Virtual reality locomotion methods differentially affect spatial orientation and cybersickness during maze...

Area of Science:

• Human-Computer Interaction
• Virtual Reality Technologies
• User Experience Research

Background:

• Effective locomotion in virtual reality (VR) is crucial for applications like training and simulations.
• Challenges include maintaining spatial orientation and mitigating cybersickness.
• Existing methods like hand-tracking teleportation (HTR), traditional VR controllers (CTR), and mechanical interfaces like Cybershoes (CBS) have varying impacts.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the effects of HTR, CTR, and CBS on navigation performance, perceived usability, and cybersickness.
• To compare these locomotion methods across virtual mazes of increasing difficulty.
• To identify optimal locomotion strategies for VR applications.

Main Methods:

• 15 participants completed navigation tasks in virtual mazes using HTR, CTR, and CBS.
• Data collected included maze completion time, System Usability Scale (SUS) scores, and cybersickness ratings.
• A within-subjects design with 3 locomotion methods and 3 maze difficulty levels was employed.

Main Results:

• HTR resulted in significantly longer completion times compared to CTR and CBS.
• CBS showed comparable performance to CTR, slightly outperforming CTR in the most difficult mazes.
• CTR achieved the highest usability ratings, while CBS induced the highest levels of cybersickness.

Conclusions:

• Teleportation (HTR) minimizes cybersickness but impairs spatial orientation.
• Cybershoes (CBS) enhance navigation in complex tasks but increase cybersickness.
• Traditional VR controllers (CTR) provide the most balanced experience regarding navigation, usability, and user comfort.