Children's Calibration of Reaching Estimates in Virtual Reality

This 10-minute IEEE conference talk examines how children and adults perceive their reaching capabilities in immersive virtual environments (IVEs). Discover the comparison between children's and adults' perceptions of reaching affordances, both upward and outward, in virtual reality. Learn how both groups initially overestimate their reaching abilities—particularly when reaching outward—and how they recalibrate their judgments after receiving action-outcome feedback through physical reaching exercises. Explore the finding that while children demonstrated greater initial overestimation, they recalibrated at rates similar to adults. The research presented by authors from the University of Utah and Vanderbilt University provides valuable insights into affordance perception across different age groups in virtual environments, representing an important advancement in adapting VR technology for younger users.