Studying the Inter-Relation Between Locomotion Techniques and Embodiment in Virtual Reality

Virtual embodiment and navigation are two topics widely studied in the virtual reality community. Despite the potential inter-relation between embodiment and locomotion, studies on virtual navigation rarely supply users with a virtual representation, while studies on virtual embodiment rarely allow users to virtually navigate. This paper therefore explores this potential inter-relation by focusing on the two following questions: Does the locomotion technique have an impact on the user’s sense of embodiment? Does embodying an avatar have an impact on the user’s preference and performance depending on the locomotion technique?To address these questions, we conducted a user study (N=60) exploring the relationship between the locomotion technique and the user’s sense of embodiment over a virtual avatar seen from a first-person perspective. Three widely used locomotion techniques were evaluated: real walking, walking-in-place and virtual steering. All participants performed four different tasks involving a different awareness of their virtual avatar. Participants also performed the same tasks without being embodied in an avatar. The results show that participants had a comparable sense of embodiment with all techniques when embodied in an avatar, and that the presence or absence of the virtual avatar did not alter their performance while navigating, independently of the technique. Taken together, our results represent a first attempt to qualify the inter-relation between virtual navigation and virtual embodiment, and suggest that the 3D locomotion technique used has little influence on the user’s sense of embodiment in VR.

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