Can VR Technologies be used as a basis of Exercise/Workouts?

For one of my units for University, we were able to research into a topic of our choice to do with technology/computing. So I choose to research if VR could be used as a basis for exercise. I choose this area as I had already owned the HTC Vive headset for over a year, and was really interested to find out the results of this question. I went into this research with my own opinions and wanted to know if others had similar opinions to me.

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How did I get my results?

Because I already own the HTC Vive, I felt that it would be a good idea to have a practical session where I got friends and family to come over and take part in a practical for the HTC Vive, where I got them to play a few different games and after each I got them to answer certain questions such as 'How fun was that game?' and 'How physically hard was that game?'. The reason I asked these questions was due to me wanting to find out if VR is a good fitness tool as well as a fun and practical way to do fitness. This allowed me to find out what people thought after their first experience with the headset and the games and had it fresh in their mind exactly what they thought.

I also created an Online Questionnaire Survey that allowed me to ask a much larger variety of people, even if they had not used a headset before they were able to answer and give their opinions. It also meant that I could ask people with different headsets what they thought as well, so I wasn't just limited to the HTC Vive.

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What Question Techniques did I use?

I went ahead and used a range of different Techniques when creating my questions, but tried to stick to the traditional question types that everyone understood and allowed for the surveys to be completed easily and quickly. I used the Likert Scale, open-ended questions, Multiple Choice questions and Dichotomous questions. The open-ended questions allowed me to get different answers from everyone who took part, as it meant that they could type exactly what they thought, and I wouldn't get the same answer twice. The other Techniques allowed me to have easy to answer questions where people could just go through them and rate on a scale what they thought in relation to the question.

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Who was my Target Audience?

My target audience was mainly just people who knew what Virtual Reality was In general. Other than that, I wanted to have a range of different ages, a range of people with different experiences and came from a range of different backgrounds.

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How I got my results?

With my Online Survey, I posted it on Facebook so that my friends and family could take part and answer it, and I also posted it on Reddit under a range of different areas such as Fitness, Vive, VR, Technology, Oculus Rift and more. This allowed for me to have around about 750 people take part in my Survey which was fantastic and allowed me to get more than enough data to complete my Research.

With my Practical Survey, I asked some family and friends to come over and take part in the HTC Vive session that allowed me to Observe them playing as well as allowed them to complete the surveys after each game. I asked them to play 4 different games which were AudioShield, The Lab (Longbow), Holopoint and Hot Squats. The reason for this is because I wanted to get a range oof different people who have different interests to have a go. It was also most of their first time experiences with the device as well which was interesting.

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AudioShield

AudioShield is the first game that I got the people who were taking part in my Practical Session to play. It is a Rhythm game where you have to block the oncoming musical notes. You can choose any song that you want, either directly from your computer or even through youtube. Each hand has a different colour shield, and you use these shields to block the same coloured ball that is coming towards you. The reason I chose this game was that it is one of the most popular Vive games out and is one of my personal favourite Vive Games. I also wanted to pick games that I thought would work best for different types of exercises, and I felt this fit its own category.

The Lab (Longbow)

Next, I got them to play The Lab. Specifically the Longbow Game. This game is a waved base archery game where you need to defend against hordes of attackers. The longbow game is great for physical endurance because you have to constantly do the action of using a bow and arrow and because the controllers rumble when pulling back the string of the bow it makes your arms get tired and makes you feel like you are actually pulling back the string of the bow.

Holopoint

Holopoint is another interesting game. Again you need to fight through waves of enemies, but this time it is much more fast paced and hectic. You will be fighting waves of responsive targets, samurai and ninjas while drawing, nocking and shooting arrows as quickly as possible. Many of the targets that you hit will fire a projectile at you which you will need to either dodge or quickly shoot. Enemies can spawn all around you so you will need to constantly be moving and spinning around looking for the next target.

Hot Squats

Lastly, I got them to play Hot Squats. This is one of the first actual designed fitness games that I have seen for the Vive and I think it works very well. It has in-game achievements and leaderboards that make you want to compete against your friends and family and the rest of the world. You have to squat through the hole in the wall that is coming towards you and try to last as long as possible. Once you get out the other side of the hole in the wall, you stand up again and then squat before the next hole. Hot Squats is a completely free game and is very Physical.

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Results (Online Questionnaire)

I started off by asking this question to find out how many of the people who answered the questionnaire had used Virtual Reality before, as it would mean they would have a better idea of the actual amount of physicality that is involved with VR.

Next, I asked for the devices that they have used. This was to make sure that my results were from people who use different devices.

I also asked If they think it is a good form of exercise as well as if they would use this method. I was rather surprised with the results, I thought it would end up a lot more split than it was, but only 10% of people said they think it isn't a good form of exercise which I thought was interesting. Also even though people said it would be a good form of exercise, more people said that they wouldn't use it for exercise which is interesting.

Standout Results (For)

I also asked why people thought the way that they did. So here are some answers to why they think it is good.

• ‘One of the problems I have with treadmills is it's hard to feel like you're getting somewhere, with a VR headset on it can simulate running through environments which would make it far more entertaining.’

• ‘Allows you to do exercise while having fun, which will cause people to play it for longer’

• ‘I run a VR fitness livestream! 2 hours, three times a week. I wear a heart rate monitor and I've calculated that I burn ~1200kcal per session - 100% a valid workout and a good way to get the cardiovascular stuff done.

• ‘It would be very motivational and maybe give rewards in the game like new levels.’

Standout Results (Against)

• Here are some answers to why they think it is a bad idea.

• ‘Sweat is an issue for current headsets as well as fogging, these are limitations that could be overcome.’

• ‘Yes, but there needs to be a better method of keeping the VR headset clean. Longer/lighter cables or wireless would also help a lot.’

• ‘Expensive equipment and lack of social awareness’

• ‘Because to get exercise out of being blind in a real world environment requires some pretty expensive equipment’

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Results (HTC Vive Questions)

• Most Enjoyable Game (On average) - AudioShield
• Most Physical Game (On Average) - Hot Squats

Body Part that each game worked best for...

• AudioShield = Arms and Stomach
• The lab (Longbow) = Shoulders and Arms
• Hot Squat = Legs, Stomach, Chest
• Holopoint = Full body Exercise

From doing an observational while people were playing the games, I learned that the games that people are being more enthusiastic on are the games that they are also rating as the most physical, and also the games they are being more enthusiastic on they are rating as higher levels of enjoyability.

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Suggested Improvements

From this research, I have learned a few things that need to be improved with VR before they can become perfect for Exercising. They are...

• Cables. (The headsets need to preferably be wireless. HTC Vive are releasing a Wireless Kit.)

• Sweat Absorption on headsets. (All headsets need to have replaceable face sponges so that you can clean them if they become too sweaty.)

• Room Size. (Room size may affect some games and experiences.)

• Games. (At the moment, there are not enough games that are out for Exercise)

• The Weight of headsets. (The headsets are slightly heavy at the moment, especially for long periods of time)

• Cost. (Headsets will need to come down in price before lots of people start buying them)

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Conclusion

Overall I found that the headsets are already a very good tool for fitness and exercise due to you not really noticing you are even exercising while playing some of the games. Also, it allows for exercising to become much more fun and enjoyable and tempting due to potential unlockables such as achievements, levels and in-game rewards. However, there are also a few things that could be improved that will allow for more comfort and a better playable experience that I have mentioned before such as cost and cables. However, even now I think that VR can be used for exercise, even if you don't realise it.

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-Nesbitt