Evidence Against a Correlation Between Ease of Use and Actual Use of a Device in a Walk-in Virtual Environment

Abstract

Technology acceptance and its use are assumed to be based on the perceived usefulness and ease of use of the technology. We studied one aspect of that by focusing on a possible correlation between the actual use of a device and its perceived ease of use. For studying technology that is new to users, we investigated the use of a locomotion control device in a walk-in virtual environment. We organized a user test in which participants browsed virtual shopping items by walking or by controlling locomotion with a device. Data were gathered in two ways: First, we observed their actual device use, and second, we asked users to evaluate the ease of use of the device. The analysis illustrates that there is no correlation between the actual use and ease of use of the device.