Investigating How to Control Virtual Spiders While Embodying Them in Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) enables users to embody avatars with vastly different appearances and anatomies. Embodying virtual spiders with their alien morphology could offer exciting experiences for immersive VR in gaming or education. While prior research has explored embodiment of human-like avatars and even non-human forms such as animals, it still remains unclear how best to control anatomically distinct avatars such as spiders. In this exploratory study, we systematically compared four control methods—standard VR controller, hand control, half-body control, and full-body control—while embodying a spider in VR. Using a repeated-measures design with 20 participants, we assessed each control method in terms of embodiment, usability, and perceived exertion. Results indicate that half-body control offered the best overall balance, with the highest usability and lowest exertion, while still maintaining a comparable level of embodiment to other methods. Full-body control was rated significantly lower in usability and higher in perceived exertion. These findings suggest that half-body control may provide a good balance between realism and usability for embodying spiders in VR.