VEHanoi: Performance Differences in Virtual versus Real Environments

This research used a real and a virtual Tower of Hanoi puzzle to examine performance differences between virtual and real environments. The puzzle was solved twice in the real environment and twice in the virtual environment by each of the participants. A one-way ANOVA was performed for each of the four trials to compare the performance difference between the two environments. Comparisons were made on number of moves to solve the puzzle, time to move an object, and wand selection method. The analysis showed a significant difference in favor of real world performance of the task with respect to time to move an object. The paper concludes with a report on participant comments and an exploration of the possible sources of this difference.