Virtual Reality Usability Design The development of effective and usable software for spatial computing plat- forms like virtual reality (VR) requires an understanding of how these devices create new possibilities (and new perils) when it comes to interactions between humans and computers. Virtual Reality Usability Design provides readers with an understanding of the techniques and technologies required to design engag- ing and effective VR applications. The book covers both the mechanics of how human senses and the mind experi- ence immersive virtual environments, as well as how to leverage these mechan- ics to create human-focused virtual experiences. Deeply rooted in principles of human perception and computational interaction, the current and future limita- tions of these replacements are also considered. Full of real-world examples, this book is an indispensable guide for any practis- ing VR developer interested in making efficient and effective interfaces. Mean- while, explorations of concrete theory in its practical application will be useful for VR students and researchers alike. Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com Virtual Reality Usability Design David Gerhard Wil J. Norton First edition published 2023 by CRC Press 6000 Broken Sound Parkway NW, Suite 300, Boca Raton, FL 33487-2742 and by CRC Press 4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN CRC Press is an imprint of Taylor & Francis Group, LLC © 2023 David Gerhard and Wil J. Norton Reasonable efforts have been made to publish reliable data and information, but the author and publisher cannot as- sume responsibility for the validity of all materials or the consequences of their use. The authors and publishers have attempted to trace the copyright holders of all material reproduced in this publication and apologize to copyright holders if permission to publish in this form has not been obtained. If any copyright material has not been acknowledged please write and let us know so we may rectify in any future reprint. Except as permitted under U.S. Copyright Law, no part of this book may be reprinted, reproduced, transmitted, or utilized in any form by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including pho- tocopying, microfilming, and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without written permission from the publishers. For permission to photocopy or use material electronically from this work, access www.copyright.com or contact the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. (CCC), 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, 978-750-8400. For works that are not available on CCC please contact [email protected] Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are used only for iden- tification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Gerhard, David, author. Title: Virtual reality usability design / David Gerhard, Wil Norton. Description: Boca Raton : CRC Press, 2023. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Summary: “The development of effective and usable software for spatial computing platforms like Virtual Reality requires an understanding of how these devices create new possibilities (and new perils) when it comes to interactions between humans and computers. Virtual Reality Usability Design provides readers with an understanding of the techniques and technologies required to design engaging and effective VR applications. The book covers both the mechanics of how human senses and the mind experience immersive virtual environments, as well as how to leverage these mechanics to create human-focused virtual experiences”-- Provided by publisher. Identifiers: LCCN 2022033995 (print) | LCCN 2022033996 (ebook) | ISBN 9781032198699 (hardback) | ISBN 9781032191324 (paperback) | ISBN 9781003261230 (ebook) Subjects: LCSH: User interfaces (Computer systems) | Haptic devices. | Virtual reality. | System design. Classification: LCC QA76.9.U83 G45 2023 (print) | LCC QA76.9.U83 (ebook) | DDC 005.4/37--dc23/eng/20220830 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022033995 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2022033996 ISBN: 978-1-032-19869-9 (hbk) ISBN: 978-1-032-19132-4 (pbk) ISBN: 978-1-003-26123-0 (ebk) DOI: 10.1201/9781003261230 Typeset in Latin Roman by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd. Publisher’s note: This book has been prepared from camera-ready copy provided by the authors. To Diane and Arthur Taylor & Francis Taylor & Francis Group http://taylorandfrancis.com Contents Section I Understanding Virtual Reality and Users Chapter 1(cid:4) What Makes Virtual Reality Remarkable? 3 1.1 DEFININGVIRTUALREALITY 3 1.2 VIRTUALENVIRONMENTS 6 1.3 THEORIGINSOFVR 8 1.4 ASHORTHISTORYOFHUMANCOMPUTERINTERACTION 14 1.5 WHATVRCANDOFORHUMAN–COMPUTERINTERACTION 17 1.6 WHEREINTERACTIONDESIGNFITSIN 22 Chapter 2(cid:4) Making the Virtual Seem Real 25 2.1 THEFEELINGOFBEINGTHERE 25 2.2 IMMERSION 27 2.3 PRESENCE 43 2.4 COMPONENTSOFPRESENCE 45 2.5 OTHERSENSATIONSOFREALITYWITHINVR 52 2.6 MEASURINGPRESENCE 53 2.7 SUMMARY 56 Chapter 3(cid:4) Sensation and Perception 59 3.1 PROVIDINGTHEPERCEPTIONOFAVIRTUALWORLD 59 3.2 THEPERCEPTUALPROCESS 60 3.3 ASENSORYVIEWOFTHEHUMANBODY 66 3.4 QUANTIFYINGSTIMULUS 69 3.5 PERCEPTIVETASKS 70 3.6 SUMMARY 77 vii viii (cid:4) Contents Chapter 4(cid:4) Supporting Primary Senses 79 4.1 VISUALSENSORYINPUTS 79 4.2 RESOLUTION 106 4.3 AUDITORYSENSORYINPUTS 110 4.4 THEPHYSICSOFSOUND 115 4.5 SOUNDANDGAMES 116 4.6 SUMMARY 118 Chapter 5(cid:4) Supporting Peripheral Senses 119 5.1 THEGUSTATORYSYSTEM—TASTE 119 5.2 THEOLFACTORYSYSTEM—SMELL 126 5.3 SOMATOSENSORYSYSTEM 132 5.4 THEPROPRIOCEPTIVESYSTEM 141 5.5 THEVESTIBULARSYSTEM 142 5.6 OTHERINTEROCEPTIVESENSES 143 5.7 SUMMARY 144 Chapter 6(cid:4) Perceiving Space and Scale 145 6.1 INTERPRETATIONOFSPACEANDDEPTHCUES 146 6.2 SPATIALAUDIOREPRODUCTION 157 6.3 BIOLOGICALMAPPINGOFSPACE 162 6.4 NON-EUCLIDEANGEOMETRY 164 Chapter 7(cid:4) Further Psychological Effects of Inhabiting a Virtual Environment 169 7.1 EFFECTSOFINTERACTIVITY 169 7.2 EMBODIMENTILLUSION 178 7.3 COMPONENTSOFEMBODIMENTILLUSION 178 7.4 EMOTIONANDEMPATHY 186 7.5 SUMMARY 191 Contents (cid:4) ix Section II Designing Virtual Interactions Chapter 8(cid:4) Experience Usability 195 8.1 INTRODUCTION 195 8.2 USABILITYTHEORY 198 8.3 HUMANFACTORSINUSABILITY 203 8.4 MULTIUSERCONSIDERATIONS 211 8.5 DESIGNINGFORACCESSIBILITY 216 8.6 SUMMARY 234 Chapter 9(cid:4) Fictions of Physics 237 9.1 THERULESOFASIMULATION 237 9.2 ADVANTAGESOFACONSISTENTSETOFPHYSICS 238 9.3 WORLDINCONSISTENCYBOUNDARIES 240 9.4 IMPACTSOFWORLDINCONSISTENCYBOUNDARIES 243 9.5 RESOLVINGWORLDINCONSISTENCYISSUES 245 9.6 CREATINGBOUNDARIESFORPLAYERSAFETY 249 9.7 INTERACTIONPATTERNSFORBOUNDARYHANDLING 251 9.8 PHYSICS-BASEDINTERACTIONS 257 9.9 SUMMARY 259 Chapter 10(cid:4) Locomotion and Navigation 261 10.1 INTRODUCTION 261 10.2 PURPOSESOFLOCOMOTION 264 10.3 ARTIFICIALLOCOMOTIONSTRATEGIES 271 10.4 PHYSICALLOCOMOTIONSTRATEGIES 277 10.5 QUANTIFYINGLOCOMOTIVEEFFICACY 284 10.6 PHYSIOLOGICALEFFECTSOFMOVINGINVR 291 10.7 SUMMARY 297 Chapter 11(cid:4) Activities and Interactions 299 11.1 AFFORDANCE 299 11.2 FAMILIARITY 310 11.3 MAPPING 321