closer psychological evaluation result from result of on-site experiment.
· The panoramic image which is lack of information on the opposite side from the viewing direction shows the limit to present entire space especially at the locations where have different elements on the two sides. The average of results of the two sides of panoramic image show that the panoramic image is similar to the whole sky image, therefore the panoramic image could be a better alternative if it is used in the appropriate presentation method. However, it is difficult to conclude it because of the use of the panoramic image in this experiment, and further experiment is needed to clarify.
· In the result of the comprehensive evaluation of space and image evaluation, the whole sky image shows similarity to on-site experiment. It is suggested that the whole sky image's ability to let the subjects change their viewing direction helps to alternate the experience in the real space.
From the above results, it is clear that the whole sky image is more similar to the real space than the conventional panoramic image except a few items. However, the locations and subjects are lack of diversity, and further research is needed. It is also recognized that it is difficult to feel the spread of the upper part of the space with the whole sky image in the space where is surrounded by tall buildings. It is conceivable that the distortion of the image specific to the whole sky image influences the evaluation. It is necessary to focus on how the subjects observe the space by analyzing the mouse movement that is used to control the viewing direction during the experiment.
