Virtual reality is a powerful tool for teaching 3D digital technologies in building engineering, as it facilitates the spatial perception of three-dimensional space. Spatial orientation skill is necessary for understanding 3D space. With VR, users navigate through virtually designed buildings and must be constantly aware of their position relative to other elements of the environment (orientation during navigation). In the present study, 25 building engineering students performed navigation tasks in a desktop-VR environment workshop. Performance of students using the desktop-VR was compared to a previous workshop in which navigation tasks were carried out using head-mounted displays. The Perspective Taking/Spatial Orientation Test measured spatial orientation skill. A questionnaire on user experience in the virtual environment was also administered. The gain in spatial orientation skill was 12.62%, similar to that obtained with head-mounted displays (14.23%). The desktop VR environment is an alternative to the HMD-VR environment for planning strategies to improve spatial orientation. Results from the user-experience questionnaire showed that the desktop VR environment strategy was well perceived by students in terms of interaction, 3D visualization, navigation, and sense of presence. Unlike in the HDM VR environment, student in the desktop VR environment did not report feelings of fatigue or dizziness.
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3D Interaction with Virtual Objects in Real Water
The objective of this research was to evaluate and compare perceived fatigue and usability of 3D user interfaces in and out of the water. Virtual Reality (VR) in the water has several potential applications, such as aquatic physical rehabilitation, where patients are typically standing waist or shoulder deep in a pool and performing exercises in the water. However, there have been few works that developed waterproof VR/AR systems and none of them have assessed fatigue, which has previously been shown to be a drawback in many 3D User Interfaces above water. This research presents a novel prototype system for developing waterproof VR experiences and investigates the effect of submersion in water on fatigue as compared to above water. Using a classic selection and docking task, results suggest that being underwater had no significant effect on performance, but did reduce perceived fatigue, which is important for aquatic rehabilitation. Previous 3D interaction methods that were once thought to be too fatiguing might still be viable in water.
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- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10122176
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- 11th International Conference on Virtual Worlds and Games for Serious Applications (VS-GAMES 2019)
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- 1 to 7
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript1.0
- Conference Paper:
- https://doi.org/10.1109/VS-Games.2019.8864574
