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Innovations in 3D Geo-Information Sciences pp 225–242Cite as

The Usability of Online Geographic Virtual Reality for Urban Planning

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Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography ((LNGC))

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) technology is starting to become widely and freely available (for example the online OpenSimulator tool), with potential for use in 3D urban planning and design tasks on a correspondingly widespread scale. However, rigorous assessment on usability of such tools is needed to ascertain the likely effect on the profession. A previous study consulted with a small group of urban professionals, who concluded in a satisfaction usability test that online VR had potential value as a usable 3D communication and remote marketing tool but acknowledged that visual quality and geographic accuracy were obstacles to overcome. This research takes the investigation a significant step further to also examine the usability aspects of efficiency (how quickly tasks are completed) and effectiveness (how successfully tasks are completed), relating to OpenSimulator in an urban planning situation. The comparative study pits a three-dimensional VR model (with increased graphic fidelity and geographic content to address the feedback of the previous study) of a subdivision design (in a Dunedin suburb) against 3D models built with GIS (ArcGIS) and CAD (BricsCAD) tools, two types of software environment well established in urban professional practice. Urban professionals participated in the study by attempting to perform timed tasks correctly in each of the environments before being asked questions about the technologies involved and their perceived importance to their professional work. The results reinforce the positive feedback for VR of the previous study, with the graphical and geographic data issues being somewhat addressed (though participants stressed the need for accurate and precise object and terrain modification capabilities in VR). Ease-of-use and associated fastest task completion speed were significant positive outcomes to emerge from the comparison with GIS and CAD, pointing to a strong future for VR in an urban planning context.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks to Peter George (NZVWG, Department of Information Science) and the study participants. Feedback from members of the Interaction Design Centre, Middlesex University (UK) is also gratefully acknowledged.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Surveying, University of Otago/Land Information New Zealand (LINZ), Dunedin/Wellington, New Zealand

    Sisi Zhang

  2. School of Surveying, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand

    Antoni B. Moore

Authors
  1. Sisi Zhang
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  2. Antoni B. Moore
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Antoni B. Moore .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Software Engineering, Beykent University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Umit Isikdag

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Zhang, S., Moore, A.B. (2014). The Usability of Online Geographic Virtual Reality for Urban Planning. In: Isikdag, U. (eds) Innovations in 3D Geo-Information Sciences. Lecture Notes in Geoinformation and Cartography. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-00515-7_14

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