The Effect of Interactivity on Learning Physical Actions in Virtual Reality

TLDR

Virtual reality provides novel opportunities for learning physical movements, such as those required in physical therapy and exercise. This study investigates how VR’s interactivity—specifically capturing and reviewing motion and rendering a real‑time third‑person avatar—enhances learning of physical actions. Two experiments employed a state‑of‑the‑art image‑based tele‑immersive system that tracks and renders many degrees of freedom in real time, with Experiment 2 adding a virtual mirror to expose participants to additional viewpoints. Participants reported better learning in VR than in a video condition in Experiment 1, attributed to stereoscopic third‑person avatar viewing, and achieved superior objective performance in VR versus video in Experiment 2. The study discusses broader implications for learning through interactive digital media.

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) offers new possibilities for learning, specifically for training individuals to perform physical movements such as physical therapy and exercise. The current article examines two aspects of VR that uniquely contribute to media interactivity: the ability to capture and review physical behavior and the ability to see one's avatar rendered in real time from third person points of view. In two studies, we utilized a state-of-the-art, image-based tele-immersive system, capable of tracking and rendering many degrees of freedom of human motion in real time. In Experiment 1, participants learned better in VR than in a video learning condition according to self-report measures, and the cause of the advantage was seeing one's avatar stereoscopically in the third person. In Experiment 2, we added a virtual mirror in the learning environment to further leverage the ability to see oneself from novel angles in real time. Participants learned better in VR than in video according to objective performance measures. Implications for learning via interactive digital media are discussed.