Twilight Rohingya: The Design and Evaluation of Different Navigation Controls in a Refugee VR Environment

Virtual reality (VR) has shown great potential in enhancing users’ empathy towards vulnerable populations. Previous work has demonstrated that navigation modes relaying different spatial information can affect a user’s presence and understanding. In this research, we designed a 360° VR video-based prototype environment to depict real-life scenarios of a refugee camp in Southern Bangladesh. Our study consists of 2 conditions: active (i.e., selecting thematic video clips freely) and passive (i.e., watching sequence-determined clips passively). Thirty-six participants evaluated the prototype’s usability and its effects on their empathy towards refugees. The results showed that active navigation resulted in higher kindness and usability scores. Finally, we provide empirical insights into navigation modes in future VR design. This research should help refugee groups receive more attention and promote recognition and empathy towards refugees and their families.