Detailed view
Laboratory of Simulation and Evaluation of the Environment (LSEE)
The Laboratory for Environmental Simulation and Assessment (LSEE) is a remarkable facility managed and developed by the AME/MODIS research team. It enables individuals to be immersed in an environment recreated using synthesized or recorded images and sounds. This provides the opportunity to study how individuals’ perceptions, decisions, and behaviors are influenced by contextual factors. These factors may be directly linked to the environment (auditory, visual) or to modes and content of communication, social interactions, objects, and situations proposed to raise awareness or influence these decisions, behaviors, or perceptions. Experiments are thus conducted, immersing participants in a defined context. They rely on simulations designed to reproduce auditory and visual environments as close to reality as possible.
This facility is equipped with a digital audio workstation, enabling the implementation of highly precise immersive audio systems (wavefront synthesis, ambisonics, binaural audio, etc.). It also includes a graphics workstation offering multiple display outputs and excellent 3D rendering computation capacity. This allows the use of one or more screens, as well as virtual reality headsets.
Practical information
Thématique
- Environment and Territories
- representation of mobility environment
Secteur(s) applications
- Aerospace Industries
- Railway industries
- Automotive industries
Laboratory
- AME/MODIS Laboratory for Sustainable Mobility, Individuals, Society)
Domaine(s) expertise
- Experimental methodology
Some photos
In detail
The flexibility of the LSEE enables it to host studies covering a wide range of research fields:
• The study of how residents perceive transport infrastructure, particularly regarding noise. Example: As part of the Rail4Earth project, in partnership with SNCF, focusing on high-speed train (TGV) noise. Participants were immersed in the situation of a resident living near a railway line. To identify the acoustic factors explaining residents' perception, train pass-by noises were modified according to precise acoustic criteria.
• The evaluation of acoustic modifications to vehicles or the sonification of quiet vehicles, in terms of perception or acceptability. Example: Ongoing projects will immerse participants in a virtual city where sonified light vehicles (such as electric scooters) are in circulation.
• The influence of the living environment on travel intentions. Example: The FRAME project studied how factors such as social connection (or its absence) among neighborhood residents and the presence of visible pollution (versus the presence of nature) can influence mobility choices and encourage modal shift.
• The influence of urban planning on residents' well-being. Example: An ongoing project will immerse participants in the situation of residents in neighborhoods equipped with different urban amenities. These results will be compared with those from other laboratories simulating the user perspective of these infrastructures, to better understand how planning choices—green spaces, soft mobility, public facilities, building density—concretely influence perceived well-being, daily behaviors, and sense of belonging, with the aim of guiding public policies toward more inclusive and resilient cities.
• The psychosocial conditions for engaging in behavioral change regarding transport mode choices, as well as the forms of communication likely to facilitate this. Example: The PUNCH project enabled the comparison of different communication styles in various life contexts to identify the most effective levers for encouraging sustainable mobility.
• Methodological research aimed at better understanding the strengths and limitations of immersion, particularly the gaps that may exist between real and simulated situations, in order to refine the ecological validity of experimental protocols and optimize the fidelity of virtual environments.
Conclusion The LSEE stands out as a unique tool at the intersection of technology, psychoacoustics, environmental psychology, and urban planning. By allowing the recreation of realistic and controlled contexts, it offers researchers and decision-makers a valuable window into the subtle mechanisms governing our perceptions, choices, and well-being in urban spaces—paving the way for developments that are more human, fairer, and more sustainable.
Master’s 2 course in Environmental Acoustics: Transport, Buildings, Cities, Le Mans University / Psychology (choice of methods, experimental protocols, role-playing, the role of instructions, etc.), applications of virtual reality and psychoacoustics.
Hosting M1 and M2 interns:
- in Social Psychology
- in computer graphics • in game development
- in acoustics and psychoacoustics
The Rail4Earth project with the SNCF