Dissertation
Comparison of a Slip-Style Omnidirectional Treadmill and Conventional Unidirectional Treadmill on Task Performance, Cybersickness, Postural Stability and User Experience in Virtual Reality
University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
Doctor of Philosophy, University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
2022
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.25907/00705
Abstract
With advancements in technology, it is now possible to design large virtual environments (VEs). Existing virtual reality (VR) devices are powerful enough to render these environments; however, the ability of VR devices to track users in the real world is limited. To explore these large VEs in VR, approaches such as walking in place and redirected walking platforms have been proposed and used. Given that these approaches to walking in VR are not completely natural, they can have unwanted side effects such as cybersickness and postural instability. To better understand these side effects, this study used a conventional unidirectional treadmill (referred to as the VRMill) and a newly introduced Virtuix slip-style omnidirectional treadmill (referred to as the OMNI).
In this study, a total of 46 participants walked on the conventional unidirectional treadmill for 10 minutes and on the omnidirectional treadmill for 10 minutes, with a 5-minute break between platforms. During the experiment, measurements of cybersickness, task achievement, distance covered, postural balance and user experience were collected. Additionally, the study also assessed the effect of periphery reduction while walking on the unidirectional treadmill.
The participants from both groups experienced a significant cybersickness increase on both the unidirectional and omnidirectional platforms. At the end of the experiment, when compared to the VRMill, the participants had higher cybersickness scores on the OMNI. As a measure to assess the task achievement on both platforms, participants had to collect scrolls placed within the VE. It was found that participants walked more distance and collected more scrolls on the VRMill. Their postural angle was significantly different when walking on the OMNI as compared to the unidirectional treadmill. The study compared three variations of the drag approach with periphery reduction while walking on the VRMill. The three variations introduced were drag visualisation, reduced periphery on the drag visualisation, and no drag while participants rotated the scene. Although there was no significant difference, the participants experienced less cybersickness (felt better) in the reduced periphery variation, which aligns with the findings of the literature.
Details
- Title
- Comparison of a Slip-Style Omnidirectional Treadmill and Conventional Unidirectional Treadmill on Task Performance, Cybersickness, Postural Stability and User Experience in Virtual Reality
- Authors
- Afnan Bashir - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Science, Technology and Engineering
- Contributors
- Christian M Jones (Supervisor) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Law and Society
- Awarding institution
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- Degree awarded
- Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland
- DOI
- 10.25907/00705
- Organisation Unit
- University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; Engage Research Lab; School of Law and Society
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99681098902621
- Output Type
- Dissertation
Metrics
67 File views/ downloads
162 Record Views