Cybersickness and User Acceptance in Virtual Reality Training: An analysis of Influencing Factors

Virtual Reality offers promising benefits for training, but its effectiveness is challenged by varying physical and cognitive demands, affecting users differently. These variations can lead to issues like cybersickness, impacting the overall success of VR-based training in modern smart factories. This paper investigates these challenges through a meta-analysis of studies assessing cybersickness using the Simulator Sickness Questionnaire (SSQ), across different domains and tasks, supported by the results of an ad-hoc VR experimental campaign with both adult and younger participants. Additionally, the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT) is applied to explore barriers to adopting VR for training in industrial settings. Results show how cybersickness depends on several, interconnected factors, which vary based on user and task in analysis. Nonetheless, the study shows the benefit of using VR for training, and how performance can affect positively the willingness to use VR as a new training paradigm.