Lifter for VR Headset: Enhancing Immersion, Presence, Flow, and Alleviating Mental and Physical Fatigue during Prolonged Use

The virtual reality (VR) headset is still relatively heavy, causing a significant physical and mental burden and negatively affecting the VR user experience, particularly during extended periods of use. In this paper, we present a prototype design of the “Lifter,” which utilizes a counterbalanced wire-pulley mechanism to partially relieve the weight of the VR headset (between 50% and 85%). The human subject study has confirmed that the Lifter relieved not only physical fatigue but also significantly improved mental burden, sense of immersion, presence, and flow (perception of time passing) during prolonged usage (30 minutes or more).