An educational physics laboratory in mobile versus room scale virtual reality - A comparative study

Abstract

Despite year-long efforts in education, studying and understanding physical phenomena still proves to be a challenge to both learners and educators. However, with the current rise of Virtual Reality experiences, interactive immersive simulations in 3D are becoming a promising tool with great potential to enhance and support traditional classroom setups and experiences in an engaging and immersive way. The paper describes the evaluation of the physics laboratory Maroon presented on two distinct VR setups: First, a mobile and cost-efficient but simpler VR experience with the Samsung GEAR and second, a more interactive room scale experience with the HTC VIVE. First results of both preliminary empirical studies indicate that the VIVE environment increases user interactivity and engagement whereas the GEAR setup benefits from portability and better flexibility. In this paper we discuss device-specific design aspects and provide a comparison focusing on aspects such as immersion, engagement, presence and motivation.