Working All Day in VR Does Not Increase Productivity, Comfort or Wellbeing, Study Says (inavateonthenet.net) 83
A new study from Germany has found that working in virtual reality does not increase productivity, comfort, or wellbeing, but does say the report will help identify opportunities for improving the experience of working in VR in the future. From a report: The project was headed by Dr Jens Grubert, a specialist in human-computer interaction at Coburg University, Germany. It involved 16 people who had to work for five days, eight hours a week (with 45 mins lunch break), in VR. The participants used Meta Quest 2 VR headsets combined with a Logitech K830 keyboard and Chrome Remote Desktop. The equipment was chosen specifically to create a realistic scenario of what users would be using in today's world.
Participants were also asked specific VR-related questions ('do you feel sick?' or 'are your eyes starting to hurt?'). The research team also monitored the worker's heartbeats and typing speed. The published paper, entitled 'Quantifying the Effects of Working in VR for One Week' found "concerning levels of simulator sickness, below average usability ratings and two participants dropped out on the first day using VR, due to migraine, nausea and anxiety." The study found that, as expected, VR results in significantly worse ratings across most measures. Each test subject scored their VR working experience versus working in a physical environment, many felt their task load had increased, on average by 35%. Frustration was by 42%, the 'negative affect' was up 11%, and anxiety rose by 19%. Mental wellbeing decreased by 20%., eye strain rose 48%, and VR ranked 36% lower on usability. Participants' self-rated workflow went down by 14% and their perceived productivity dropped by 16%.
Participants were also asked specific VR-related questions ('do you feel sick?' or 'are your eyes starting to hurt?'). The research team also monitored the worker's heartbeats and typing speed. The published paper, entitled 'Quantifying the Effects of Working in VR for One Week' found "concerning levels of simulator sickness, below average usability ratings and two participants dropped out on the first day using VR, due to migraine, nausea and anxiety." The study found that, as expected, VR results in significantly worse ratings across most measures. Each test subject scored their VR working experience versus working in a physical environment, many felt their task load had increased, on average by 35%. Frustration was by 42%, the 'negative affect' was up 11%, and anxiety rose by 19%. Mental wellbeing decreased by 20%., eye strain rose 48%, and VR ranked 36% lower on usability. Participants' self-rated workflow went down by 14% and their perceived productivity dropped by 16%.
Why would it? (Score:5, Insightful)
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I see potential in products that give you virtual monitors. We went through everyone adding a second or third monitor to their PC over the past decade.. when you can put on a pair of glasses and have as many "monitors" as you like, wherever you like etc then I could see VR becoming common in the office. The consumer grade tech isn't even close to where it needs to be now, but that will change. Products like https://immersed.com/ [immersed.com] are trying to deliver the functionality now and (imho) failing, but the pote
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Yeah, as someone who works from home in a Condo I would love to be able to free up our second bedroom from being an Office. Ideally I would just have an office chair and a small table large enough for a mouse and keyboard (Or even wireless keyboard and mouse that I can put away when finished).
Quest 2 isn't anywhere near color accurate or high enough resolution. So this study seems wildly premature. Even Meta isn't pushing for people to work inside the Facebookverse yet. That's next-next generation ambi
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I'm pretty sure this tech won't fly unless they do it more like "AR" where the virtual screens are where you want them but the rest of what you see is real, either via camera feed like the Quest 2 (sort of) does, or a google glass type of device. It's still a ways off
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The new cubicles will come with a hamster style water tube, and every now and then someone will come to clear out your droppings.
If you get promoted you might even get a wheel to run on.
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Seeing/picking up your coffee is solved problem for a headset with passthru cameras [youtube.com]. Even the budget Oculus/Meta/Facebook Quest headsets can do passthru [youtu.be]. Granted it's not exactly great compared to Lynx (B&W and significant visual artifacts) but considering they didn't originally design the headset for this functionality (cameras were selected/positioned to be optimal for controller tracking) the results are pretty impressive. Their next model (set to release later this year) is designed with passthru
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Literally first gen VR headsets like mine solved this problem: There's a camera or two on the front that can show you video of the real world, and even overlay the virtual world on it.
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Yeah, as someone who works from home in a Condo I would love to be able to free up our second bedroom from being an Office. Ideally I would just have an office chair and a small table large enough for a mouse and keyboard (Or even wireless keyboard and mouse that I can put away when finished).
The monitors, table, mouse and keyboard will be virtual. Only the chair will be real, as will the flushing lever on it.
Re: Why would it? (Score:2)
I think we should charge extra for each virtual monitor in VR. A (virtual) hardware-as-a-service.
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You just gave some horrible MBA an idea.
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The problems with the "virtual monitors" idea is that VR glasses typically don't have the needed resolution for that, and that, at least for now, large monitors are somewhat cheaper than VR glasses.
BTW the issue while people have multiple monitors is not that they actually need multiple monitors (windowing systems have made that obsolete decades ago), but that they need more "desktop space". A big monitor typically is the cheaper and better solution.
Re: Why would it? (Score:3)
No zuck wants to own all the Meta verse "land" and charge business to rent that land plus buy equipment from him to gain access to that land etc
Zuck is trying to make himself a God that everyone has to pay to play to.
Without actially making anything useful himself
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3D modeling, design review, training, scientific visualization and historic site preservation are just a few non-entertainment uses of VR which have proven to be very valuable.
But even as a VR professional, I think working all day in-headset is stupid.
~D
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Basically if the thing you're trying to do involves looking at a 3D object that's not physically in front of you, VR might make sense. If you're doing anything else, such as meetings, phone calls, writing documents, it doesn't.
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I agree that 3D modeling is probably one of the useful uses of VR, but also when you want to simulate an user environment to see if it's practical for the user.
But there's not many cases where you'd really could be productive a full work day with VR.
Re: Why would it? (Score:2)
Exactly... (Score:2)
Take something that gives a 3D display, and use 2D programs and tools on it. No benefit... Shocking!
Even with specific tools that work well in 3D, our lack of haptic feedback (touch) feels like a big issue for speed and efficiency. Waving your hands in the air all day doesn't sound fun.
AR make more sense to me. You can have tools in the real world that change purpose based on AR information. Tap a pad to make the next email appear. Another to send. No need for actual switches that move and wear out.
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>We don't need to see people, or their avatars, to communicate with them.
Most communication is non-verbal. VR work would be greatly improved by a virtual presence, and it IS, as I can tell you from VRChat
Sure, it's the displays (Score:5, Insightful)
You can't have a meaningful discussion about what VR could be until you figure out how to get to the point where you're not having to ask people if they're in pain while using it, so even bothering to do a study like this is if not a waste, at best a confirmation of an expected result.
Greetings fellow woke leftists!!!! (Score:1)
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Adding more pixels will help, but it won't solve the headache problem.
Whoever first patents a lightweight and inexpensive transparent 3d HMD which doesn't make people ill or give them a headache wins. Everything else is just fleecing suckers for R&D money.
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You can't have a meaningful discussion about what VR could be until you figure out how to get to the point where you're not having to ask people if they're in pain while using it, so even bothering to do a study like this is if not a waste, at best a confirmation of an expected result.
I think the result (working in VR sucks) is obvious, but I still think the study itself was valuable for a number of reasons.
1) It's useful to formally replicate the obvious because sometimes, the result is the opposite of what everyone expects.
2) Even though it sucks this is a slightly more formal explanation of why it sucks, and informs future efforts at improvement.
3) It's a baseline measure of suckiness that future systems can try to improve on.
4) When a manager gets in their head to make the remote emp
Re: Sure, it's the displays (Score:2)
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It's not a question of pain. VR isn't painful, it is different. It takes getting used to. And above all, it's a tool that does some things well (e.g. entertaining and playing games). Shoehorning work into it is the stupid part here.
That is what makes VR "painful", but then I feel pain every time I boot up my work PC and have to wait 15 fucking minutes for it to log in due to all the shit IT has done to it.
Humans didn't evolve for VR (Score:3)
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No, what this study shows is that people who have hardly adapted to the pretty alien environment that VR is experience it as an alien environment and that having one monitor in VR sucks worse than having one screen in real life.
Quote: "Two (2) participant had no previous experience with VR, six (6) only slight experience, two (2) had moderate experience, four (4) substantial experience, and two (2) extensive experience."
VR really, really takes getting used to, like many things. My first time of using VR I
Virtual Keyboards (Score:4, Interesting)
I did try out the VR options when something like this was posted a few months back. The main problem for me was the keyboard wasn't visible or recognizable in VR and I need the tactile feedback because I'm touch typing. I'm not looking at the keyboard when I type so I can see when I make an error unlike virtual keyboards like on the smartphone where I have to review what I'm typing after I'm done and make a bunch of fixes to the text.
There were other possible issues such as the weight of the Oculus headset. I was limited to WiFi access as the cable couldn't be used. And the text was just slightly blurry.
[John]
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There is VR screen software called "Immersed" that uses the passthrough camera on the Quest 2 to leave your physical keyboard visible. It kind of works. I seem to recall seeing other products with similar solutions. I could see something like this being pretty great in the future but agree its not ready now for a variety of reasons
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Interesting as that was what I was using. Maybe the passthrough wasn't working?
[John]
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If your VR environment requires you to see a keyboard, there's a good chance it shouldn't be a VR environment. That's the big problem here. Shoehorning shit in where it doesn't belong.
I saw a presentation from work showing "the future of work and the metaverse". One of the guys at the end of the presentation (and my new personal hero) asked "wouldn't this presentation have been better if we could see your faces and expressions rather than some useless 3D legless avatars?" The presenters were obviously not p
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I was using it for coding and scripting for the most part. If they can come up with a better way of accommodating that activity, I'm all for it. I do use it for gaming so I have it on multiple times per day.
[John]
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The main problem for me was the keyboard wasn't visible or recognizable in VR and I need the tactile feedback because I'm touch typing. I'm not looking at the keyboard when I type so I can see when I make an error unlike virtual keyboards like on the smartphone where I have to review what I'm typing after I'm done and make a bunch of fixes to the text.
There are hand controllers [youtube.com] that could help with the tactile feedback issue. Unfortunately like everything else with VR/AR, no company is willing to invest the time / money in development.
other possible issues such as the weight
As for the weight, that's something that comes down with streamlining and refinement to remove unnecessary parts. That won't happen anytime soon in VR/AR due to it still being a highly experimental product. It has it's uses, but until more data is gathered stripping things out and streamlining them is just going to create a
Right in your face, all day (Score:2)
Amateurs (Score:5, Insightful)
In a study like this, you should never ask questions like 'do you feel sick?' or 'are your eyes starting to hurt?' These sorts of leading questions prime the participants to experience these symptoms when they otherwise might not. A more valid and neutral question to ask is, "How do you feel?" Experts should know better.
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'are your eyes starting to hurt?' These sorts of leading questions prime the participants to experience these symptoms
Participants in both groups (VR and physical) had to answer the same self-assessment questionnaires about workload, frustration, negative affect, anxiety, eye strain. Also measured: typing speed, number of breaks, duration of breaks. Everybody gets primed the same way, still VR got worse results in all metrics (except for heart rate, where no difference was noted). Some of the bad metrics of VR improved over time, so it could be that some people will get used to it.
Who could have guessed? (Score:2)
Next thing they'll tell us is water makes most things wet.
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Yeah, working in VR all day sounds like some kind of dystopian nightmare.
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Who could have guessed?
They made an educated guess then collected data and compared. That pretty much summarizes the workflow in experimental sciences. Unsurprising results are good, they validate the model on which the original guess was based. Scientists go to job every morning in hope for surprises at least because they are more mentally stimulating (and ultimately lead to more carrier progression), but surprises are a rare blessing.
The results also quantify the effect, which is not just saying yes/no like the /. headline. Thi
Desk and Keyboard work is 2D and obviates VR value (Score:2)
But seriously why would it if you put a user in front of a desk and keyboard in VR?
Much like the command line to the GUI was a paradigm shift in UX, this study is forcing the VR user to interact with the older paradigm (sitting at a desk) and (no surprise) can't exceed the efficiency of the previous system. A 2D GUI is highly optimized with decades of design thinking
Oh, it's worse than that (Score:4, Insightful)
But seriously why would it if you put a user in front of a desk and keyboard in VR?
Much like the command line to the GUI was a paradigm shift in UX, this study is forcing the VR user to interact with the older paradigm (sitting at a desk) and (no surprise) can't exceed the efficiency of the previous system. A 2D GUI is highly optimized with decades of design thinking behind it, whereas VR is an entirely new modality.
I think it's even worse because we're 40 years into the windows/cursor UI and half the office still doesn't meaningfully understand "file management" or "window focus". Whether that's a reflection of these paradigms being poor-but-entrenched or a reflection of the people using them is difficult to meaningfully determine.
You're absolutely right in terms of VR being a different paradigm, but what made the CLI-to-GUI shift a big deal is that CLI is akin to "fill in the blank" test questions, while GUI is "multiple choice". I can type anything on the CLI, whether it be misspellings or incorrect order of arguments or commands which depend on being in the right folder to execute them. The GUI's utility comes from giving users a multiple-choice interface, eliminating "command not found" errors.
How *can* VR improve on this? Well, let's take a look at some of the difficulties a lot of people have with Windows and OSX apps and work our way from there. One is that many programs simply have too many commands. Excel isn't going to have fewer commands because those commands are represented in three dimensional space. 3D Clippy isn't going to help narrow things down any more than the search box in Office 2016 already does. Reducing commands to provide a 'lite' version is impossible [xkcd.com]. VR isn't going to change this.
Another is that some programs simply have a bad UI. Again, bad UI is possible on a command line (the horrors of a RocketRAID controller come to mind), it's possible in a GUI, and I don't see that being a solved problem in VR.
Finally, some programs match their use cases poorly. Some programs have too few customization options, others require too many steps for a commonly-repeated task, others are prohibitively expensive. VR again, changes none of these variables.
Finally, let's consider the incredibly cool looking UI of Minority Report. While watching Tom Cruise split and cut video files with gloves, that worked because what he was doing required very little precision. Flinging a clip 'over there' wasn't terribly specific, and there was enough screen space for all the files to be open at once that a file system simply wasn't relevant. He wasn't multitasking or indexing or anything else than manipulating video playback...and cool as it was to watch, I was doing 60% of that with a ShuttlePRO [bhphotovideo.com] back in 2008. Add a touchscreen monitor or two and that jumps to 90.
VR is interesting for games, and AR has its niche in some fields...but there's very, very little productive work that can be done better in 3D space than 2D for far less expense, far less reliance on Meta, and far less computational intensity.
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What fucked things up were:
1. Nerds deciding that they didn't like it when multiple folder windows were open at once. This meant killing the spacial file model which, for all its faults, gave people an intuitive view of the file system of their computer.
Can you expand on this? Because I'm pretty sure I disagree, but I want to be sure you're saying what I think you're saying. I've used a lot of different kinds of machines and throughout history there have been various attempts to minimize overlapping desktop window hell specifically because it distracts from getting things done. I remember having some kind of MUI-based dock/panel on my Amiga desktop, for example.
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This has played out in adventure games - moving from Sierra's text entry system to LucasArts' SCUMM
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Shocking (Score:3)
So they constructed an experiment in which all of the downsides of VR would be magnified and none of the upsides would be evident? They basically just told people to put an uncomfortable thing on their heads for an unrealistically long period of time, gave them a remote desktop window, and told them to work and communicate like the have in the past
It'd be like asking someone whether they prefer this fancy motorcarriage to a horse-drawn buggy...by making the person sit in the car and have it be pulled by a horse.
From Capt. Obvious Labs (Score:1)
Research from Captain Obvious Labs
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>Conclusion: Early results are intriguing but more money is needed to thoroughly explore this phenomenon
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Capt. Obvious Labs and Captain Profit merged.
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Right? And they note things like people experiencing "anxiety" ... uh yeah, scientists are conducting medical experiments on them.
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In heavy German accents, as you experience pain and discomfort.
Seriously? (Score:2)
How would anyone ascertain this definitively using the crappy VR headsets of today? I can't stand the screen door effect in the Meta Quest for 10 seconds. No way I would want to work in VR with it. HOWEVER, once the technology develops where we can have headsets with 90 pixels-per-degree resolution or higher, the game will be different.
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Those already exist. They're just a tad expensive. The problem is that this technology, at this point in time, really doesn't scale well with price.
To be viable for anything other than porn, you're going to start at a pricing level that will exclude most people from ever actually using it.
16 people (Score:2)
But you cannot draw any conclusions from a study of 16 people.
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Cunt.
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Re: 16 people (Score:2)
The 2017 tech demo showing VR shopping experience in Walmart is exactly the dystopia we imaged. It presents non-ironically the most insane disconnect from reality that we're going to fine in our offices soon.
Why do VR... (Score:2)
Why work all day at all? (Score:1)
I've only worked all day once or twice in my life, and not at all if you count food and bathroom breaks. It wasn't a pleasant experience.
I'm much more productive when I keep it down to a reasonable 8-10 hours in any 24-hour period.
VR work (Score:1)
Insightful... (Score:4, Interesting)
/s
Strap some VDU's to your noggin' and use them for a few hours, what could possibly go wrong?
I think we all know the ... reality (sorry) behind this ... the visual and audio aspects are just _two_ of the senses to "fool" - and even that isn't done right.
Regardless of how a high frame rate is obtained in VR's future, the current inability to "focus" on near or distant objects - basically, the DoF - is going to make many people ill. Anyone who currently gets sick playing FPS games on a monitor, is _never_ going to get on with VR as it currently stands - and there's _plenty_ of people who cannot handle the FPS experience.
It's kinda similar to motion sickness in the real world. My wife really struggles being in the back of car when it is moving, she gets ill on coaches.
Put her in the driving seat of a car and she's super happy.
Bottom line, our senses all work _together_ - our hearing impacts our balance, for example.
VR right now, is still a "parlour game", using similar trickery that's been around for decades - some people can stomach a few hours of it, some can only do a few minutes.
I think the immediate future of _entertainment_ and VR, is augmented reality, where the "real world" is overlayed with "extras" - so, imagine a physical paint-ball experience, where you do actually physically run around and touch stuff - the environment you play in, has been mapped to 3D, so it can be augmented with cool shit - a high rise concrete parking lot, can become some fantastical gothic crypt - and you can still touch stuff.
All manner of badass critters can be stitched into the experience to make it feel "real" - because you are physically moving around a space.
There's still the issue of focus though.
I'm all for that type of VR - a proper, highly orchestrated and planned out experience, that you could _never_ have in your own home - it would be _awesome_ if done right.
For home VR, any activity in the real world, you would normally do seated, where the focus is generally wide enough to make it work, has mileage too.
That would pretty much be flight simulators and racing simulators - I can see that becoming a BIG thing in the future.
However, you _still_ don't get the motion aspect of it - there's really still only _two_ senses being "fooled" - sight and hearing.
You would never experience one of the _major_ thrills of flying a plane, or driving a car - the impact it has on your entire body.
The acceleration - the G-Force - there's _no_ way to achieve that.
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You sound very sure; what you say sounds reasonable, but have you tried it?
I ask because I have tried it, and found the opposite.
I know two people who experience simulation sickness with 3D games on a screen, and was exactly curious if they experience the same in VR.
They tried the HTC Vive and found it did _not_ give them the same problem, they did not feel sick.
This matched my expectations. I tried the early Oculus prototypes and felt sick very quickly; so did friends who tried them. The tracking was not n
I don't get it (Score:2)
" Working All Day in VR Does Not Increase Productivity, Comfort or Wellbeing, Study Says"
Was there someone who'd seriously posited that it would? Because the premise seems pretty silly on the face of it.
Define "Virtual" (Score:1)
When I'm playing a good tabletop game or LARP, or for that matter engrossed in a good novel, film, play, or TV show, it's as if I am in a virtual reality. People have been living and, dare I say it, working, that kind of "virtual reality" since the advent of storytelling and storytelling-based teaching/training.
On the other hand, if I've got a headset on and it's just a glorified Zoom meeting with a static 3D avitar discussing some work-related project, that's "real/not virtual" with a thin candy-coating o
Re: Define "Virtual" (Score:2)
I thinl you know what people mean when they say Virtual Reality. There is no need to dissect its componets out of context. Besides, while there isn't much "reality" in VR, there is even less in a LARP. Pretending to be a wizard or a soldier is virtual fantasy, but pretending to work 8 hours a day is virtual reality.
Too bad. (Score:2)
It does allow your employer to put you under total surveillance and recoup some of your pay by turning your walls into ad space, so every employer that can use it at all will eventually force you to do it anyway. Have fun, wagies!
Sure, it's utterly useless but... (Score:2)
... it's gonna be really neat, Real Soon Now(tm).
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Seriously? (Score:2)
Who knew... (Score:1)
that working with something clamped over the upper half of your head would not be productive?
Look over your shoulder (Score:2)
Disadvantage: Your boss can look over his VR to see your screen
Need to rename Meta (Score:1)
The published paper, entitled 'Quantifying the Effects of Working in VR for One Week' found "concerning levels of simulator sickness, below average usability ratings and two participants dropped out on the first day using VR, due to migraine, nausea and anxiety."
Facebook failed to capture the true spirit of its company and products when it renamed itself Meta.
It should have gone with Migraine, Nausea, and Anxiety, Inc.