The Influence of Hand Tracking and Haptic Feedback for Virtual Prototype Evaluation in the Product Design Process

Product evaluation throughout the design process is a fundamental task for product success, which also helps to reduce design-related costs. Physical prototyping is a common method to assess design alternatives, but often requires significant amounts of time and money. Extended reality (XR) technologies are changing how products are presented to the user, making virtual prototyping an effective tool for product evaluation. However, it is generally assumed that our perceptual and emotional responses to a product viewed in an XR modality are comparable to those elicited by the physical product. This paper reports the results of a study where a group of participants evaluated three designs of a product (i.e., umbrella stands) when viewed in a real setting, virtual reality (VR), and VR with passive haptics. Our goal was to observe the influence of visual media in product perception, and how the use of a complementary item (i.e., a physical umbrella) for interaction as well as user design expertise influence product assessment. Results show that the Jordan’s psycho-pleasure category of assessment was the most affected by the presentation medium, whereas the ideo-pleasure category was the only category not influenced by the medium. We also highlight that the use of VR with passive haptics could be an effective tool for product evaluation, as illustrated by the study of umbrella stands and young consumers. Our study also shows that the user’s background does not influence the level of confidence in their responses, but it can influence the assessment of certain product features. Finally, the use of a complementary item for interaction may have a significant effect on product perception.