Comparative Analysis of Artefact Interaction and Manipulation Techniques in VR Museums: A Study of Performance and User Experience
Yifan Wang, Yue Li, Hai‐Ning Liang
Abstract
For museums in Virtual Reality (VR), various interaction and manipulation techniques could be employed for users to engage with artefact interactions. This study examined four combinations of interaction (controller-based and hand-tracking) and manipulation (direct and indirect) techniques, assessing user performance and experience with these interaction techniques in a virtual museum environment. We conducted a within-subjects experiment and asked participants to perform a series of transform manipulation tasks using the four techniques. Participants’ task completion time was measured. They also provided feedback on acceptance, learnability, presence, sickness, and fatigue, and gave an overall ranking through post-experiment questionnaires and interviews. The results revealed that controller-based direct manipulation outperformed the other techniques in terms of task performance and user experience, with hand-tracking indirect manipulation being the least efficient and the least preferred option. The study offers insights for future research and development in refining interaction and manipulation techniques and designing more user-friendly VR museum experiences.