Transitioning - In Car VR
UX Design and VR Development
Overview
What is the Transitioning Project?
The Transitioning project series investigates what needs arise in passengers and how a positive user experience can be achieved when virtual reality experiences are integrated into vehicles. Since passengers want to be aware of some stimuli or disruptions (e.g. phone call, emergency situation) in VR while traveling, the project explores which stimuli are relevant and how they can be integrated into virtuality without destroying the immersion. We distinguish between explicit and implicit representations. The explicit ones are implemented by pop-ups and are easy to understand, but overlay the VR world. The implicit ones are implemented by metaphorical objects and are less disturbing to the immersion, but are also more difficult to understand. The aim is to find out which type of representation is better suited for in car VR in which situation. If you want to know more about the project click here to visit the first iteration.
What happend in this project iteration?
In the 3rd iteration, 25 people experienced two VR scenarios, the forest of calm and the Space Invaders game. The special aspect of this study was that the subjects were able to experience scenarios inside a car with a head mounted display. Movements in the virtual world were synchronized with the movements of the driving car.
In the user study, new stimuli (e.g., car horn signal, WhatsApp message) were integrated into both scenarios. In line with the research question, subjects were asked to evaluate which influences are important in VR and whether they prefer an explicit or implicit representation.
My Role
In the project team, I was responsible for the software development of the VR scenarios in Unity and the management of the in-car integration. In addition, I developed an UX concept for the explicit and implicit representations.
Highlights
- User study with 25 subjects
- Functional Unity prototype
- In-car VR integration
Timeline
January 2022 - May 2022