Adding head tracking to desktop virtual reality with the Wii remote as an aid to spatial cognition

Desktop virtual reality (VR) provides a more economical and ubiquitous way to present virtual reality to people, at the cost of a significant amount of immersion. Our study explores the addition of a low-cost head-tracking system to a desktop VR system and its impact on spatial cognition. The head-tracking system is used to provide a more 3D-like interface to VR by providing parallax and allowing user access to a larger visual field than is provided by the limited viewing angle of the display monitor. Such an interface, while not providing a full set of vestibular cues, may provide enough additional information to improve spatial learning.