Edward Kranz, Andreas Carlson, Paweł Putra
VR course 2023-2024
Virtual reality allows people to experience things that are either impossible, very hard or expensive to do in reality. The techniques that allow doing that face unique problems regarding bounded physical space, intuitiveness and realism. Inspired by the gadgetcopter from the Inspector Gadget cartoon, we created four flying techniques that are based on being propelled by a head-mounted helicopter in a direction based on the helicopters tilt. Our goal was to check what is the best way to control and the force the direction that we are propelled towards by the helicopter in the means of intuitiveness, efficiency, presence and cybersickness. We implemented the technique in Unity3D and performed user tests on users using our flying techniques to fly through an obstacle course, measuring the time they took to finish it, and their feedback on presence and cybersickness through SSQ and IPQ questionnaires. From our results, we determined that there were strengths and weaknesses to each interaction technique. We analysed qualitative data such as the SSQ, IPQ and user statements, in addition to quantitative data such as obstacle course completion time and path taken via data logging. We found the joystick and trigger technique to give the most well-rounded experience. We think it could be used for providing a more intuitive and immersive experience of flying in VR.