ACU Undergraduate Research Festival: DET Style
The ACU Undergraduate Research Festival is a coming together of the curious minds that inhabit ACU’s undergraduate student body in order to display the results of intensive research on various subjects. Everything from a deadly disease inhabiting monarch butterflies to an exploration of attitudes towards sexual crimes was explored this time around and the Digital Entertainment Technology department decided to throw their hat in the mix!
Dakota Matthews (left), Donte Payne (center), and Dr. Brian Burton assist in setting up the VR setup for the presentation.
With many scientific ventures available to explore, two DET students decided to tackle a subject very much up their alley. The interests of Lauren Mullen, a junior, and Austin Handcock, a senior, were piqued at the idea of exploring motion sickness in a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation and possible solutions to this problem. Based on an idea he had heard about, Austin set to work creating a movement system he believed would be the solution to this problem.
Virtual Campus in action!
Up until that point, most VR games and simulations relied on two types of movement: one where the player points to a location and teleports, and another where the player would move around through the use of an input stick or directional pad. The problem here was that many who used these modes of control often came out of the experience worse for wear due to motion sickness. Austin believed this problem to be caused by, ironically, the player’s lack of control over their own actions. In an incredibly immersive environment such as VR, the brain can be easily fooled into thinking that what it is seeing is gospel. With the environment constantly moving around but the player remaining essentially motionless, the disconnect becomes to much for the brain to handle. The side effect from this confusion causes the player to become nauseous (think about any time you have read a book on a long car ride, or flown around in an airplane).
Lauren Mullen (left) and Austin Handcock (right) on presentation day!
Enter Austin Handcock and Lauren Mullen. Intrigued by the phenomenon, Austin developed a solution that involved the player being more actively involved in their in-game movement. Austin’s control scheme involves three major shifts from conventional VR controls. First off, he removed the teleportation element altogether. As such, instant shifts in location and the disorientation that came with it were removed from the equation. Second, player’s main movement came from “waggling” the controls. Basically, the player can press a button on each of the two controllers to let the system know that he is walking. The player then moves his arms around to mimic a running motion (think old school batman).
Ah…simpler times.
Now this may sound silly (and the image the clip above invokes probably doesn’t help either), but the results tell a promising story. Third, players have the option to jump by doing a skiing motion while holding down a different button. This same button allows players to climb up walls by “grabbing” them and emulating a climbing motion. It seems that by allowing players to directly influence their in-game movement with similar real life movement Austin has decreased the disconnect in the mind discussed earlier and lessened, if not eliminated, the impact the all too familiar VR motion sickness.
Mattew Middlebrook testing out an early version of the Virtual Campus.
But Austin was not alone in this endeavor. Throughout the project, it seems that the stereotype of the unorganized programmer held true to a certain degree. Fortunately, Austin had Lauren at his side to keep things somewhat on track throughout the project’s lifespan. By assisting in creating the virtual environment for the demonstration and creating the presentation aids, the project, in many ways, would not have come to life without Lauren’s vital assistance.
Lauren Mullen ready to present!
What did we learn in the end? Player interaction is vital in keeping VR users happy and healthy! Keep it up Austin and Lauren! And be sure and look forward to seeing this research show up in the future of VR simulation.
If you would like your digital work displayed on the ACU blog, shoot me an email at dlp14c@acu.edu and I’ll feature it here. Any digital works count (art, animations, 3D models)! If you made it on a computer, we’ll feature it here. Please be sure to include your name, enrollment level (freshman, sophomore, etc.), name of the work, and throw in a little interesting fact about yourself so the community can get to know you better. Keep on creating!
To get involved in the DET community, be sure to drop by DET Club on Thursday nights at 6:30pm in Mabee Business Building, Room 316 to connect with other members of the community!
Drake Pamplin
Sophomore DET Major
Vice President of the DET Club