As private virtual reality (VR) use increases, so do injuries from real-world collisions. Beyond physical harm, both actual collisions and the fear of colliding may affect the user experience, particularly presence, which can be considered a core aspect of VR. In two studies, we examined the relationship between presence, collision anxiety (CA), and real collisions during VR use. Our results indicate that collisions themselves do not significantly reduce presence but do increase CA. Furthermore, while presence was not a significant predictor of CA, we replicated prior findings that disorientation in the physical environment heightens collision anxiety. These findings suggest that disorientation and (fear of) collisions affect fundamental aspects of VR experiences. Hence, the results highlight the importance of considering the users’ subjective feeling of safety when designing for safe VR use, not only to minimize the risk of injuries but also to maximize the user experience.

Virtual reality (VR) applications achieve their high immersive potential by detaching the user from the real world, replacing it through a virtual environment. This detachment also blocks real-world orientation cues, which might cause fear of colliding with the real environment and negatively impact the player experience. However, since collision anxiety (CA) is a relatively young concept, it is unclear how factors like users' VR expertise or specific game design choices may affect it. We defined expected CA profiles for five commercial VR games and conducted a longitudinal study examining how growing VR expertise and VR game design influence the users' CA. After six weeks and a total of 154 VR sessions, results indicate that CA differs between applications and generally decreases as VR expertise increases. Based on our results, we propose design implications, providing researchers and designers with guidelines on when to expect and how to avoid fear of colliding.

Figure 1: Player avatars search the virtual escape room for clues.

The high degree of sensory immersion is a distinctive feature of head-mounted virtual reality (VR) systems. While the visual detachment from the real world enables unique immersive experiences, users risk collisions due to their inability to perceive physical obstacles in their environment. Even the mere anticipation of a collision can adversely affect the overall experience and erode user confidence in the VR system. However, there are currently no valid tools for assessing collision anxiety. We present the iterative development and validation of the Collision Anxiety Questionnaire (CAQ), involving an exploratory and a confirmatory factor analysis with a total of 159 participants. The results provide evidence for both discriminant and convergent validity and a good model fit for the final CAQ with three subscales: general collision anxiety, orientation, and interpersonal collision anxiety. By utilizing the CAQ, researchers can examine potential confounding effects of collision anxiety and evaluate methods for its mitigation.