Navigation in immersive virtual reality: a comparison of 1:1 walking to 1:1 wheeling

In most virtual reality (VR) experiences, locomotion is not the primary objective. Yet how someone moves through a virtual environment (VE) has a profound impact on their experience. Extant research considers 1:1 walking, where the same movement a user makes in the real world is translated identically into movement in the virtual world, as the paragon of comfortable VR locomotion. However, this form of locomotion is not practical in most applications and remains inaccessible to non-ambulant persons using VR. In the current study, 1:1 walking was compared to 1:1 wheeling, whereby pushes made on a physical wheelchair translated directly into movement in the VE. User experience in 1:1 walking was compared to 1:1 wheeling through changes in self-reported positive and negative affect, simulator sickness, system usability, and presence. Participants’ ability to learn a complex VE in the two conditions was also assessed with a spatial updating task. These comparisons revealed no statistically significant differences. This finding challenges the prevailing assumption that 1:1 walking in VR is superior to all other locomotion techniques and serves as an appeal for VR developers to consider designing applications for a seated experience that is safe, comfortable, and accessible to a broader population of people with diverse needs.