Virtual Reality (VR) locomotion methods are mainly ground-based, room-scale, or discrete, making them ill-suited for flying experiences. Although leaning- and controller-based techniques are promising for flying in VR, we lack empirical evidence of their advantages. We compared combinations of leaning- and controller-based methods for steering and velocity in a user study (N = 24) using a broom metaphor to integrate these methods into an understandable locomotion reference. The steering methods were: 1) controller-pointing (CP) and 2) headset-leaning (HL); and for velocity control: 1) controller linear displacement (CLD) and 2) headset linear displacement (HLD). Results indicate that HL increase presence compared to CP. However, combining HL with CLD worsens coin collection rate, completion time, mental load, control factor ratings, and enjoyment. In contrast, HLD worked well when paired with either steering method. CP-CLD led to the highest coin collection rate and lowest mental load. All methods had comparable feelings of flying.

Interaction with digital content has changed substantially with the introduction of Augmented Reality (AR). User input in AR is essential for messaging or note-taking and typically relies on mid-air keyboards and controllers. However, these methods lead to fatigue, reduce visual attention, and are not designed for use in public spaces, making them impractical in dynamic contexts, e.g., walking. In this paper, we introduce knuckle-based input in AR for text entry. To explore this idea, we conducted a controlled experiment (N=18) comparing it to the state-of-the-art controller-based input while sitting, standing, and walking. We found that the knuckle method provided a better user experience and was preferred for walking due to its engaging nature and reduced visual focus. In contrast, controller input was favored for sitting and standing due to accuracy and ease of use.

The increasing prevalence of sedentary lifestyles has prompted a growing interest in technologies that integrate physical activity into digital experiences. This thesis focuses on how locomotion — the act of moving through physical and virtual environments — can be meaningfully integrated in applications through input from the user’s physical body movements. Through a Constructive Design Research approach, I have designed and prototyped locomotion techniques for Virtual Reality in four different projects, and conducted empirical evaluations through lab-based experimental studies to understand how this influences the user’s exertion, experience, and ability to navigate.

Each project explores different movement-based locomotion techniques for walking, jogging, rowing, and flying, culminating in four papers. Paper I demonstrates how a sedentary desktop activity can be redesigned to facilitate light to moderate intensity physical activity through walking. Papers II, III,and IV demonstrate how the prototypes provide means of movement-based locomotion in three-dimensional virtual environments beyond room scale, which is missing in exertion-focused games (exergames).

The results of the experimental studies provide additional insights into how the different design alternatives influenced the user’s ability to navigate, providing design implications for each context and for locomotion research more generally. Through reexamining the papers through the lens of fidelity -how accurate interactions correspond to real movements, the thesis addresses the question of how medium fidelity impacts the performance and experience of movement-based locomotion techniques. Additionally, the thesis addresses the question of how movement-based locomotion can provide means of exertion for both novel exergame design and non-exergame applications. Lastly, the thesis also offers a conceptual framework, intended as a support tool for both the design and analysis of movement-based interaction.

Den ökande förekomsten av stillasittande livsstilar har lett till ett ökat intresse för teknologier som integrerar fysisk aktivitet i digitala upplevelser.

Denna avhandling fokuserar på hur lokomotion — förflyttning genom fysiska och virtuella miljöer — på ett meningsfullt sätt kan integreras i applikationer genom input från användarens kroppsrörelser. Genom konstruktiv designforskning (Constructive Design Research) har jag designat och prototyputvecklat lokomotionstekniker för Virtual Reality i fyra olika projekt, samt genomfört empiriska utvärderingar i laboratoriebaserade experimentella studier för att förstå hur detta påverkar användarens ansträngning, upplevelse och förmåga att navigera. Varje projekt utforskar olika rörelsebaserade lokomotionstekniker för gång, joggning, rodd och flygning, och resulterar i fyra artiklar. Artikel I visar hur en stillasittande skrivbordsaktivitet kan omformas för att möjliggöra måttliga mängder fysisk aktivitet genom gång. Artiklarna II, III och IV visar hur prototyperna tillhandahåller möjligheter för rörelsebaserad lokomotion i tredimensionella virtuella miljöer bortom rumsskala, vilket saknas i speldesign för fysiska träningsspel (exergames).

Resultaten från de experimentella studierna ger ytterligare insikter i hur de olika designalternativen påverkade användarens förmåga att navigera, och ger därmed designimplikationer för varje kontext och för forskning om lokomotion mer generellt. Genom att åter granska artiklarna utifrån perspektivet fidelity – hur väl interaktioner motsvarar verkliga rörelser – adresserar avhandlingen frågan om hur medelhög fidelity påverkar prestanda och upplevelse av rörelsebaserade lokomotionstekniker. Vidare behandlar avhandlingen frågan om hur rörelsebaserad lokomotion kan erbjuda former av ansträngning både för nya exergames och för icke-exergame-applikationer. Slutligen erbjuder avhandlingen även ett konceptuellt ramverk, avsett som ett stödverktyg för både design och analys av rörelsebaserad interaktion.

This paper introduces a novel concept of virtual 3D debugging in software development, motivated by mental model research in information studies and cognitive design elements. The main goal is to improve the debugging process by allowing programmers to navigate and visualize code in a virtual 3D environment, thereby supporting the construction of the programmers mental model during software exploration. The paper also present the findings of an exploratory study of participants mental models of an academic information system. Participants used our 3D debugging prototype for a debugging procedure as part of the process of making sense of their experiences. Furthermore, software developers often struggle with debugging. Comprehension of the program structure or the underlying processes can be problematic especially as programs become more complex, or if a person is unfamiliar with the source code. Debugging is an essential part of the software development process, and this paper aims to address this challenge using innovative methods.

Physical interaction can provide users with engaging experiences and more healthy active interfaces. In virtual environments, physical interaction can be used for locomotion purposes in which the user's physical actions are mapped to virtual translations, for example in Virtual Reality. Physical engagement can be important not only for exertion game applications, but also in terms of reducing VR sickness, providing engaging and perhaps more realistic experiences, and in the long-term, contribute to reducing sedentary behavior in work context applications. My work examines how locomotion methods can be implemented in virtual environments for various contexts in which the user is physically active in generating locomotion, in contrast to a sedentary desktop or joystick setting. In three studies, I have studied how forms of physical locomotion (normal walking, walk-in-place, fitness equipment) for virtual reality applications, impact the performance and usability within their given context. In these studies I have used comparative experimental design to evaluate locomotion alternatives, or compared with a desktop alternative. For the next study I aim to investigate physical steering techniques for flying experiences. I also aim to synthesize locomotion research into a holistic detail-oriented framework to support comparison and reproducability between locomotion techniques.

Rowing has great potential in Virtual Reality (VR) exergames as it requires physical effort and uses physical motion to map the locomotion in a virtual space. However, rowing in VR is currently restricted to locomotion along one axis, leaving 2D and 3D locomotion out of the scope. To facilitate rowing-based locomotion, we implemented three steering techniques based on head, hands, and feet movements for 2D and 3D VR environments.

Rowing has great potential in Virtual Reality (VR) exergames as it requires physical effort and uses physical motion to map the locomotion in a virtual space. However, rowing in VR is currently restricted to locomotion along one axis, leaving 2D and 3D locomotion out of the scope. To facilitate rowing-based locomotion, we implemented three steering techniques based on head, hands, and feet movements for 2D and 3D VR environments. To investigate these methods, we conducted a controlled experiment (N = 24) to assess the user performance, experience and VR sickness. We found that head steering leads to fast and precise steering in 2D and 3D, and hand steering is the most realistic. Feet steering had the largest performance difference between 2D and 3D but comparable precision to hands in 2D. Lastly, head steering is the least mentally demanding, and all methods had comparable VR sickness.

As programming is typically a static activity in front of a screen, we perform an initial exploration around the capabilities of block-based programming in the immersive space using Virtual Reality (VR) to make an early charting on how programming could involve moving the programmer's body. We created a block-based programming interface in a VR space called BlocklyVR based on the existing Blockly programming environment. To investigate programmer performance and experience in BlocklyVR, we conducted a controlled lab experiment (N = 20) with eight programming tasks that covered mathematical operations, if-statements, and function creation. Our initial exploration contributes by classifying movement types made by BlocklyVR programmers and reflecting on how these movements are related to the programming tasks. Additionally, our data suggests that participant performance in BlocklyVR was not affected compared to the 2D Blockly, even if participants were physically moving in VR space. We also found that the virtual reality sickness was marginal. Lastly, we identified four types of interaction that can potentially be employed by VR designers and developers aiming to convert a static task, like programming at a desk, into a "mobile"immersive experience.

Walk-in-Place is an established locomotion technique for walking in virtual environments, as it incorporates body motion similar to regular walking. Although there is extensive research on the performance and experience of walking in virtual reality spaces, it typically requires minimal-to-moderate physical movement, e.g., stepping forward and turning around, to explore virtual spaces. Therefore, the question we ask ourselves in this work is how user experience and performance are affected when the user is actively moving in place. In this paper, we explored three body-steering methods for jogging-in-place in virtual environments: (1) head-, (2) hand-, and (3) torso-based. To investigate the performance of the proposed body-steering methods for jogging in virtual reality, we conducted a controlled lab experiment (N = 12) to assess task completion time, number of steps, and VR sickness. We discovered that hand- and torso-based methods require fewer steps than the head-based method, and the torso-based is slower than the other two. Moreover, the number of collisions and virtual reality sickness were comparable among the methods.

Software engineers are sedentary and need technological help for a more healthy life. Current software engineering tasks are mostly confined to the standard sedentary desktop user interface. We believe that software engineering should be restructured so that it offers a non-sedentary alternative. In this paper, we describe a new research approach, called Post-sedentary Software Engineering. Our ambition with this approach is to provide an alternative, healthier work context without decreasing productivity. We take a spatial approach to post-sedentary tool design, starting from the assumption an interactive 3D environment with appropriate metaphors is necessary for full body movement. We discuss available technologies for achieving this goal and outline four studies that incorporate the software engineering phases of code comprehension, code creation and debugging in a non-sedentary context.