Exploring the User Experience of Virtual Reality in Displaying and Learning High-Risk Home Appliances

Abstract

The global shift in consumption habits following the pandemic has driven a substantial increase in household appliance utilization. However, this surge is accompanied by rising appliance-related hazards, primarily linked to user errors and the ineffectiveness of dense traditional instruction manuals. To mitigate these safety issues, this study investigates the efficacy of Virtual Reality (VR) as an innovative medium for experiential learning, selecting an oven as the target product due to its high-heat risks. The objective was to create a needs-compliant VR environment and compare its usability and user experience against a conventional physical learning model. An experiment with thirty participants collected quantitative data via the System Usability Scale (SUS) and qualitative insights through semi-structured interviews. Results demonstrated a statistically significant superiority of the VR experience, indicating exceptional usability and enhanced learning effectiveness. This validates VR as a powerful tool for accelerating product comprehension and safety education. The study concludes by contributing actionable design principles for immersive applications, emphasizing information layering, multimodal feedback, behavioral verification mechanisms, and dedicated guidance for VR novices.

Keywords: Virtual Reality, Home Appliance, User Experience, Learning

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1007299