Automated Testing of Virtual Reality Application Interfaces

Abstract

We describe a technique for supporting testing of the interaction aspect of virtual reality (VR) applications. Testing is a fundamental development practice that forms the basis of many software engineering methodologies. It is used to ensure the correct behavior of applications. Currently, there is no common pattern for automated testing of VR application interaction. We review current software engineering practices used in testing and explore how they may be applied to the specific realm of VR applications. We then discuss the ways in which current practices are insufficient to test VR application interaction and propose a testing architecture for addressing the problems. We present an implementation of the design written on top of the VR Juggler platform. This system allows VR developers to employ standard software engineering techniques that require automated testing methods.