Locomotion Interfaces for Virtual Reality
(funded in part by National Science Foundation grant 1816029):
Virtual environments are often larger than the physical space available for walking. To explore these spaces, VR users rely on locomotion interfaces such as teleporting, joystick movement, redirected movement, walking-in-place, or other travel techniques.
The Navigation Lab studies how locomotion interfaces affect spatial learning, user experience, disorientation, and cybersickness. Our goal is to understand how VR movement techniques can support effective navigation while reducing discomfort and confusion.
This research connects our work on human navigation, spatial cognition, virtual reality design, and cybersickness.
Teleporting and spatial learning
Teleporting is widely used in VR because it allows users to move through large virtual spaces without physically walking long distances. In a typical teleporting interface, the user points to a destination and is instantly transported there.
Although teleporting can make VR movement easier and may reduce some forms of discomfort, it can also disrupt spatial updating because users do not experience continuous self-motion through the environment. Our research examines how teleporting affects route learning, spatial memory, disorientation, and navigation performance.
- Cherep, L. A., Lim, A. F., Kelly, J. W., Acharya, D., Velasco, A., Bustamante, E., Ostrander, A., & Gilbert, S. B. (2020). Spatial cognitive implications of teleporting through virtual environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 26(3), 480-492. *2020 Nickerson Award for best paper in the journal
- Kelly, J. W., Hoover, M., Powell, N., & Gilbert, S. B. (2023). Teleporting through virtual environments: Benefits of navigational feedback and practice. Virtual Reality.
- Kelly, J. W., Hoover, M., Doty, T. A., Renner, A., Zimmerman, M., Knuth, K., Cherep, L. A., & Gilbert, S. B. (2022). Remote research on locomotion interfaces for virtual reality: Replication of a lab-based study on teleporting interfaces. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.
Locomotion interfaces and individual differences
Locomotion interfaces do not affect all users in the same way. Some users benefit from continuous movement cues, whereas others may prefer interfaces that reduce visual motion or simplify movement through the virtual environment.
Our work examines how individual differences shape the effectiveness of different locomotion techniques. This line of research is important for developing VR systems that can be personalized to support different users, tasks, and environments.
- Cherep, L. A., Kelly, J. W., Miller, A. J., Lim, A. F., & Gilbert, S. B. (2022). Individual differences in teleporting through virtual environments. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied.
- Kelly, J. W., & Gilbert, S. B. The effectiveness of locomotion interfaces depends on self-motion cues, environmental cues, and the individual.
Locomotion and cybersickness
Locomotion design is closely related to cybersickness. Interfaces that create strong visual motion without corresponding physical movement can increase discomfort for some users. Other design choices may reduce sickness but also affect spatial learning or user experience.
Our lab studies these tradeoffs to identify locomotion methods that support both comfort and spatial performance. Recent work examines mitigation tools such as field-of-view restriction and snap turning, which may reduce cybersickness during VR movement.
- Kelly, J. W., Doty, T. A., Gilbert, S. B., & Dorneich, M. C. Field of view restriction and snap turning as cybersickness mitigation tools. IEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics.
Current directions
Current projects examine how locomotion interfaces can be designed to balance spatial learning, usability, and comfort. This work overlaps with our broader research on navigation and spatial cognition, as well as our research on cybersickness, VR tolerance, and adaptation.
More broadly, this line of work aims to generate practical design principles for immersive virtual environments that are easier to navigate and more comfortable to use.