ABSTRACT

Population aging has become a common phenomenon worldwide, and various virtual reality (VR) applications are emerging. In this study, a VR exercise software programme was designed and compared with conventional exercise equipment in terms of the differences in usability and immersion perceived by middle-aged, older, and young adults. A VR software programme for dumbbell stretching exercise was designed, and 62 participants were invited. The participants were divided into a middle-aged and older adult group and a young adult group. Each participant used the designed software and physical dumbbells to complete three tasks. The results revealed that (1) software usability and immersion differed significantly between middle-aged and older adults and young adults; (2) the mean interface learnability score of the young adults was significantly higher than that of the middle-aged and older adults; and (3) the mean scores of the overall immersion and the four indicators for the VR exercise were higher than those for the physical exercise, regardless of whether the scores were examined among all participants or for the two age groups separately. The results of this study may provide designers within insights into the development VR software for older adults.

摘要

人口老龄化已成为全球普遍现象，各种虚拟现实（VR）应用层出不穷。本研究设计了一款 VR 锻炼软件程序，并针对中年、老年人和年轻人感知的可用性和沉浸感差异与传统锻炼设备进行了比较。设计了一个哑铃伸展运动的VR软件程序，邀请了62名参与者。参与者分为中老年组和青年组。每个参与者使用设计的软件和物理哑铃完成三项任务。结果表明：（1）中老年人和年轻人的软件可用性和沉浸感存在显着差异；(2)青壮年平均界面易学性得分显着高于中老年人；(3)无论是在所有参与者中还是对两个年龄组分别进行评分，VR锻炼的整体沉浸感和四项指标的平均得分均高于体育锻炼的平均得分。这项研究的结果可能会为设计人员提供有关为老年人开发 VR 软件的见解。