A Pilot Study for Measuring the Usability and User-Experience of Immersive Virtual Reality Navigation Methods

Virtual reality is a sub-category of extended reality and is a fast-growing technology which enables users to immerse themselves in a digitally generated world, known as a virtual environment. However, virtual reality is not without its flaws, of which the current biggest flaw is that of cybersickness. cybersickness is a type of motion sickness causing feelings of dizziness, nausea and other symptoms which are induced by the use of technology. To test the effects of an omnidirectional treadmill compared to virtual reality touch controllers on the onset of cybersickness, as part of a usability and user experience evaluation of the two navigation methods, a pilot study was conducted to inform future research. The pilot study not only served its initial purpose but gave an indication that an omnidirectional treadmill might assist some, be it not all, users to mitigate the effects of cybersickness when compared to using touch controllers, while also being usable and providing a satisfying user experience.