Physical Safety

Trip hazards

It is important that the user has enough room to move without risk of tripping or physically running into something.

This includes having enough space to move. Make space by moving furnisher. Consider roof hangings like fans.

Clean flat floor space. Remove any objects on the floor or trip hassards

Harassment

When in Virtual Reality, users quickly lose touch with reality. When in this state between realities, interference from reality can be startling and alarming.

Don’t touch someone in VR without consent & communication.

Before putting someone in VR, establish if you are allowed to touch them when they are in VR.

The best places to touch someone when in VR is their shoulders, from the back.

It is common for friends / collages of users in VR to want to joke around with light harassment. This can come in the form waving a hand in-front of their face, to touching them in ways that will catch them off-guard. I recommend establishing some a rule of no-touch when someone is in VR before beginning the workshop.

Safety of others

Don’t get hit. It is important to prevent other people from entering the safe space and interfering with the user in VR. This can impact the user (which we will discuss more in Psychological Safety and Immersive Safety), but it can also put the non-VR user in danger.

Users in VR often move about in unexpected ways with great force. To prevent being hit by someone in VR, stay out of the safe space whenever possible.

As the facilitator, you may need to be in the safe space to assist the user. Always keep an eye on the user when in the safe space and where-ever possible, stay behind the user. This can help avoid being hit by the user.