Although virtual reality (VR) head-mounted displays (HMD) have been in use since the mid-1960s, the surge in public awareness and access to VR had spurred an increased interest in all industries to investigate the potential of VR as an interaction modality associated with high subjective presence. Many challenges need to be addressed through the disciplined application of research methods, especially combating VR sickness, if this potential is to be realised. This Engineering Doctorate thesis reports a series of investigations within the context of real-world development with a partner company (BMT Defence Service, a naval engineering consultant). The primary interest of the thesis is in the potential of VR for developing cases and uses for this technology in training. The target modality of training was a portable set-up, i.e. sitting down with a laptop, HMD and a game controller. This set up would prove beneficial for providing axillary training to personnel who are not always able to receive regular on-board training. It would also prepare people for situations which are difficult to simulate in real-world conditions. Example cases included familiarisation, line of sight tests, hazard recognition and evacuation procedures. An initial study of VR HMD experience in training scenario highlighted VR sickness as a key limiting factor for usability thus focusing the research on identifying and reducing the factors which induce VR sickness. Prior research suggest that static field of view restrictions could help but only at the cost of loss of presence. There were no reported studies of the effects of restricting the field of view dynamically thus this thesis presents two investigations of dynamic Field of View (FOV) constriction triggered by movement in a virtual space. It was hypothesised that a reduction in FOV reduced the induction of VR sickness. The problem with doing so however was that it may negatively influence presence as the change in FOV could distract the user. This thesis reports the development of a method for adjusting FOV to reduce simulator VR without loss of presence. Two dynamic FOV constriction studies are reported. The first failed to demonstrate a clear effect but subjective user reports suggested methodological and experiential issues in its design. Meanwhile, research into a similar method was published at the 3DUI Symposium at IEEE VR 2016. Fernandes \& Feiner (2016) \cite{DynamicFOV_Feiner16}, who demonstrated that dynamic FOV constriction can reduce VR sickness without compromising presence. However, their work used interaction scenarios with normal walking in an unchallenging virtual environment. Users were not subject to the types of motion which literature suggests are most likely to induce sickness. Consequently, the second DFOV constriction study tested VR sickness reduction in more discomforting situations via involuntary movements and animations on the virtual character and camera. Many of these animations and movements are typical in first-person applications and yet are absent from VR applications. These include for example head-bobbing, falling animations, stumbling, and forward rolls. The aim was to test whether DFOV constriction could allow VR developers to include such facets in future development. It showed that extreme movements still generate VR sickness, despite the use of DFOV constriction, but subjective reports suggest some users appear to benefit. Further research is recommended on introducing user control to the extent of DFOV manipulation. The thesis concludes with an evaluation of the state-of-the-art in DFOV constriction as a general approach to immersive VR interactions, including how the human vestibular system may limit DFOV effectiveness as a means of controlling VR sickness.

Museum Anna Nordlander is a part of Skelleftea Museum and focuses on the artist Anna Nordlander. ˚ The goal of the project was to develop a VR Experience centered around Anna Nordlander and one of her paintings. The content for the experience was provided and recorded by the people at Museum Anna Nordlander. The purpose was to create a playable demo with features like audio playback, interactable objects, and a modular approach to the code which would allow future additions to the project. This paper investigates how some of the design choices affects the user experience. Specifically, how our choices affect the users physically, how prevalent certain symptoms common in VR are in the product. To gather the necessary data both the Oculus GO and the Oculs Qust were tested. The user tests showed that room scale tracking is an important feature to reduce user discomfort and nausea, and teleportation style movement is not a good solution while using the Oculus GO. The end result is a playable demo containing all the content provided to the developers and all the requested features. The demo is also intended to be modular and easy to expand upon in the future. / Museum Anna Nordlander är en del av Skellefteå Museum och är inriktat på konstnären Anna Nordlander. Målet med projektet var att utveckla en VR upplevelse centrerad kring Anna Nordlander och en av hennes konstverk. Innehållet i upplevelsen spelades in och skickades till utvecklarna från Museum Anna Nordlander. Syftet var att skapa ett spelbart demo med funktioner som ljuduppspelning, interagerbara objekt, och en modulärt tillvägagångssätt vilket skule tillåta framtida tillskott till projektet. Denna artikel använder sig också av användartester för att undersöka hur några av designvalen påverkar användarupplevelsen. Specifikt sett hur våra val påverkar användarna fysikt, hur prevalent vanliga VR-symptom är i produkten. För att samla in den nödvändiga datan gjordes tester med både Oculus GO och Oculus Quest. Användartesterna visade att room-scale tracking är en viktig function för att minska obehag och illamående bland användarna, och att rörelse genom teleportering inte är en bra lösning för Oculus GO. Resultatet är ett spelbart demo som innehåller allt innehåll som utvecklarna fick samt alla funktioner som efterfrågades. Projektet är också tänkt att vara modulärt och lätt att fortsätta arbeta på i framtiden.

Den här studien undersöker i vilken grad 360° video betraktad i en HMD kan ha för livskvalitetshöjande effekt på boende inom äldreomsorgen i Malmö. Ensamhet och depression är ett av de vanligaste hälsoproblemen bland personer över 65 år idag. En av anledningarna till detta är fysiska och psykiska hinder som minskar möjligheterna för dem att kontinuerligt delta i sociala sammanhang och få ett miljöbyte. Med 360° video kan vad som helst upplevas och med en HMD kan känslan av att vara närvarande på platsen förstärkas. Med hjälp av denna teknik har ett prototyptest utförts på 2 olika äldreboende i Malmö där 9 stycken deltagare har fått testa att betrakta 360° video i en HMD, i form av olika utflyktsmål i Malmö som har skapats som prototyp i denna studie. Utifrån observationer, ”think-aloud”-tekniken och enkätsvar har slutsatserna kunnat dras att prototyptestet behöver göras under en längre period för att påvisa ett säkert resultat om vilken livshöjande effekt 360° video kan ha på de boende. Resultatet av testet kunde även påvisa en ökad positivitet om deltagarna fick se en plats de besökt tidigare. / This study examines the degree to which 360 ° video viewed in an HMD can have a life-quality enhancing effect on residents of elderly care in Malmö. Loneliness and depression are one of the most common health problems today among people with an age over 65. One of the reasons for this is physical and mental barriers that reduces the opportunities for them to continuously participate in social contexts and get an environmental change. With 360° video, anything can be experienced and with an HMD the feeling of being present on the site can be enhanced. With the help of this technique, a prototype test has been performed on 2 different retirement homes in Malmö where 9 participants have been tested to view 360° video in an HMD, in the form of various excursion destinations in Malmö that have been created as a prototype in this study. Based on observations, think-aloud technology and questionnaire responses, the conclusions have been drawn that the test needs to be done for a longer period to be able to demonstrate a safe result on which life-enhancing effect 360° video can have on the residents. The result of the test could also show an increased positivity if the participants saw a place they visited in the past.