Walking up and down in immersive virtual worlds: Novel interactive techniques based on visual feedback

Abstract

We introduce novel interactive techniques to simulate the sensation of walking up and down in immersive virtual worlds based on visual feedback. Our method consists in modifying the motion of the virtual subjective camera while the user is really walking in an immersive virtual environment. The modification of the virtual viewpoint is a function of the variations in the height of the virtual ground. Three effects are proposed: (1) a straightforward modification of the camera's height, (2) a modification of the camera's navigation velocity, (3) a modification of the camera's orientation. They were tested in an immersive virtual reality setup in which the user is really walking. A Desktop configuration where the user is seated and controls input devices was also tested and compared to the real walking configuration. Experimental results show that our visual techniques are very efficient for the simulation of two canonical shapes: bumps and holes located on the ground. Interestingly, a strong "orientation-height illusion" is found, as changes in pitch viewing orientation produce perception of height changes (although camera's height remains strictly the same in this case). Our visual effects could be applied in various virtual reality applications such as urban or architectural project reviews or training, as well as in videogames, in order to provide the sensation of walking on uneven grounds.

Influence of auditory and visual feedback for perceiving walking over bumps and holes in desktop VR

“…Results of experiment 1 show that the simulated surface profiles were recognized with high percentages in all the three modalities, and this is a confirm of the success of the techniques proposed in [Marchal et al 2010] and . Although the addition of audio stimuli did not produce significant higher percentages rather than the visual only modality, the subjective questionnaire revealed, for the criteria investigated, a clear preference of the bimodal stimuli respect to the stimuli presented in the single modalities.…”

“…Only few locomotion interfaces are able to render uneven grounds, but they have the disadvantages of being costly and cumbersome [Hollerbach et al 2003;Iwata et al 2001]. Recently, research has shown that it is possible to simulate the act of walking on unflat surfaces only using visual cues [Marchal et al 2010]. These results are a development of previous research on pseudo-haptic simulation [Lécuyer et al 2004].…”

“…The visual techniques used to simulate the act of walking over bumps and holes were the same proposed in [Marchal et al 2010]: a straightforward modification of the camera's height (H), a modification of the camera's navigation velocity (V), a modification of the camera's orientation (O), and the combination of the three effects (HOV). Our simulations used a known mathematical profile, the Gaussian one, which was used for the simulations of both holes and bumps.…”

The King-Kong Effects: Improving sensation of walking in VR with visual and tactile vibrations at each step

“…This reflex can also be added to CM [4], which are then adapted to follow the user's gaze in real time [3]. Moreover, CM can also be used to suggest slopes for example [10]. The height, advance speed and orientation of the camera can be used separately or together to inform about the slope.…”

Temporal and amplitude aspects in sonically simulating walking over bumps, holes and flat surfaces

“…Such research has recently been extended in [13], where the authors investigated whether it is possible to simulate the illusion of walking on a hole or a bump only by using visual feedback. Three parameters were considered in such simulation: orientation, velocity and height, and their combination.…”