Auditory, Vibrotactile, or Visual? Investigating the Effective Feedback Modalities to Improve Standing Balance in Immersive Virtual Reality for People with Balance Impairments Due to Type 2 Diabetes
M. Rasel Mahmud, Alberto Cordova, John Quarles
Abstract
Immersive Virtual Reality (VR) users often experience difficulties with maintaining their balance. This issue poses a significant challenge to the widespread usability and accessibility of VR, particularly for individuals with balance impairments. Previous studies have confirmed the existence of balance problems in VR, but little attention has been given to addressing them. To investigate the impact of different feedback modalities (auditory, vibrotactile, and visual) on balance in immersive VR, we conducted a study with 50 participants, consisting of 25 individuals with balance impairments due to type 2 diabetes and 25 without balance impairments. Participants were asked to perform standing reach and grasp tasks. Our findings indicated that auditory and vibrotactile techniques improved balance significantly (p<.001) in immersive VR for participants with and without balance impairments, while visual techniques only improved balance significantly for participants with balance impairments. Also, auditory and vibrotactile feedback techniques improved balance significantly more than visual techniques. Spatial auditory feedback outperformed other conditions significantly for all people. This study presents implementations and comparisons of potential strategies that can be implemented in future VR environments to enhance standing balance and promote the broader adoption of VR.