Using audio to train pace in a virtual environment

Abstract

Virtual reality has been used for training in multiple domains including military, healthcare and manufacturing. The integration of additional modalities (other than visual) is an ongoing research topic in virtual reality. This paper presents an experimental evaluation of the utility of using auditory cues to train temporal tasks (e.g., pace setting) in virtual training systems. There were four different auditory cues used for training pace: 1) a metronome, 2) non-spatial auditory earcons, 3) a spatialized auditory earcon, and 4) no audio. Sixty-eight people participated in the study. A pre- post between subjects' experimental design was used, with eight training trials. The measure used for assessing pace performance was the average deviation from a predetermined desired pace. The results demonstrated that a metronome was not effective in training participants to maintain a desired pace, while, spatial and non-spatial earcons were effective strategies for pace training. Moreover, an examination of post-training performance as compared to pre-training suggests some transfer of learning. Design guidelines were extracted for integrating auditory cues for pace training tasks in virtual environments.