Goal

Improve usability of the Virtusphere — a semi-natural VR locomotion device — by designing a visual aid that helps users acclimate to its unfamiliar forces and movement dynamics before using it independently.

Challenge

• The Virtusphere presents itself as a natural walking interface, but its inertia and curved surface create forces fundamentally different from real walking — causing users to lose balance, fall, and struggle with control

• Prior work showed training can help, but no targeted visual intervention had been tested

Approach

• Designed a virtual sphere overlay (inspired by Super Monkey Ball) that rotates in sync with the device, reframing the mental model from "walking" to "rolling a ball"

• Tested with 24 participants (13F, 11M) in a between-subjects design: 12 used the visual aid during acclimation, 12 did not

• Both groups then completed identical assessment courses without the visual aid, measuring transfer of learning

• Measured virtual falls, completion time, physical falls, perceived difficulty, and simulator sickness

My Role

Lead researcher responsible for visual cue design, experiment design, study execution, and analysis.

Key Findings

• Visual cue group had 35% fewer virtual falls on average (1.96 vs. 3.04 per course, p=0.0017)

• Significantly lower perceived difficulty in assessment tasks after acclimation with visual cue (p=0.044)

• No negative effects on walking speed or physical balance

• Despite the performance benefit, most users disliked the visual cue — describing it as distracting and obstructive, earning it the nickname "vegetable cue"

• Key insight: effective onboarding aids don't need to be preferred by users to meaningfully improve performance