Locomotion in Virtual Reality

The goal was to study and develop different locomotion methods in a Virtual Reality environment to reduce cybersickness caused by the VR headset at that time.

Abstract

New virtual reality devices have generated a growing enthusiasm for the use of this technology among the general public. Furthermore, the possibility for its application in various domains of human actions has increased exponentially in areas such as medicine, architecture, marketing, tourism, web browsing or skills training.

Virtual reality is a type of technology that allows users to simulate real sensations in digitally generated environments. Moreover, it eliminates dangerous situations by creating an imaginary world that enables new skills training and new forms of entertainment. Thus, this technology presents great advances in terms of realism and easy-to-use interfaces. However, it still has some constraints such as motion sickness, locomotion difficulties in virtual environments and a high cost for the general public.

This dissertation aims to conduct an experimental study in which a virtual environment and three types of locomotion were developed. For each type of locomotion, a specific attribute was defined: velocity, acceleration and rotation. Data were collected from 45 volunteers regarding levels of motion sickness through the Simulation Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), which allows to check and determine which are the best values for each parameter.

After analysing and reflecting on the collected data, a set of recommendations was created for future development of VR applications/games, giving a solid starting point for development and help to reduce the symptoms of motion sickness.