Spatial memory across physical and virtual environments: a phenomenological study of 3D Gaussian splatting-based reconstruction in VR

Abdulrahman Waleed Alhamdan

doi:10.17918/00011536

This dissertation investigates how spatial memory forms when the same physical environment is explored through direct bodily presence and through a 3D Gaussian Splatting (3DGS) based reconstruction in virtual reality. Twenty-four participants explored a biology laboratory at the Academy of Natural Sciences of Drexel University under one of two conditions: in-person physical navigation and VR-based navigation of the same room, reconstructed from over 4,400 photographs and deployed on a Meta Quest 2 headset. Using an empirical phenomenological methodology grounded in Moustakas (1994) and van Manen (1990), the study captured first-person accounts of spatial experience through semi-structured interviews and memory sketches conducted immediately after exploration. The analysis identified six thematic groupings across the two conditions, three within each, representing distinct modes of spatial recall. Spatial memory shared foundational structures across conditions: recall was organized through a small number of prominent environmental features that served as anchors, broad spatial layout was retained more reliably than fine object detail, and unfamiliar or unlabeled items were consistently weaker in recall. The two conditions diverged in how those structures formed. Physical exploration supported continuous bodily movement, stable orientation, and relatively even spatial coverage. VR exploration produced meaningful spatial recall shaped by constrained locomotion, limited peripheral vision, and interface negotiation. In the VR condition, the interface itself became part of the remembered experience: participants recalled controls, clipping, visual artifacts, and tethered movement alongside the spatial content of the room. The study contributes to knowledge in three areas. Empirically, it provides a phenomenologically grounded account of spatial memory across physical and 3DGS-based virtual conditions, documenting both shared structures and condition-specific divergences. Methodologically, it demonstrates that empirical phenomenology can surface dimensions of spatial memory, including distinct modes of recall, rehearsal strategies, attentional textures, and the interface as lived experience, that measurement-based methods are less likely to capture. In applied terms, it identifies design considerations for 3DGS-based immersive environments, establishing that visual fidelity is a necessary starting point for spatial engagement but that locomotion design, anchor placement, and interface transparency play determining roles in the spatial knowledge users carry away. Keywords: spatial memory, 3D Gaussian Splatting, virtual reality, phenomenology, VR reconstruction.

Spatial memory across physical and virtual environments: a phenomenological study of 3D Gaussian splatting-based reconstruction in VR

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Spatial memory across physical and virtual environments: a phenomenological study of 3D Gaussian splatting-based reconstruction in VR

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