Whether cybersickness, fatigue or social anxiety, discomfort with virtual reality (VR) is preventing the tool from being fully embraced by users, a fact that may come as a surprise when you consider how long the technology has been available.
Te Whare Wānanga o Waitaha | University of Canterbury (UC) Professor Rob Lindeman is leading an international team of researchers including experts from UC and the universities of Massey, Auckland, South Australia, Hamburg (Germany), Tohoku (Japan), and Mississippi State (USA), committed to tackling the major barriers preventing VR from becoming a trusted tool in high-stakes training environments including healthcare, emergency response and industrial safety.
Professor Lindeman is Director of UC's celebrated Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HIT Lab NZ), a research centre committed to a human-centred approach to the analysis, design and development of emerging and interactive technologies like VR.
The research taps into national priorities around workforce development, skills development, education and innovation-led growth, as it seeks to overcome what Professor Lindeman calls the "20-minute VR barrier" - the point where users start feeling motion sick, mentally tired, or just uneasy.
"VR has been hyped for years, but the reality is most people can't tolerate it for more than 20 minutes," he says. "If we want VR to be useful in training people for real-world, high-pressure situations, we have to break through that barrier."
What's different about this project is how it brings everything together. Instead of looking at cybersickness, fatigue or social anxiety as separate issues, the team is taking a holistic approach - combining insights from experts in psychology, biomechanics, and computer science to get to the root of the problem.
Their answer: a smart, in-headset guide called Sage. Designed to act like a digital coach, Sage quietly monitors how you're doing while you're in VR - picking up on stress signals or physical discomfort and offering subtle, in-the-moment support. The goal is to make the whole experience smoother, more comfortable and more human.
"Imagine someone on your shoulder while you're inside a simulated fire or medical emergency, helping you adapt in the moment. That's the kind of intelligent support Sage provides," Lindeman says.
The team is building Sage as part of a broader framework, dubbed the Betterverse, a nod to the more commonly recognised Metaverse but with a stronger focus on improving user experience.
"The Metaverse gets a lot of hype, but we're referencing something more human and useful - something better - so we came up with the Betterverse. It's about creating virtual environments that are more human-focused, more helpful, and actually work for people."
That idea is already being put into practice. The Betterverse is being used in training simulations for rural firefighters, helping them prepare for complex, high-stress scenarios in a safe and cost-effective way. It's also attracting attention from a range of New Zealand companies including SkillsVR, oVRcome, Umajin and Virtual Medical Coaching - all of whom are keen to extend the time users can spend meaningfully engaged in VR.
"Our clinical trials have confirmed just how vital this research is," says oVRcome founder, Adam Hutchinson. "The more time people spend using our VR exposure therapy, the better their outcomes. Longer VR sessions significantly increase the chance of mental health success."
James Hayes, the founder of Virtual Medical Coaching agrees. "The results show learning that's more efficient, more effective, and more cost-effective."
Beyond industry, the project also has significant implications for education and accessibility, particularly in areas where training opportunities are limited by location or cost. Whether it's learning emergency response skills or studying a new language, Sage and the Betterverse could make immersive learning more accessible for people in remote or under-served communities across the country.
Because when virtual reality works for more people, in more places, the future of training gets a whole lot more real.
