Visual-Motor Tracking: VR vs PC

Abstract

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In the modern world, virtual reality (VR) technologies are actively used in education, including professional training of remote equipment operators. It raises the question: how justified is the use of virtual reality technologies for operator training compared to conventional video display technologies? Is the development of virtual technologies just a trend or does it have an actual effect? This study evaluated the accuracy of solving simple operator visual-motor tasks during the measurement of speed of reaction to a moving and approximating object. The study included 105 volunteers at the age of <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$19 \mathrm{y}. \mathrm{o}$</tex>. to <tex xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">$23 \mathrm{y}. \mathrm{o}$</tex>., who were taking an additional professional educational program for operators. The subjects were assigned to two technological groups. Each group subsequently performed the same tests but used different equipment which provided the conditions of perceiving visual information from an electronic display or the conditions of the virtual environment with an HTC VIVE Pro 2 virtual reality headset. No statistically significant differences were found in the reaction speed measurements, indicating that both technological groups had similar control efficiency. In this context, it can be stated that the widespread replacement of electronic display devices by virtual content devices for presenting information for solving simple visual-motor tasks in the training of remote equipment operators is not advisable. The paper proposes the conditions for the effective use of VR technology for training and controlling mobile remote objects. It also provides recommendations for the use of virtual environments or electronic displays for presenting information in different situations of operator activity.