Tech Report CS-05-09

Comparative Evaluation of Desktop and Cave Environments for Learning Hypercube Rotations

Prabhat, David H. Laidlaw, Thomas F. Banchoff and Cullen D. Jackson

June 2005

Abstract:

We compare user performance in a Cave for learning about the geometry of the hypercube and how it can be oriented in 4-space. This task was chosen because it is difficult to teach and yet has a geometric character that we expected would be more effectively addressed in an immersive environment like a Cave. Our results indicate that users are faster on the desktop but more accurate in the Cave. Responses to a postexperiment questionnaire show that people learn more about the geometry of the hypercube in the Cave.

(complete text in pdf)