Ramps are better than stairs to reduce cybersickness in applications based on a HMD and a Gamepad

We study ways to reduce cybersickness and improve the user's experience in virtual reality applications that use a HMD and a Gamepad as interaction devices. Our approach consists on a revision of the design space of such tasks in order to identify ways to minimize user's perceived movements. In this paper we concentrate on the task of navigation in realistic scenarios, such as the Tuscany Demo [12]. We performed three user studies in order to identify the most problematic issues in this scenario and the effects of geometry and interaction techniques in the overall experience, in particular in the task of moving up and down stairs. As a result of these studies, we propose the use of invisible ramps on top of stairs, in order to minimize users' perceived movements while moving through stairs and hence reduce users' discomfort.