Roanoke
A V.R. Experience
With the beginnings of VR being severely disputed, mainly because of the difficulty of defining what VR is1, we are entering an era where VR usage is becoming more mainstream. Despite being used since the ’70s for military applications 2 and entertainment alike 4, the technology is becoming more accessible and useful for the regular consumer, with new head-mounted displays (HMDs) being launched every year or so and novel experiences being developed regularly ranging from immersive games to interactive movies. Clearly, the potential for VR will be only limited by one’s imagination. As one of the main applications of VR is the ability to transport oneself to anywhere the mind can think of, being able to relive history and experience it for yourself is an unparalleled way of learning for school. With that in mind, we created a way to experience one of the U.S.A.’s longest-standing mysteries: The Lost Colony of Roanoke.
Exploring Effects of Locomotion on Motion Sickness in VR Simulated Zero-G
Being able to simulate virtual environments and analyze participants' reactions to them is one of the best ways to allow trainees to experience space without having to leave Earth or rely on expensive training methods. In this study, we created a simulated maze-like environment with spatial audio and free movement with six degrees of freedom to simulate a space station, and study the effects of locomotion in zero gravity (zero-g) on motion sickness. To measure motion sickness, six users were either placed in a virtual bathysphere with different-sized "windshield" windows which allowed them to see the environment around them, or no bathysphere at all. They were assessed via the simulator sickness questionnaire (SSQ) to determine how they were affected. The SSQ has been extensively used in literature1 to track simulator motion sickness. Although our sample size was limited, we found a clear increase in motion sickness for users who did not have a bathysphere. Minimal difference in motion sickness was found between the two sizes of windshield for users with a bathysphere. We posit that these results are due to the fixed reference frame of the bathysphere interior providing a sense of grounding for the user. We desire to expand this study with an increase in user-numbers and an improved simulated environment.