[R U X] Corner
................................................................................ Brandon and Amanda are graduate researchers in the Research in User eXperience (RUX) Lab in the Department of Human Factors and Behavioral Neurobiology. RUX investigates the usability and user experience of technology in our everyday world. This is a regular column that reports on a RUX usability study of the ShapesXR application on the Meta Quest Pro. ................................................................................
“I Almost Forgot I Was in a Real World, Too”: Assessing the User Experience of ShapesXR ARTICLE BY BRANDON DRESLIN AND AMANDA DHANPAUL PHOTOS BY BRANDON DRESLIN / Correspondent DESIGN BY ANDREW ZUBYK / Correspondent
the strengths of each XR experience to create a unique collaborative prototyping platform. However, little was known about users’ experience while using the app. A usability study was conducted to understand how users interact with ShapesXR on the MQP.
The Meta Quest Pro XR headset and its controllers.
When you were a child, you and your friends may have tinkered with playsets that had various shapes and objects as accessories to build your own fantasy space. Now, imagine doing that in a virtual world. This is essentially what the ShapesXR app for the Meta Quest Pro (MQP) is. This app is used to design objects and build spaces with natural body movements and gestures, either alone or with other people. With this tool, anyone can create objects in a three-dimensional mixed reality space using controller button presses and hand movements. There are many customization features, including options for the object type, color, size, and position. You can even import pictures and existing designs from another prototyping tool, like Figma. Your creations are showcased in a virtual world or on top of the real world using extended reality (XR) technology.
The ShapesXR study tasked two people (placed in separate rooms wearing an MQP headset) with collaboratively building a three-dimensional prototype of a shared office space using the MQP. All participants had to complete several tutorials before they started building. A baseline office setup, shown upon entering the ShapesXR building room, included various office items and descriptions (with the favorite color and item) of four virtual office workers. Both people were able to see each other’s virtual avatars and hear each other’s voices through movement-tracked cameras and microphones. They were instructed to work together to ensure that each worker had desks, computers, pictures, and decorations that aligned with their preferences in the office space. A virtual closet contained all the necessary items for the successful completion of each task.
Unbeknownst to the participant, the other person working with them was a confederate. In other words, this person was not an actual participant; rather, they were part of the research team and knew everything about the study. In psychology research, confederates help researchers study human behavior. In this study, the The MQP is an XR headset that combines virtual reality, confederate served to facilitate both teamwork and the augmented reality, and mixed reality functionality into completion of tasks that were known and not known to one device. These experiences merge the real world with the participant. the digital world to various degrees. ShapesXR leverages Page 36