Haptic user experience evaluation for virtual reality: Developing an evaluation framework for haptics used in virtual training simulations

Haptic devices designed to replicate the complexity of sensations and interactivity accommodated by the hand allow users to interact with each other and manipulate things in virtual reality (VR), providing a limitless safe environment for training. Research indicates that hapticians (engineers, researchers, and designers) experience challenges when evaluating user experience (UX). Current evaluation instruments, guidelines, and education do not address haptic interaction and experience design issues. This research explores haptic evaluation methods and measures, identifies dimensions of haptic UX, and develops an instrument for evaluating haptic UX to support haptic design practice. To investigate the challenges faced by hapticians, a state-of-the-art integrative review examines haptic evaluations for seventy-six studies over three years from 2018. Findings suggest that no available methods were designed for evaluating haptic UX. An online survey comprising a questionnaire and interviews explores hapticians’ capability, attitudes, and knowledge of UX evaluation, indicating there is a low prioritisation of user needs and feedback, as users have a fundamental problem articulating their experience. Lastly, a UX study using a virtual haptic training simulation to pilot a modular mixed methods evaluation framework produced rich data and valuable insights compared to standard evaluation methods commonly used for haptic evaluations, like the System Usability Scale and NASA Task Load Index questionnaires. This thesis presents a series of practical tools designed to support hapticians in evaluating haptic UX more effectively, which include a taxonomy of evaluation methods, a model of the haptic UX evaluation lifecycle, and a self-efficacy questionnaire for assessing haptic UX evaluation capability. The primary contribution of this thesis is a modular framework designed to measure the dimensions of haptic UX for haptic devices at each stage of development. The mixed-methods framework employs validated instruments to explain the quality of the haptic UX more effectively than the quantitative methods currently available. The evaluation framework also includes the novel HURRT evaluation instrument that is generalisable outside of haptics and VR.