Design, Development and Comparative Evaluation of Pinch and Fist Gesture Locomotion for Virtual World Navigation

ABSTRACT

Gesture‐based VR locomotion enables controller‐free movement which has been studied in contexts of user experience and navigation performance. Gesture‐based locomotion techniques remain understudied for high‐stress training contexts. This study proposed and compared two novel gesture locomotion techniques namely, pinch‐based (target‐based movement) and fist‐based (continuous locomotion), in a hospital fire evacuation VR scenario context. Furthermore, we compared their effects on navigation performance, cognitive workload, usability, and cybersickness. Twenty‐three fire and safety engineering students completed both conditions in a counterbalanced within‐subjects design. Fist‐based locomotion achieved a higher task success rate (100% vs. 95.7%), fewer navigation errors (Median = 1.00 vs. 3.00, p  = 0.007, r  = 0.63), lower cognitive workload (Mean = 1.66 vs. 6.39, p  < 0.001, d = 1.32), higher usability (Mean = 6.49 vs. 4.46, p  < 0.001, d = 1.19), and lower cybersickness (VRSQ Median = 0.00 vs. 22.50, p  < 0.001, r  = 0.84). Task completion time was lower for fist‐based locomotion (Mean = 45.96 s) than for pinch‐based locomotion (Mean = 52.09 s), though this difference was not statistically significant ( p  = 0.141).