Exploring the Relative Effects of Body Position and Locomotion Method on Presence and Cybersickness when Navigating a Virtual Environment

Abstract

The primary goals of this research are to strengthen the understanding of the mechanisms underlying presence and cybersickness in relation to the body position and locomotion method when navigating a virtual environment (VE). In this regard, we compared two body positions (standing and sitting) and four locomotion methods (steering + embodied control [EC], steering + instrumental control [IC], teleportation + EC, and teleportation + IC) to examine the association between body position, locomotion method, presence, and cybersickness in VR. The results of a two-way ANOVA revealed a main effect of locomotion method on presence, with the sense of presence significantly lower for the steering + IC condition. However, there was no main effect of body position on presence, nor was there an interaction between body position and locomotion method. For cybersickness, nonparametric tests were used due to non-normality. The results of Mann-Whitney U tests indicated a statistically significant effect of body position on cybersickness. In particular, the level of cybersickness was significantly higher for a standing position than for a sitting position. In addition, the results of Kruskal-Wallis tests revealed that the locomotion method had a meaningful effect on cybersickness, with participants in the steering conditions feeling stronger symptoms of cybersickness than those in the teleportation conditions. Overall, this study confirmed the relationship between body position, locomotion method, presence, and cybersickness when navigating a VE.