Exploring VR Wizardry: A Generic Control Tool for Wizard of Oz Experiments

This paper presents a Virtual Reality (VR) simulation control tool developed for Wizard of Oz experiments, aligned with the CityBot project. The tool includes a VR simulation and a web-based interface to address security concerns during the testing phase of the CityBot, which is an experimental autonomous vehicle on the scale of a conventional car. The prototype of the tool underwent experimental setups to explore gestural and verbal inputs, and subsequent architectural adjustments were made to enhance its flexibility: The frontend has been updated to support multiple platforms, and compatibility with robotic systems has been improved by integrating the Robot Operating System (ROS). Backend improvements include the adoption of a MySQL database and stateless microservices for compatibility with Cloud-native technologies to improve persistence and scalability. The tool accommodates multi-user scenarios and customizable UI templates, making it a flexible platform for evaluating Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) aspects within robotic systems. Despite the increased complexity resulting from these changes, the tool provides a user-friendly interface. This tool has a wide range of applications in exploring HCI in robotic systems. It can be used for experimental simulations beyond the CityBot project and is relevant in various real-world and virtual environments.