Page-Turning Techniques for Reading Interfaces in Virtual Environments

Virtual Reality (VR) environments offer new ways and formats to consume and process information. Despite multimedia offerings, most information remains to be presented via text. VR has the potential to deliver immersive reading experiences while compensating for some of the drawbacks of rather static e-books. To allow readers to step into virtual books, we developed a 3D reading environment with three page-turning techniques for VR. Readers either move the camera position from page to page or control the page flow as positioned in a sequential or radial arrangement. Results from a user study with 18 participants show that moving pages is perceived as more comfortable than moving the camera position while allowing for higher fluency and reading speeds. Linear page movements support readers’ focus on a single page whereas the radial arrangement enables readers to jump between pages quickly. Our findings inform the design of immersive reading experiences in VR.