Event Date
Abstract
Virtual reality offers immersive experiences, but enabling users to move effectively and comfortably through virtual worlds remains a fundamental challenge. This talk presents a decade of research from my lab on virtual locomotion, with a focus on reducing VR sickness while maintaining performance and spatial understanding. I will cover walking-based approaches, including hands-free and embodied locomotion, as well as techniques such as field-of-view restriction and optic flow manipulation to mitigate discomfort, including findings on gender differences in VR sickness and navigation performance. A central focus will be on teleportation, examining how design variations and improvements to teleportation techniques influence navigation behavior, spatial awareness, and performance. I will also highlight recent work in VR first-person shooter games, where locomotion choices directly impact gameplay outcomes in multiplayer environments.
Bio
I am a Professor and Department Chair of Computer Science and Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno and Director of the Human-Computer Interaction Lab. Over the past decade, my research has focused on virtual reality, within the broader areas of human computer interaction and accessibility, building on earlier work in software engineering, assistive technology, and augmented and mixed reality. I study virtual locomotion in VR, aiming to enable efficient navigation in large environments while preserving presence and reducing VR sickness. My work has been supported by the NSF, NIH, Microsoft, Google, and Mozilla. Outside of work, I enjoy mountain biking, snowboarding, anime, and CrossFit.