How To Choose VR Hardware and Software
Choosing VR hardware
There were multiple types of headsets available when we were choosing VR hardware for our project in the spring of 2022.
3DOF (3 degrees of freedom) headsets track the orientation of your head but not your physical position or movement in space. They can sense when you turn your head left, right, up, or down, but they cannot detect movements like leaning forward, backward, or side-to-side. They are suitable for viewing 360 images and videos for example. Oculus Go, Samsung Gear VR and Google Cardboard are examples of 3DOF headsets available when we were choosing what hardware to use.
6DOF (6 degrees of freedom) headsets offer full tracking of your head's rotation as well as your physical position and movement in a 3D space. This means you can not only look around but also lean, crouch, and walk within the virtual environment. 6DOF headsets are often used in "room-scale" VR setups, where users can move freely within a defined physical space. This allows for more dynamic and immersive experiences. Pico Neo HTC Vive Focus and Oculus Quest 2 are examples that were available in spring 2022.
A standalone VR headset implies that it's basically a self-contained headset. It has a screen processor and battery inside, and it contains many viewfinders on its body that provide the necessary spatial orientation according to the objects around and its distance from them. It is found most commonly with controllers or one controller which can be moved in six directions, allowing maximum mobility.
VR headsets for using with a PC a capable graphic card is needed. Examples of such headsets are HTC Vive Pro and Oculus Rift S.
We chose to use the Oculus Quest 2 headset in our study because it´s most widely used, is a standalone headset and has 6 degrees of freedom properties and it’s reasonably priced.
We recommend using this headset in distance learning lessons at secondary schools when utilising XR technologies.
Choosing software through benchmarking
The base for choosing what software to use was our benchmarking study that included twenty-three (23) different platforms that existed on the market at the time, and that fit our scope. We chose software that is designed for collaboration and educational purposes. We excluded ready-made VR learning applications because they usually only offer behavioural skill-based learning. Our focus was on collaboration.
The software was divided into two categories:
learning environments
meeting and collaboration.
Our criteria for selecting platforms:
purpose of platform
key features
pricing and subscription options
accessibility with VR headsets, desktop, mobile devices
headset support
usability features such as wayfinding, object selection & manipulation, visual output, comfort, simulation-sickness, presence and immersion
hardware requirements and technical specifications
platform requirements
ease of use
target, best for.
max users for simultaneous use
customisation with 3D objects and environments
broadcasting and recording features
design
default or customisable avatars
game engine support
All platforms that we benchmarked are listed by their criteria features to guide us choosing platforms for further testing. The key findings of the benchmarking was that available platforms in the market are designed mainly to improve the qualities of remote meetings. They simulate office-like environments and platforms that are designed for educational purposes are designed for behavioural learning.
Last updated
