User-centric immersive virtual reality development framework for data visualization and decision-making in infrastructure remote inspections

Data visualization and decision-making are critical aspects of infrastructure inspections. Numerous research efforts have been made to develop practical remote inspection systems that overcome the limitations of conventional inspection methods. Although the integration of Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) into remote inspection is currently being addressed, most IVR frameworks have focused on data accuracy and there has been a lack of research on developing human-centered IVR frameworks through usability evaluation. This paper addresses this limitation by proposing a new IVR development framework utilizing agile User Experience (UX) design techniques, which can be implemented in remote infrastructure inspections for data visualization and decision-making. Usability tests were conducted through a case study with 22 participants, using an IVR prototype developed in accordance with this framework. Following its implementation, the framework demonstrated its ability to identify damage via remote bridge inspection and achieved acceptable usability. Future research can build on the framework for semantic enrichment tasks.