KIT724 Assignment5 Report

1 year ago by daviduang

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KIT724 Assignment5 Report

1. Introduction

“3-minute test, safer journey.”

In this project, we upgraded all the interactions from distance grab to more immersive and higher precision bare-hand grab interaction. The player still uses a controller for movement and rotation, but they now use their hand to interact with various objects in the scene.

2. Technical development

Based on the new interaction mechanism, we updated the safety door-opening mechanism from a simple pocking to the interaction design from our storyboard. In addition, we introduced a timer to set up a time limit for evacuation. Lastly, we introduced various environmental effects for a high-pressure emergency environment, including the smoking particle effect and background noise.

Key Development Aspect	Description/Functionality	Components/Scripts
Grab Interactions	Enables the player to perform grab interactions in the VR environment. Allows objects to be grabbable in the VR environment.	OculusInteractionSampleRig HandGrabInteractor
Evacuation Door Opening	Custom animation to showcase door opening and closing. Customised Script monitors the angle of the handle. If the handle is turned at its maximum angle, the isOpened Boolean variable is set to true. Customised Script monitors the angle of the latch. If the latch is turned at its maximum angle, the isOpened Boolean variable is set to true. Customised Script commands the safety door to open if both handleController and latchController states are opened.	default.anim handleController latchController doorController
Timer View	Unity UI provides the visual representation of the countdown timer. Customised script implements the countdown mechanism.	Canvas TextMeshPro CountDownTimer
Environment Effect	Sound effects: auditory enhancements to add realism to the simulation. Visually simulate a realistic emergency scenario.	Latch open sound effect. Handle open sound effect Background sound effect Timer sound effect Smoke effect

3. 3D contents

Name	Description	Image
Airliner	The flight model involves all the interior elements
Seats	The seats inside the Airliner model
Inner_Walls	The interior of the Airliner model
SM_Floor	The floor of the Airliner model
door_prefab	The door model with our customized features: open/close animation and the scripts to supporting interactions
Latch_6	The door latch for open our customized door
Lock_handle_6	The door handle for open our customized door
Fog particle	The smoke environment effect for emergency simulation
Suitcase	The suitcase model on the passenger aisle for removal

4. Usability testing

4.1. Design and plan

This application is designed to educate and assess regular passengers who have minimal familiarity with the emergency door operation process and are interested in sitting near the emergency exit. It is a mixed training and testing approach, generally lasting 1-3 minutes. A typical scenario is an airline company staff would be responsible for hosting this VR test for those passengers, including setting up a time limit and monitoring the testing process for passengers. According to our assumption, passengers are not required to have complete knowledge about the emergency door opening initially. Therefore, they will be allowed to have several trials to pass the test within the time limit. Passengers will also be more familiar with the door-opening process through the interactions in those trials. Thus, we also considered this series of tests as a training process.

Based on this objective, we determined three main aspects for focus:

Focused Aspect	Goal
Intuitiveness and Clarity of VR Environment	The usability testing should evaluate whether the VR environment is intuitive and provides a clear understanding of the cabin, the emergency exit, and other related elements. Participants should be able to navigate and understand the environment effortlessly.
Effectiveness of Training Modules	Given that the application is both a training and testing tool, it is essential to determine if it can effectively train passengers in the emergency door operation process.
Time Efficiency	The application will be a quick test, typically lasting 1-3 minutes. Usability testing should focus on whether participants can complete the required tasks within this timeframe, and if not, identify the reasons causing delays.

4.1.1. Tasks

Based on the three aspects we determined, we derived. 5 tasks for the usability testing:

Users use controllers to move along the aisle.
Users grab and remove the suitcase from the aisle.
Users grab and lift the door latch.
Users grab and pull down the door handle.
Users complete all the above tasks within 3 minutes.

4.1.2. Methodology:

In this test, we applied the observation for collecting data. To simulate the actual scenario, the test is conducted with 1 iteration. Participants are required to complete the actions in the task list. At the same time, testers are responsible for recording the completion of each task.

4.2. Recruitment:

5 students majoring in Master of ICT were selected for the usability testing. They were chosen to represent a diverse group of potential passengers, including different age groups, genders, and experience levels with VR technology, with each participant having no previous experience with a Cabin Evacuation Simulation application. To allow the usability testing to be conducted in a controlled environment, the testing room was arranged before their arrival, with chairs set according to the seat spacing of an actual cabin environment. imitates the natural cabin environment.

4.3. Protocols of testing

We considered three terms for this usability testing:

Participation is voluntary, and participants can withdraw at any time.
The collected data's confidentiality and integrity are only protected and used in this usability test.
Each participant is provided a schedule for usability testing, including the date, time, and duration of each participant session.

4.4 Report of the findings

From the usability tests involving the five tasks and five participants:

Controller Movement: All participants successfully used the controllers to navigate along the aisle.
Suitcase Interaction: Every participant managed to pick up the suitcase without any apparent difficulty.
Door Latch Interaction: 4 out of 5 participants managed to lift the door latch with no difficulty. 1 participant faced trouble and could not complete this action.
Door Handle Interaction: 3 participants pulled down the door handle without hesitation, while 2 struggled.
Time Efficiency: Only 2 out of the 5 participants completed all tasks within the 3-minute. The remaining 3 exceeded the time limit.

4.5 Analyses of the findings

The following table reflects the results of all tasks for the usability test by 5 participants:

Tasks	Participant 1	Participant 2	Participant 3	Participant 4	Participant 5
Move along the aisle with controllers	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grab and remove the suitcase	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓
Grab and lift the door latch	✓	✓	✓	✗	✓
Grab and pull down the door handle	✓	✓	✗	✓	✗
Complete all tasks within 3 minutes	✓	✓	✗	✗	✗

5. Addressing the result of the Usability testing

5.1. User feedback analysis

We've gathered two essential pieces of user feedback. Firstly, users felt that the simulation environment lacked a sense of urgency and failed to evoke the feeling of an 'emergency atmosphere.' Participants 3, 4, and 5 also encountered difficulties when opening the door, uncertain if the latch or handle was positioned correctly for opening.

5.2. Changes made

5.2.1. Smoke particle system:

We've incorporated a fog particle system based on user feedback to emulate a hazardous environment. This enhancement makes the setting more lifelike and gives users a more immersive experience.

5.2.2. Audio:

Latch and handle clicking audio: We've included it to help users recognize when they've successfully opened the latch and handle.
Timer warning audio and Emergency audio: Incorporating this audio creates a tense atmosphere, challenging users' capabilities under stress and enhancing the effectiveness of their training and learning experience.
Airplane environment audio: Incorporating this audio to enhance the user experience with a more realistic environment.

References

Websites for grab interaction implementation: