Verifying the Effect of Body Postures and Auxiliary Features on Reading Efficiency in Virtual Reality Seongouk Kim Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology

Abstract

Reading is a fundamental activity in both everyday life and professional work, and recent advances in virtual reality (VR) have extended reading tasks into immersive environments. While prior studies and commercial applications have explored aspects such as text presentation and interface design, two important factors remain underexplored: reading posture and auxiliary reading functions. This study investigates how these factors influence reading experience in VR. We developed a VR reading application featuring a customizable user interface and four auxiliary functions—bookmark, search, highlight, and note. Using this application, we conducted a user study comparing reading experiences in sitting and lying-down postures. We collected quantitative measures including comprehension tests, questionnaires, feature usage logs, and eye-gaze data, as well as qualita- tive data through semi-structured interviews. Quantitative results showed no statistically significant differences in comprehension or usability between postures. However, qualitative findings shows the possibilities of posture-specific trade-offs related to physical comfort, alertness, and interaction effort. Results also showed the preference to low- friction auxiliary functions such as bookmark highlighting, and avoidance to input-intensive functions, particularly in lying-down postures. Overall, this study provides empirical insights into posture and auxiliary function usage in VR read- ing and offers insights for developing more comfortable and effective VR reading experiences.