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Investigating the Effect of Distractor Interactivity for Redirected Walking in Virtual Reality

Due to the mismatch in size between a Virtual Environment and the physical space available, the use of alternative locomotion techniques becomes necessary. In small spaces, Redirected Walking methods provide limited benefits and approaches such as the use of distractors can provide an alternative. Distractors are virtual elements or characters that attempt to catch the attention of the user while the system subtly steers them away from physical boundaries. In this research we explicitly focused on understanding how different levels of interactivity affect user performance and behaviour. We developed three types of continuous redirecting distractors, with varying levels of interaction possibilities, called Looking, Touching, and Interacting. We compared them in a user study to a discrete reorientation technique, called Stop and Reset, in a task requiring users to traverse a 30 m path. While discrete reorientation is faster, continuous redirection through distractors was significantly less noticeable. Results suggest that more complex interaction is preferred and able to better captivate user attention for longer.