A Low-Cost Test Environment for Usability Studies of Head-Mounted Virtual Reality Systems

There is a need to develop new usability testing environments and methodologies for unconventional interactive systems. Pursuant to that need, we developed a low-cost test environment for a Head-Mounted Display (HMD)-based, virtual reality system called Osmose. Osmose was difficult to test for many reasons, one of which was its style of interaction. We began setting up the testing environment about two weeks before the start of the usability testing. We learned many lessons throughout the experience. This paper summarizes the study findings, both methodological -how to setup and conduct a usability lab for such an environment -as well as conceptual -the human experiences and behavioral patterns involved in using an immersive environment.