Activity 4: Movement Methods

Objectives:

Compare and contrast different locomotion methods for VR
Describe vection and its implications for VR
Identify possible mitigations for VR sickness

This activity will have you take turns putting on the VR headset and reporting your findings to the rest of your team. The rest of the team will ask questions and guide you through the activity. Ideally, you should have two laptops ready, one with this activity, and another for viewing the headset’s screen.

Team Members:

Warning: VR sickness may occur

Some of the locomotion methods in this activity may result in some mild discomfort, vertigo, or nausea . If these symptoms become unbearable, please stop immediately and take off the headset. Please let the instructor know if you have any questions or concerns.

Getting Started

Have one person wear the headset and hold the controllers (you may stand or remain seated for this activity). Make sure you recenter the view by holding the Oculus () button on the right controller (the one that looks like a horizontal oval).

Tip

Every time someone else puts on the headset, you should reset the view by holding the Oculus () button.

Cast the headset view

On a second laptop, make sure you are connected to the JMU-Official-Wireless Wi-Fi network. To view the cast, go to https://www.oculus.com/casting. Log in with the username and password given to you with the headset. Now, follow the instructions on the website to cast the headset's screen to the laptop.

Launch the app

In the app menu, click on the search bar at the top. There should be a little dropdown menu that appears to the right of the search bar. Click on it and then scroll down to choose "Unknown Sources". Find the "Locomotion_Demo" app and launch it.

As a team, read the instructions out loud and answer the questions:

Part 1: Node Teleportation

Press the button on the right controller or the Menu () button on the left controller. This will open up a "locomotion selector".

Select the "Node teleport" option by pointing at it and pulling the trigger. Once this is selected, you must close the selector menu by pressing or again.

On the right controller, you should see a thumbstick and two primary buttons. Push the thumbstick briefly to the left or the right and then release.

What happened when you pushed the thumbstick?

This is called snap turning. Every time you push the thumbstick, you instantly rotate by 45°. This lets you comfortably rotate your view without turning your head.

Look around the scene. Do you notice some glowing lights/spots coming from the ground?

Press and hold the button or push the right thumbstick up and point it at the closest glowing spot. Release the button or stick.

What happened?

Now press and hold the button or push the right thumbstick up and point it to a part of the ground that is not glowing. Release the button or stick.

Now what happened?

These glowing spots on the ground are called "nodes". They signify specific points in the world that you can teleport to. You are not able to teleport to locations not designated by a node.

Go ahead and try navigating around the world using this movement method. Make your way over to the house:

Share the headset with your teammates and have them try navigating around too.

As a team:

Do you experience any disorientation?
Do you experience any nausea or vertigo?
What do you think are the benefits and drawbacks of node-based teleportation?

Part 2: Free Teleportation

Open the locomotion selector by pressing the button on the right controller or the Menu () button on the left controller.

Select the "Free Teleport" option by pointing at it and pulling the trigger. Once this is selected, you must close the selector menu by pressing one of the buttons again.

On either controller, push up on the thumbstick and hold. You should see an arc extending from the controller and landing on the ground. Now release the thumbstick.

What happened?

This is free teleportation. You can hold the thumbstick up and point your controller to aim, then release to teleport to that destination. If you hold the thumbstick up and then rotate it without releasing, you can change the orientation you will teleport to.

Go ahead and try navigating around the world using this movement method. Make your way over to the scary tunnel:

Try and navigate through the tunnel.

Were you able to do so successfully?

Share the headset with your teammates and have them try navigating around too.

As a team:

Do you experience any disorientation with free teleportation?
Do you experience any nausea or vertigo?
What are some benefits and drawbacks of free teleportation?

Part 3: Direct Movement

Open the locomotion selector by pressing the button on the right controller or the Menu () button on the left controller.

Select the "Direct Movement" option by pointing at it and pulling the trigger. Once this is selected, you must close the selector menu by pressing one of the buttons again.

Warning

Direct movement may cause moderate VR sickness. Again, if you feel unwell, please stop immediately and take off the headset.

Now, on the left controller, push the thumbstick in any direction.

What happened?

The left thumbstick controls your motion directly. If you are comfortable, try moving around a little more.

How do you feel?

Open the locomotion selector again and this time select the "Comfort Movement" option. Close the menu afterwards.

Now, using the left controller, try moving around again.

What is different about comfort movement?

If you are able, make your way over to the ramp and climb it:

Share the headset with your teammates and have them try navigating around, trying both direct movement and comfort movement. Compare and contrast the two movement methods.

As a team:

Do you experience any disorientation with either movement method?
Do you experience any nausea or vertigo?
Any other thoughts on direct and comfort movement?

With the direct movement method, you may feel like you are moving significantly despite not actually moving in the real world. This is called vection and it is the primary cause of VR sickness. You may experience some vertigo or discomfort.

With the comfort movement method, a vignette appears when you move.

Why do you think the vignette is there?

The vignette's goal is to reduce your field of view while moving. This reduces the optical flow, the apparent motion of objects and surfaces over time.

Overall, which was your favorite movement method in VR and why?

Submission

Click the Export as PDF button to create a PDF of your answers. Have one person upload it to Gradescope. After the PDF is uploaded, click the "View or edit group" link in the upper-right and add your teammates in the Gradescope assignment.