Virtual reality improves game-based navigational efficiency

Individuals playing a virtual reality (VR)-based game showed a higher navigational efficiency and less disorientation than those playing a non-VR immersive desktop version, according to a study in the peer-reviewed journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior, and Social Networking. Click here to read the article now.

Navigation in VR can be overwhelming for its users.

“Participants in the VR condition performed better on spatial-based knowledge questions,” said Egon van den Broek, Ph.D., Utrecht University, The Netherlands, and coauthors.

“An interesting use of VR, in addition to education and training, is its use to rehabilitate decreases occurring in navigational abilities and spatial memory in older individuals,” says Editor-in-Chief Brenda K. Wiederhold, Ph.D., MBA, BCB, BCN, Interactive Media Institute, San Diego, California and Virtual Reality Medical Institute, Brussels, Belgium.