TransPortal: A Portable Portal-Based Locomotion Technique

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality (VR) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Immersive Technologies and User Experience

Background:

• Virtual reality (VR) locomotion techniques like physical walking, teleportation, and steering present challenges such as disorientation and sickness.
• Existing methods often fail to balance user comfort with immersive gameplay in complex virtual environments.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce and evaluate TransPortal, a novel portal-based locomotion technique for VR video games.
• To assess the impact of TransPortal on user experience, specifically VR sickness, immersion, and entertainment quality, compared to traditional methods.

Main Methods:

• A within-subjects experiment was conducted with 30 participants.
• Participants experienced VR navigation using TransPortal, traditional teleportation, and steering.
• Data on VR sickness, immersion, and entertainment were collected and analyzed.

Main Results:

• TransPortal demonstrated significantly lower VR sickness compared to teleportation and steering in a complex VR scenario.
• The proposed technique did not reduce immersion or entertainment quality.
• User control over portal activation/deactivation and destination selection was a key feature.

Conclusions:

• TransPortal offers a promising solution for mitigating VR sickness in video games.
• The technique provides an effective and comfortable alternative for virtual reality locomotion.
• Further research can explore TransPortal's application in diverse VR experiences.