Combe Théo, Chardonnet Jean-Rémy, Merienne Frédéric, Ovtcharova Jivka
Arts et Métiers Institute of Technology, LISPEN, HESAM Université, UBFC, F-71100, 2 Rue Thomas Dumorey, 71100 Chalon-sur-Saône, France.
IMI, Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, Kriegsstraße 77, 76133 Karlsruhe, Germany.
Virtual Real. 2023 Mar 29:1-11. doi: 10.1007/s10055-023-00787-y.
This paper proposes to analyse user experience using two different immersive device categories: a cave automatic virtual environment (CAVE) and a head-mounted display (HMD). While most past studies focused on one of these devices to characterize user experience, we propose to fill the gap in comparative studies by conducting investigations using both devices, considering the same application, method and analysis. Through this study, we want to highlight the differences in user experience induced when using either one of these technologies in terms of visualization and interaction. We performed two experiments, each focusing on a specific aspect of the devices employed. The first one is related to distance perception when walking and the possible influence of the HMD's weight, which does not occur with CAVE systems as they do not require wearing any heavy equipment. Past studies found that weight may impact distance perception. Several walking distances were considered. Results revealed that the HMD's weight does not induce significant differences over short distances (above three meters). In the second experiment, we focused on distance perception over short distances. We considered that the HMD's screen being closer to the user's eyes than in CAVE systems might induce substantial distance perception differences, especially for short-distance interaction. We designed a task in which users had to move an object from one place to another at several distances using the CAVE and an HMD. Results revealed significant underestimation compared to reality as in past work, but no significant differences between the immersive devices. These results provide a better understanding of the differences between the two emblematic virtual reality displays.
洞穴自动虚拟环境（CAVE）和头戴式显示器（HMD）。虽然过去的大多数研究都聚焦于其中一种设备来描述用户体验，但我们建议通过使用这两种设备进行调查来填补比较研究的空白，同时考虑相同的应用、方法和分析。通过这项研究，我们想突出在可视化和交互方面使用这两种技术中的任何一种时所引发的用户体验差异。我们进行了两项实验，每项实验都聚焦于所使用设备的一个特定方面。第一个实验与行走时的距离感知以及HMD重量可能产生的影响有关，CAVE系统不存在这种影响，因为它们不需要佩戴任何重型设备。过去的研究发现重量可能会影响距离感知。我们考虑了几个行走距离。结果显示，在短距离（超过三米）内，HMD的重量不会引发显著差异。在第二个实验中，我们聚焦于短距离的距离感知。我们认为，与CAVE系统相比，HMD的屏幕离用户眼睛更近可能会引发显著的距离感知差异，尤其是对于短距离交互。我们设计了一项任务，让用户使用CAVE和HMD在几个距离下将一个物体从一个地方移动到另一个地方。结果显示，与过去的研究一样，与实际情况相比存在显著低估，但沉浸式设备之间没有显著差异。这些结果有助于更好地理解这两种标志性虚拟现实显示器之间的差异。
