VREX: an open-source toolbox for creating 3D virtual reality experiments

BACKGROUND: We present VREX, a free open-source Unity toolbox for virtual reality research in the fields of experimental psychology and neuroscience. RESULTS: Different study protocols about perception, attention, cognition and memory can be constructed using the toolbox. VREX provides a procedural generation of (interconnected) rooms that can be automatically furnished with a click of a button. VREX includes a menu system for creating and storing experiments with different stages. Researchers can combine different rooms and environments to perform end-to-end experiments including different testing situations and data collection. For fine-tuned control VREX also comes with an editor where all the objects in the virtual room can be manually placed and adjusted in the 3D world. CONCLUSIONS: VREX simplifies the generation and setup of complicated VR scenes and experiments for researchers. VREX can be downloaded and easily installed from vrex.mozello.com ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s40359-017-0173-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.