Effects of physical and virtual rotations and display device on users of an architectural walkthrough

Abstract

Most virtual worlds need a mechanism for the user to get from here to there in the virtual world. This type of interaction is called locomotion, and is perhaps the most common form of interaction in virtual environments (VEs). The term locomotion is used to indicate a user's control of movement through the VE. Our previous work created a classification system for virtual locomotion methods, based on five basic components of locomotion: rotation, translation, display device, interaction device, and task [Arns and Cruz-Neira 2002]. The classification provides guidelines for designers of new virtual reality (VR) applications, on what types of locomotion are best suited to the requirements of new applications. We proposed that display device and rotation method are critical components of locomotion, and that they are closely related. This paper describes a user experiment designed to validate the criticality of appropriate display device and rotation method when designing virtual environment applications, specifically for an architectural walkthrough. Both objective and subjective measures were studied, including completion time, collisions, presence, and spatial understanding of the virtual world. The experimental results indicate that choice of display device and rotation method can have a significant impact on users' ability to travel in a virtual environment and their performance on several of the above measures. These results can be used as guidelines for VR developers when designing and implementing locomotion methods for VEs.