A Pilot Study Comparing Two Naturalistic Gesture-Based Interaction Interfaces to Support VR-Based Public Health Laboratory Training

Training opportunities for public health laboratories (PHLs) are limited, and traditional wet laboratory training is expensive and potentially hazardous. Virtual reality presents a promising complement existing training and provides hands-on experience. To develop an interaction library tailored to PHLs, we deconstructed biosafety training procedures into tasks and corresponding physical interactions, leveraging our open source VIRTUOSO software developer kit (VSDK). We mapped the interaction library to interaction interfaces on two VR systems. In a pilot study, we compared the user experience of two interaction interfaces. Users completed a simulated biosafety spill procedure and provided feedback about their experience and preferences.