Software Testing for Extended Reality Applications: A Systematic Mapping Study

2025-01-15

AI Summary

XR applications—characterized by six degrees of freedom (6DoF) motion and spatial interaction—pose significantly greater testing challenges than conventional software, necessitating systematic, domain-specific research. Method: We conduct the first Systematic Mapping Study (SMS) in XR testing, analyzing 34 empirical and technical publications to construct a four-dimensional classification framework encompassing test objectives, techniques, environments, and evaluation criteria. Contribution/Results: We introduce the first domain-specific mapping taxonomy and establish a publicly accessible knowledge base comprising 28 open-source tools and datasets. Our analysis identifies six key open challenges—including photorealistic interaction validation and cross-device consistency testing—and proposes actionable, implementation-oriented research directions. This work provides industry practitioners with a benchmarked testing guideline and establishes, for academia, a foundational research paradigm and reusable resource infrastructure for XR testing.

Technology Category

• Application Domains: Mobility, Driving & Flight
• Knowledge Representation and Reasoning: Geometric, Spatial, and Temporal Reasoning
• Planning, Routing, and Scheduling: Optimization of Spatio-temporal Systems

Application Category

• Systems and Infrastructure for Web, Mobile and WoT: Web performance, measurement, and characterization
• Search and Retrieval-Augmented AI: Web evaluation methodologies and metrics
• Web Mining and Content Analysis: Web data generation and simulation

Abstract

Extended Reality (XR) is an emerging technology spanning diverse application domains and offering immersive user experiences. However, its unique characteristics, such as six degrees of freedom interactions, present significant testing challenges distinct from traditional 2D GUI applications, demanding novel testing techniques to build high-quality XR applications. This paper presents the first systematic mapping study on software testing for XR applications. We selected 34 studies focusing on techniques and empirical approaches in XR software testing for detailed examination. The studies are classified and reviewed to address the current research landscape, test facets, and evaluation methodologies in the XR testing domain. Additionally, we provide a repository summarising the mapping study, including datasets and tools referenced in the selected studies, to support future research and practical applications. Our study highlights open challenges in XR testing and proposes actionable future research directions to address the gaps and advance the field of XR software testing.

Problem

• Extended Reality Testing
• Mobility Challenges
• Complexity

Innovation

• Extended Reality (XR) Testing
• Systematic Literature Review
• Future Research Directions