title: Immersion factors affecting perception and behaviour in a virtual reality power wheelchair simulator.
abstract: Virtual Reality based driving simulators are increasingly used to train and assess users' abilities to operate vehicles in a controlled and safe way. For the development of those simulators it is important to identify and evaluate design factors affecting perception, behaviour, and driving performance. In an exemplary power wheelchair simulator setting we identified the three immersion factors display type (head-mounted display v monitor), ability to freely change the field of view (FOV), and the visualisation of the user's avatar as potentially affecting perception and behaviour. In a study with 72 participants we found all three factors affected the participants' sense of presence in the virtual environment. In particular the display type significantly affected both perceptual and behavioural measures whereas FOV only affected behavioural measures. Our findings could guide future Virtual Reality simulator designers to evoke targeted user behaviours and perceptions.
authors.affiliation: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: Abdulaziz
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Alshaer
authors.affiliation: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Electronic address: holger.regenbrecht@otago.ac.nz.
authors.forename: Holger
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Regenbrecht
authors.affiliation: University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand.
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: O'Hare
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001519:Behavior; D003198:Computer Simulation; D016288:Computer Terminals; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D000072458:Orientation, Spatial; D010465:Perception; D065854:Spatial Navigation; D013647:Task Performance and Analysis; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D014910:Wheelchairs; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Affordance; Human factors; Navigation; Sense of presence; Simulation; Virtual environments