Papers for

vr developers

Papers whose findings have a practical use for this group, as judged from the abstract. Open a paper to read what it means in practice.

Social robots combine speech vision and touch in virtual reality

Multimodal Socially Aware Framework for Human-Robot Interaction in Virtual Reality

Abstract: Social robots must coordinate speech and movement while interpreting multimodal human input. We present a multimodal framework that integrates speech, vision, and touch to generate contextually appropriate robot speech and movement. We evaluated the framework in virtual reality with 18 participants across five social interaction scenarios, comparing its performance against a human-teleoperated baseline. Although participants rated the autonomous system above the neutral midpoint for both naturalness and social appropriateness, the teleoperated baseline received significantly higher ratings on both measures. Behavioral coding and qualitative feedback revealed that conversational timing, clarification of ambiguous requests, and spatial coordination were important factors contributing to this performance gap. These findings highlight key challenges in developing autonomous robots capable of natural, multimodal social interaction.

Sun 25 OctRobotics
The gist
It is hard for robots to interact naturally with people because they need to understand speech, sight, and touch all at once. The authors created a system that helps robots do this in virtual reality by coordinating their words and movements based on what they see, hear, and feel. When tested with people, the system was somewhat natural but not as good as a human controlling the robot directly. The study shows that timing, clarifying unclear requests, and space coordination are big challenges for autonomous social robots.
Open → 2610.34534v1

Lab eye-tracking data converted for better VR authentication

Measurement-Guided Conversion of Laboratory Eye-Tracking Data for VR Authentication

Abstract: Eye-movement authentication in virtual reality (VR) needs longitudinal training data, yet most such datasets come from lab trackers. We convert lab recordings to a VR headset's signal quality while keeping their eye movement, using only unpaired VR recordings of other people. Measurements show that the headset's added noise dominates above 7.8 Hz and that its quality is consistent within a person. A parametric device model re-creates the headset's sampling, a person-consistent calibration error and spectrally shaped noise, and a frequency-locked diffusion renderer re-textures that high-frequency noise. Converted GazeBase recordings match GazeBaseVR in noise level and accuracy, keep their source's saccade dynamics, and are harder to tell from real VR data than two prior conversions. An authenticator trained only on converted data verifies unseen VR users at a 5.9% equal error rate with 45 s of gaze, close to real VR training (5.8%); with 5 s, a gap remains.

Wed 21 OctHuman-Computer Interaction
The gist
Eye movement can be used to unlock virtual reality (VR) devices, but training this technology needs lots of data taken inside VR, which is hard to get. The authors found a way to change eye-tracking data collected in a lab to look like it was recorded by a VR headset. Their method keeps the important eye movement details while adding the right amount of VR-like noise and errors. This lets systems learn to recognize users in VR more accurately without needing much real VR data.
Open → 2610.30032v1

Vr movement smoothing framework improves balance during locomotion

Sensing Instability, Adapting the Scene: A Real-Time Movement-Smoothing Design Framework for Stable VR Locomotion

Abstract: Users experience different balance challenges while standing, walking, and turning in virtual reality (VR), yet most locomotion techniques apply the same visual behavior regardless of movement state. We present a real-time movement-smoothing design framework in this paper that organizes visual adaptations according to movement-specific balance demands. The framework introduces three design strategies targeting standing, walking, and turning, illustrating how state-aware visual adaptations can support postural stability during locomotion. This paper focuses on the framework design and implementation, while a user study is planned as future work. Our work guides the development of future context-aware VR locomotion systems that better support safe and comfortable navigation.

Wed 30 SeptHuman-Computer Interaction
The gist
Moving in virtual reality can make users feel unsteady or off balance, especially when standing, walking, or turning. The authors created a system that changes what you see in VR depending on how you move, to help keep your balance better. They designed special visual changes for each movement type to make VR walking and turning feel more stable. They have built the system but haven’t tested it with users yet. Their work aims to make future VR experiences safer and more comfortable.
Open → 2610.00643v1

Directional sound reduces cognitive load and improves VR navigation safety

C-LISTEN: Cognitive Load Impacts of Sensory-Triggered Environmental Navigation in Virtual Reality

Abstract: Nowadays, Virtual Reality (VR) systems are more helpful for making decisions, training, and rehabilitation. Multimodal settings in these systems impose a significant balance and cognitive difficulties. Additionally, decreased performance, higher cognitive load, user overwhelm, and limited accessibility of VR technology can be caused by excessive auditory, visual, and sensory stimulation. In our pilot study, we examine the strategic design of directional auditory cues to improve cognitive load and enhance user experience in virtual environments. This research also enhances fundamental knowledge that auditory feedback reduces cognitive load in VR, with statistical analysis confirming this improvement (p = .0011). This study investigates how postural balance and pupil diameter correlate with cognitive load while the users navigate. Moreover, this study provides realistic overview design guidelines for accessibility, which will make VR experiences safer and more useful for everyone, including people with cognitive impairments.

Tue 29 SeptHuman-Computer Interaction
The gist
Virtual reality can be overwhelming because it uses lots of sights and sounds at once, making it hard to think clearly. The authors studied how adding smart sound cues that guide users can help lower the mental effort needed when moving around in VR. They found that these sounds actually reduce cognitive load, making the experience easier and safer, especially for people who may have cognitive challenges. They also measured how balance and pupil size relate to mental effort during VR navigation.
Open → 2609.38589v1

RodCast shows trade offs in complex VR object manipulation

Beyond Task Performance: Lessons Learned from Evaluating an Exploratory VR Interaction Technique

Abstract: Dense virtual environments present significant challenges for object selection and manipulation, motivating the development of novel interaction techniques. This paper presents RodCast as an exploratory case study to investigate explicit trajectory visualization for interaction in dense virtual environments. We conducted a within-subjects user study comparing RodCast with Go-Go Hand and FlowerCone across three representative interaction tasks using objective performance measures, subjective evaluations, and qualitative feedback. The results revealed that the proposed implementation incurred performance costs on more demanding manipulation tasks, while qualitative feedback suggested that participants attributed these challenges to the complexity of the bimanual control scheme. Additionally, subjective evaluations and qualitative feedback identified benefits in spatial awareness and target accessibility that were not fully reflected by conventional performance measures. Together, these findings highlight the importance of control simplicity in interaction technique design and emphasize that incorporating qualitative feedback into the evaluation process is essential for distinguishing implementation limitations from the potential of the interaction concept. Collectively, these lessons provide guidance for the design and evaluation of future interaction techniques.

Mon 21 SeptHuman-Computer Interaction
The gist
Manipulating objects in crowded virtual worlds is tricky. This paper studies RodCast, a new VR method that shows hand paths to help users interact. Compared to existing methods, RodCast made some tasks harder due to its two-handed controls but helped users better understand space and reach targets. The authors highlight that simple controls matter and that user opinions reveal benefits missed by only looking at task speed or errors. Their work suggests designers should combine task data with user feedback to improve VR tools.
Open → 2609.25414v1