Object Manipulation in Virtual Reality Under Increasing Levels of Translational Gain

Abstract

Room-scale Virtual Reality (VR) has become an affordable consumer reality, with applications ranging from entertainment to productivity. However, the limited physical space available for room-scale VR in the typical home or office environment poses a significant problem. To solve this, physical spaces can be extended by amplifying the mapping of physical to virtual movement (translational gain). Although amplified movement has been used since the earliest days of VR, little is known about how it influences reach-based interactions with virtual objects, now a standard feature of consumer VR. Consequently, this paper explores the picking and placing of virtual objects in VR for the first time, with translational gains of between 1x (a one-to-one mapping of a 3.5m*3.5m virtual space to the same sized physical space) and 3x (10.5m*10.5m virtual mapped to 3.5m*3.5m physical). Results show that reaching accuracy is maintained for up to 2x gain, however going beyond this diminishes accuracy and increases simulator sickness and perceived workload. We suggest gain levels of 1.5x to 1.75x can be utilized without compromising the usability of a VR task, significantly expanding the bounds of interactive room-scale VR.

Cybersickness in current-generation virtual reality head-mounted displays: systematic review and outlook

“…Similarly, the work of Llorach et al (2014) shows that a position estimation system (SSQ scores of 15.93) induces less CS than game controllers (SSQ scores of 32.27). Furthermore, research by Wilson et al (2018) suggests that natural walking without translation gain (one-to-one mapping of virtual space to physical space) causes only minimal CS symptoms (SSQ scores of 10.0). In contrast, additional translation gain causes significant CS symptoms (SSQ scores of 21.0).…”

Gaze behaviour on interacted objects during hand interaction in virtual reality for eye tracking calibration

“…A second approach could be to dynamically change the object size relative to users' viewport, by for example adjusting the object's distance to the user or by changing the object size. Finally, objects can be placed at the edge of users' reach to guarantee that objects remain within a certain size or be placed outside users' reach and thus only be reachable via for example amplified hand movement [Wilson et al 2018].…”

A Quest for Co-Located Mixed Reality: Aligning and Assessing SLAM Tracking for Same-Space Multi-User Experiences

“…Translational gain is a means by which we can increase the perceived size of a real-world physical space by applying gain to user movement in VR, meaning that, e.g., 1m of movement in reality could equate to 2m or 3m of movement in VR [36]. For those in small scale spaces (e.g., families in small flats), the combination of co-location and translational gain could offer the ability to increase the perceived size of the play area for all taking part.…”