Evaluating Immersive Animation Authoring in an Industrial VR Training Context

An important aspect of a Virtual Reality (VR) training application is animation, as animations can be used to present behavior and intent, and make the virtual space feel more alive and immersive. In existing VR applications and in the literature, several animation authoring solutions exist that enable users to create animations directly in VR. These solutions, however, typically aim to recreate the animation tools found in traditional 3D animation software, which are complex and known for their steep learning curves. For an industrial subject matter expert creating a virtual training space, an immersive animation tool should require little to no time to learn while still enabling users to solve common animation tasks such as simple 3D object animation. Few such tools exist, and little research has been done on animation authoring in an industrial VR context. In this paper, we present a mixed methods user study with seven participants including industrial subject matter experts. The participants were asked to complete three animation tasks using an immersive animation authoring tool developed for this study, followed by post-task questionnaires and a semi-structured expert interview. Thematic analysis of the interview and observation data, supported by the subjective measurements, revealed that industrial end users without animation experience found the animation tool both intuitive and easy to learn. The analysis also gave insights into the major challenges faced by non-animators when using the tool as well as possible solutions.