Wearing a virtual reality head-mounted display (VR-HMD) disconnects users from the real- world context that they are physically in. While one solution is to have everyone in the room wear VR-HMDs, this is not inclusive for all users. For example, children are not recommended to wear VR-HMDs due to eyesight concerns, and individuals with cybersickness, make-up, or thick hair texture may not want to wear them. In this thesis, we investigated the effects of using motion-tracked tablets as a window through which people can see the virtual world and understand how we can offer a more inclusive and social VR experience. Finally, we explore our in-lab user study to evaluate the usability of such a system, and we compare it against watching the VR-HMD user's egocentric view on a computer screen. Our results show that the tablet-based VR system is highly usable. Because of its agency, the participants felt more present and preferred the tablet-based system over the baseline method. / Master of Science / Wearing a VR-HMD (Virtual Reality Head Mounted Display) to enter VR (Virtual reality) usually cuts the user off from the real-world context around them. One possible solution to this problem is to let everyone wear VR-HMDs. But it is not feasible for everyone. Some individuals experience cybersickness or physical constraints such as glasses, thick hair, or makeup. Additionally, children are not allowed to wear VR-HMD as it may affect their eyesight. We propose a solution to this problem by enabling users to use motion-tracked tablets. Motion-tracked tablets refer to tablets such as iPad, Galaxy Tab, etc., that are tracked inside a Virtual Environment (VE) using trackers such as Vive Tracker. The trackers track the relative location of the tablet inside the VE. We believe motion-tracked tablets will give the users a window to the VE. In this thesis, we investigated the effects of using motion-tracked tablets in VR to understand how we can offer a more inclusive and social VR experience. We explored how useful the users found the system, how situationally aware they were about the VE, and how present they felt in the VE. Our results show a preference for motion-tracked tablets over the egocentric view of the VR-HMD user through a computer screen.

Approved for public release, distribution is unlimited / Once the military helicopter pilot deploys aboard a naval vessel he leaves behind all training platforms, short of the actual aircraft, that present enough fidelity for him to maintain the highest levels of readiness. To that end, this thesis takes a preliminary step in creating a trainer that places the pilot in an immersive and familiar environment to exercise myriad piloting tasks as faithfully and as rigorously as in actual flight. The focus of this thesis it to assess the viability of an chromakeyed augmented virtual environment (ChrAVE) trainer embedded into a helicopter for use in maintaining certain perishable skills. Specifically this thesis will address the task of helicopter low-level land navigation. The ChrAVE was developed to substantiate the viability of having embedded trainers in helicopters. The ChrAVE is comprised of commercial off the shelf (COTS) equipment on a transportable cart. In determining whether a system such as the ChrAVE is viable as a laboratory for continued training in virtual environment, the opinion of actual pilots that were tasked with realistic workloads was used. Additionally, empirical data was collected and evaluated according to the subject pool's thresholds for acceptable low-level navigation performance. / Captain, United States Marine Corps