Remote research on locomotion interfaces for virtual reality: Replication of a lab-based study on teleporting...

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality (VR) and Human-Computer Interaction
• Human Factors and Ergonomics
• Cognitive Psychology and Spatial Navigation

Background:

• Consumer virtual reality (VR) hardware enables remote, unsupervised research participation.
• Differences exist between lab and home environments, potentially affecting study outcomes.
• Replicating lab-based VR experiments remotely is crucial for broader accessibility.

Purpose of the Study:

• To replicate a lab-based VR locomotion experiment using a remote participant sample.
• To investigate the impact of rotational self-motion cues on spatial task performance in VR.
• To compare remote, unsupervised VR experiment results with traditional lab-based findings.

Main Methods:

• Participants completed a triangle-completion task using their own VR equipment remotely.
• Locomotion utilized two teleporting interface versions, differing in rotational self-motion cues.
• Virtual path length and environment size were manipulated variables.

Main Results:

• Remote participant performance largely mirrored lab results, with better outcomes when rotational cues were present.
• Remote participants showed a reduced reliance on nearby landmarks for self-location updates.
• The availability of rotational self-motion cues consistently enhanced performance in the VR task.

Conclusions:

• VR locomotion research can be successfully replicated remotely, yielding comparable results to lab studies.
• Rotational self-motion cues are vital for effective spatial navigation in VR, regardless of setting.
• Remote studies may reveal adaptations in user strategies, such as decreased landmark dependency.