Keep It Clean: The Current State of Hygiene and Disinfection Research and Practices for Immersive Virtual Reality Experiences

The interest and dissemination of Virtual Reality (VR) is still expanding across multiple domains. While VR has the capacity to revolutionize many different industries and fields, the recent Covid-19 pandemic has also increased awareness of hygiene and safety associated with VR usage. Despite the growing commercial availability of both VR headsets and preventive and disinfection solutions, confirmatory studies required to validate both the efficacy and safety of the different solutions are severely lacking. This paper presents the findings of a survey aimed at gathering information about current hygiene practices in various domains, along with the perception of research availability. Cleaning methods varied among respondents (n=42), but most popular methods consisted of several consecutive solutions. Respondents primarily used anti-bacterial or alcohol disinfection wipes (81%), permanent face covers (leather/silicone) (43%), disposable cover/mask (26%), and UVC light disinfection (26%). 65% of the respondents stated that the Covid-19 pandemic made them change their practices. A majority of respondents remarked that there was a scarcity of research, yet, most respondents were fairly or completely confident that their cleaning protocols were sufficient, despite remarking that it was sometimes not adhered to. The efficacy of VR hygiene solutions and practices remains largely understudied despite the urgent need to establish validated and efficacious cleaning protocols and practices. Current solutions and practices primarily focuses on the inside of the headset, although the outside of the headset may be far more exposed to contaminants through e.g. hand-contact. Further research is needed to define and evaluate context-dependent risk-assessments as well as suitable cleaning protocols for VR-headsets.