VRxAR Labs
Invitation to user study (VT21):
Natural interaction with time-oriented data in immersive virtual reality
In a nutshell
What: user interaction study Why: to investigate usability and user preference of (1) natural hand interaction, and (2) spatio-temporal referencing approaches, within the context of time-oriented data analysis in immersive Virtual Reality (VR) How: testing live our developed VR prototype (overall study duration ~ 60 min) Who: Nico Reski, VRxAR Labs research group at Linnaeus University Where: Room D2269A, D-building, Campus Växjö, Linnaeus University When: 16.04.2021 - 18.06.2021 Sign-up: via email (see information below)
In detail
Within the scope of Nico's doctoral research at the VRxAR Labs research group at Linnaeus University, we are currently investigating user interaction and visual user interface design approaches to support (1) natural hand interaction to operate an Immersive Analytics application for the purpose of time-oriented data exploration, and (2) spatial and temporal referencing, i.e., visually highlighting virtual data within the context of Collaborative Immersive Analytics. Therefore we developed an interactive Virtual Reality (VR) application that utilizes 3D gestural input to allow the user to interact with the data objects in the virtual environment by using hands.
In order to collect empirical data to evaluate the described subject matters using the developed prototype in action, we are conducting one-on-one user interaction studies. A study session will have a duration of approximately 60 minutes. During the study session, the participant will test live the developed VR prototype in regard to the implemented (1) hand interaction features, and (2) spatial and temporal referencing approaches. An overview about the study procedure is provided below. Please note that the nature of the developed VR prototype requires the participant to 1) wear a head-mounted display (HMD; "VR headset", a HTC Vive in this case), and 2) use hands for the interaction with the virtual objects (no additional sensors need to be attached to the participant). No specific prior knowledge is required, everyone (student, staff, or external) is welcome to participate.
Study Procedure (~ 60 min)
- Introduction, incl. informed consent and pre-study questions
- Warm-up: Interaction with the prototype [in VR]
- Study Part 1: Interaction with the prototype [in VR]
- Questionnaire and brief semi-structured interview
- Study Part 2: Spatio-Temporal Referencing [in VR]
- Outro, incl. open remarks
Health and Safety Remarks
All of our research at the VRxAR Labs research group addresses and follows ethical considerations for the work with human participants in general. In regard to the ongoing global COVID-19 pandemic, some additional practical matters are implemented as follows:
- We follow the national safety rules and recommendations according to The Public Health Agency (Folkhälsomyndigheten) [sv] [en].
- We follow the regional safety rules and recommendations for Kronoberg according to Emergency information from Swedish authorities (Krisinformation) [sv] [en].
- We follow the local safety rules and recommendations according to Linnaeus University (Linnéuniversitetet) [sv] [en].
- National, regional, and local safety rules and recommendations are monitored on a daily basis, and scheduled study sessions will be adjusted / re-scheduled if necessary.
- A study session is only conducted if both researcher and participant are symptom-free.
- The researcher will be wearing a face mask at all times.
- Face mask and hand disinfection gel will be freely and voluntarily available to each participant.
- Physical distance between researcher and participant will be kept at all times during a study session (no physical contact is required).
- All involved technical equipment will be carefully sanitized between each study.
Sign-up via email
If you are interested in participating, please feel free to sign up link for the study. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to get in touch with us via email. (Note: In case the sign up - link does not open your default email application, please send an email with the subject "[VRxAR Labs - Study VT21] Participation request" and proposed date and time for your study participation to nico [dot] reski [at] lnu [dot] se.)
Welcome!
Research and study conduction: Nico Reski Supervision: Aris Alissandrakis, Andreas Kerren
Prototype preview screenshots
