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Effects of virtual reality technology locomotive multi-sensory motion stimuli on a user simulator sickness and controller intuitiveness during a navigation task

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Abstract

Simulator sickness of users and intuitiveness of controllers contribute to a user’s acceptance or rejection of a virtual reality (VR) experiment. However, few studies investigated the effects of different VR locomotive controllers and potential gender effects. Hence, we investigated the effects of different motion stimuli combinations and a user’s range of neck motion via two experiments in a gender balanced group. Thus, through separate sessions, young adult participants utilized four common VR locomotive controllers (TiltChair, omni-directional treadmill, VRNChair and joystick) with a head-mounted display to execute the same VR navigation task as we measured simulator sickness by the simulator sickness questionnaire and postural sway. Also, we measured intuitiveness through total traversed distance and execution times. As expected, simulator sickness severity increased with VR exposure time. However, participants had significantly shorter traversed distances and execution times when they utilized the TiltChair and joystick respectively; while, participants had significantly longer execution times when they utilized the omni-directional treadmill. Additionally, female participants easily utilized the TiltChair and omni-directional treadmill because they traversed shorter distances than male participants. Therefore, a VR locomotive controller selection should be based on a target population’s characteristics to reduce user simulator sickness and to increase controller intuitiveness.

The current study investigates the use different virtual reality locomotive controllers to minimize user simulator sickness and maximize controller intuitiveness.

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Acknowledgments

We kindly like to acknowledge Paul J. White for his help in software support and the omni-directional treadmill construction.

Funding

The study was supported with funding from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate Program in Biomedical Engineering, E2-390 EITC, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB, R3T 5V6, Canada

    Cassandra N. Aldaba & Zahra Moussavi

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  1. Cassandra N. Aldaba
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  2. Zahra Moussavi
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Correspondence to Cassandra N. Aldaba.

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All participants signed an informed consent approved by the University of Manitoba Biomedical Research Ethics Board prior to being enrolled into the study and in accordance with the latest Declaration of Helsinki.

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Aldaba, C.N., Moussavi, Z. Effects of virtual reality technology locomotive multi-sensory motion stimuli on a user simulator sickness and controller intuitiveness during a navigation task. Med Biol Eng Comput 58, 143–154 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-019-02070-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11517-019-02070-2

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