Between Places with Transitional Spaces: A Navigable WIM in Transitional Spaces for VR Navigation

Teleportation techniques for Virtual Reality (VR) locomotion that use a World-in-Miniature (WIM) for target selection typically rely on instant relocation. Although efficient, this abrupt transition can impair spatial orientation and reduce users' sense of presence. To address this issue, this paper introduces transitional spaces as VR navigation concept. Users enter a transitional space containing a scaled-down Navigable WIM, move (walking/steering) to the intended destination, and confirm their target position. They then exit the transitional space through a second portal, creating a perceptible and continuous transition rather than a direct relocation. In an exploratory user study, we compared Classic WIM-based teleportation, Portal-Augmented WIM, and the proposed Navigable WIM. The results show a trade-off between efficiency and orientation: the Navigable WIM achieved the best spatial orientation performance, but also has the longest completion times and a higher task load due to additional navigation overhead. At the same time, both portal-based approaches provided a more positive user experience than the classic WIM, including a stronger sense of presence and higher hedonic quality. In addition, the Navigable WIM showed the significantly shortest search time.