Session: CIE-31-01 VARE User Experience (UX) and Human-Machine Interaction

Paper Number: 192748

192748 - Exploring the Impact of the Combination of Haptic Gloves and VR Treadmills on Presence and Usability of a Virtual Reality Experience 

Virtual reality (VR) installations increasingly employ advanced haptic and locomotion technologies to enhance immersion, yet their combined impact on user experience remains underexplored. This paper investigates how haptic gloves and a VR treadmill, used independently and in combination, affect presence and usability in VR. A within-subjects experiment involving 162 participants was conducted in a virtual jewelry museum, comparing four interaction conditions: haptic-mediated interaction with treadmill-mediated locomotion, haptic-mediated interaction with controller-mediated locomotion, controller-mediated interaction with treadmill-mediated locomotion, and controller-mediated interaction with controller-mediated locomotion. Presence and usability were assessed using the Igroup Presence Questionnaire (IPQ) and the System Usability Scale (SUS), and statistical analyses were performed to evaluate differences between conditions. The results revealed significant differences across conditions. The fully controller-based configuration achieved the highest presence (median = 3.86) and usability (median SUS = 77.50). Conditions involving haptic gloves showed significantly lower usability scores (median SUS = 71.25–72.50) compared to controller-mediated interaction, while significant differences in presence emerged only between the fully controller-based and fully haptic and treadmill conditions. These findings indicate that interaction modality and device usability play a critical role in shaping perceived presence, suggesting that increasing technological realism through additional haptic and locomotion interfaces does not necessarily improve user experience. The study highlights the importance of prioritizing usability when integrating advanced interaction technologies in VR applications. 

Presenting Author: Thomas Agostinelli Università Politecnica delle Marche

Presenting Author Biography: n/a