TPVR: User interaction of third person virtual reality for new presence and experience

Abstract

This study proposes the interaction of third-person virtual reality (TPVR) to provide users with a new presence and experience during immersive virtual reality (VR). The proposed TPVR interaction consists of the ability to directly control the virtual environment and objects by utilizing the hands. For this purpose, this study defines the interaction of TPVR from three types: moving inside the virtual environment, selecting virtual objects and using a menu interface that includes a variety of functions and behaviors. Then, it designs its own experimental application that is able to systematically compare and analyze the proposed interaction against traditional first-person perspective VR. Finally, it examines whether the proposed interaction provides new presence and experience to users by conducting survey experiments. Through this process, this study was able to confirm not only that TPVR interaction can provide a sufficient presence, even in comparison with the first-person viewpoint, but also that it causes less VR sickness and offers a differentiated VR experience, suggesting that the proposed interaction can provide an alternative method for utilizing VR technology in a greater variety of fields.