The impact of locomotion techniques on user experience on virtual reality on light of different scene contrasts

Locomotion techniques are an important part of the virtual reality (VR) experience, as they enable a means of movement within simulated computer graphics. Studies have shown that locomotion techniques cause unpleasant effects related to cybersickness. In this article, we report on the results of a user study (N = 29) aimed to investigate and compare three types of locomotion techniques in VR in terms of their impact on cybersickness. The different locomotion techniques are tested in two different contrast scene settings, daytime and nighttime, to further explore the potential impact of scene contrast adjustments. For the evaluation of cybersickness, we used a questionnaire to obtain subjective ratings, and heart rate monitoring as an objective metric. Results show that a linear movement locomotion technique provokes the highest level of cybersickness, and that women have a higher heart rate as compared to men when navigating and interacting in a VR scene. Regarding the influence of scene contrast, results showed that scenes with daylight were better suited to participants in almost all tested scenarios. In addition to reported findings related to locomotion techniques and the impact on cybersickness, we highlight that a key contribution is the utilized test methodology.