In this paper we report on a study conducted with a group of older adults in which they engaged in participatory design workshops to create a VR ATM training simulation. Based on observation, recordings and the developed VR application we present the results of the workshops and offer considerations and recommendations for organizing opportunities for end users, in this case older adults, to directly engage in co-creation of cutting-edge ICT solutions. These include co-designing interfaces and interaction schemes for emerging technologies like VR and AR. We discuss such aspects as user engagement and hardware and software tools suitable for participatory prototyping of VR applications. Finally, we present ideas for further research in the area of VR participatory prototyping with users of various proficiency levels, taking steps towards developing a unified framework for co-design in AR and VR.

Kopeć et al.study, combined with our previous work on human factors in rapid software development and co-design, including hackathon dynamics, allowed us to formulate recommendations for organizing content creation VR hackathons for specific purposes. We also provide guidelines on how to prepare the participants to work in rapid prototyping VR environments and benefit from such experiences in the long term.CCS Concepts: • Human-centered computing → Virtual reality; HCI design and evaluation methods; Empirical studies in HCI .

The dynamic development of solutions in the field of virtual and augmented reality poses challenges to designers. These challenges relate to both technical conditions, including hardware capabilities and software solutions, as well as psychophysical constructs conditioning the end users’ reception of the generated multimedia message. One of the key elements of the virtual and augmented reality experience is the interaction with the system through a virtual agent represented by an avatar, i.e. a reflection of the image of a participant in the virtual world, carrying on a conversation with the user. This paper presents a proposed software and hardware solution for conducting multifaceted research and comparative analysis of diverse interfaces and human-computer interaction in virtual and augmented reality. In the course of this research, statistically significant results were obtained indicating differences in perception between three types of virtual agents. Each of them represented by different avatars in a specially created research environment that allowed to conduct usability tests under reproducible conditions to study user interaction in virtual reality.