(Press-News.org) Despite virtual reality (VR) technology being more affordable than ever, developers have yet to achieve a sense of full immersion in a digital world. Among the greatest challenges is making the user feel as if they are walking.
Now, researchers from the Toyohashi University of Technology and The University of Tokyo in Japan have published a paper to the journal Frontiers in Virtual Reality describing a custom-built platform that aims to replicate the sensation of walking in VR, all while sitting motionlessly in a chair.
"Walking is a fundamental and fun activity for human in everyday life. Therefore, it is very worthwhile to provide a high-quality walking experience in a VR space," says Yusuke Matsuda.
Matsuda is a project assistant professor at the Department of Computer Science and Engineering at the Toyohashi University of Technology and a corresponding author of the paper.
"We believe that the general public is also very likely to be interested in this study that combines walking and VR experiences which has seen rapid growth in demand as a result of Covid-19," he adds.
How it works
The purpose of the study was to investigate whether a full-body or hands-and-feet-only walking avatar seen through either the first-person or third-person perspective can convey the sensation of walking in a virtual environment through optic flows and rhythmic foot vibrations.
When the participant moves their digital avatar, the platform syncs with these movements to "feel as if the hands-and-feet-only avatar is their own body", the researchers wrote.
40 participants were split evenly between both the first-person and third-person perspective experiments. What they saw in the virtual world and the head of their full-body avatar were linked to the user's actual head movements.
While sitting down on a stool, each participant was connected to 4 vibro-transducers made from aluminum springs and wood plates, each placed on their feet. When their avatar moved, the pads would vibrate to replicate movement.
To eliminate the sound of the vibration system, participants wore headphones emitting white noise. They then travelled down a virtual corridor which consisted of a textured floor and sidewalls made of wood, with mirrors regularly distributed on either side of their avatar's path.
VR mirrors
The researchers said that not being able to see their avatar had a significant impact on a person's perception of walking while sitting motionlessly. However, the inclusion of mirror reflections mitigated this.
"Our study showed that a walking avatar in a first-person perspective enhanced the sensation of walking," Matsuda said.
"The effects were observed not only when the full-body avatar was used, but also when only the hands and feet were presented without the hands-and-feet-only avatar."
The researchers noted participants felt no walking-like sensation when seeing the avatar from the third-person perspective.
The researchers said that from this perspective, both the full-body and hands-and-feet avatars "impaired the self-motion sensation and telepresence, irrespective of the foot vibrations in comparison to the no-avatar condition".
Easier than walking
Looking to the future, Matsuda and the rest of his team sees the concept - once further developed - as being a way to enhance VR users at home.
"We believe that low cost and miniaturization can be accomplished," Matsuda said. "The proposed device consists of 4 vibro-transducers and amplifiers. The configuration is relatively simple, inexpensive - between $300 and $500) - and compact."
In addition to gamers, the researchers see its potential among those who may live with mobility issues.
"One of the most important features of the walking device we proposed is that it gives tactile and visual stimuli to seated users," Matsuda said.
"Besides, for those without mobility issues, the proposed method is simply less fatiguing than moving the legs by oneself. Therefore, we will be able to easily experience virtual walking for a relatively long time."
INFORMATION:
Details:
Walking is a fundamental physical activity in humans. A research team at Toyohashi University of Technology, in collaboration with researchers at the University of Tokyo, has developed a virtual walking system for seated observers which allows them to experience walking without moving their limbs. A walking-avatar, in first-person and mirrored perspectives, enhanced illusory walking sensations by combining rhythmic foot vibrations to simulate footsteps. The "invisible" avatar, made of only hands and feet, also improved the illusion of walking. This system may provide virtual walking experience for people with walking disabilities. This study will be published in Frontiers in Virtual ...
Severe cases of COVID-19 can involve extensive inflammation in the body, and clinicians have wondered if this state is similar to what are called cytokine storm syndromes, in which the immune system produces too many inflammatory signals that can sometimes lead to organ failure and death. A new study published in Arthritis & Rheumatology indicates that different markers in the blood clearly differentiate excessive inflammation in critical COVID-19 from cytokine storm syndromes.
The research, which was led by investigators at University Children's Hospital Muenster ...
A new study published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica found that taking a particular probiotic strain improves iron levels in healthy pregnant women and may therefore help to prevent iron deficiency.
A total of 326 healthy women were randomized to receive a placebo or the probiotic strain Lactiplantibacillus plantarum 299v (Lp299v) administered with a low dose of iron, folic acid, and ascorbic acid. They took the placebo or the combination product twice daily during pregnancy.
Compared with taking placebo, taking the probiotic product reduced the prevalence of iron deficiency (78% versus 59%) and iron deficiency anemia (21% versus 7.4%) ...
After undergoing treatment for cancer, patients may worry that the disease will recur. An analysis of published studies indicates that fear of cancer recurrence may lead to an increased use of healthcare resources--such as more visits to see physicians and greater use of medications--by cancer survivors.
The analysis, which is published in Psycho-Oncology, also found evidence that some interventions to address fear of cancer recurrence are likely to be cost?effective for reducing fear and improving quality of life.
"The possibility of cancer returning causes a great mental health cost for cancer survivors, but there is also a hidden cost to the healthcare system. Globally, millions ...
An analysis of published studies indicates that pharmacist-led efforts can reduce medication-related harms--such as cognitive impairment, falls, drug-drug interactions, and bacterial infections--in older adults in residential aged care facilities. The findings are published in the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology.
In the analysis of 23 studies, investigators found several pharmacist-led interventions that reduce various medication-related harms in older people permanently living in residential aged care facilities.
The most frequent single-component pharmacist-led intervention involved performing medication ...
Following a school shooting, the risk for additional school shootings in the same and neighboring states increases in the next year, according to an analysis published in Contemporary Economic Policy.
The analysis included information on U.S. school shootings between 1990 and 2017. The copycat effect revealed by the analysis indicates that the media should find a way to cover these events while minimizing the risk of provoking additional shootings.
"Studying copycat effects in state-level school shootings data helps us to better understand to what extent school shooters are influenced by prior shootings," said corresponding author Karsten Schweikert, PhD, of the ...
An article published in Geographical Research examines how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted international higher education and the mobility of students around the globe, noting that universities face the urgent task of reimagining alternative futures for themselves.
While much hope is invested in vaccines, travel restrictions and health concerns may continue to hamper student mobility and encourage more remote learning. New study destinations, different modes of study, and partnerships with technology providers can be anticipated.
With these changes, regulatory and ethical oversight will be required. "Policymakers and university leaders must look beyond goals of revenue generation and education exports. ...
Microplastics--small plastic pieces less than 5 millimeters in length--are ubiquitous in the environment, and they can have significant effects on wildlife. A new study published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry reveals that there are multiple impacts of different microplastics--with varying sizes, shapes, and chemical makeup--to the survival, growth, and development of larval fathead minnows, an important prey species in lakes and rivers in North America.
By demonstrating that microplastics are both physical and chemical stressors, the study supports the need ...
Kiwi are iconic birds that have been severely impacted by deforestation and predation from invasive mammals since the arrival of humans in New Zealand. The remaining kiwi can be split into 14 clusters that are now treated as separate conservation management units. A review published in Ibis examines the latest information on kiwi genetics to investigate the legitimacy for maintaining these differences.
Although studies indicate that kiwi differ genetically between areas, there is little understanding of the extent of local adaptations and breeding changes on populations. The work highlights the need for a more detailed understanding of the genetics of different species for wildlife conservation.
"Using kiwi as an example, we hope to convey that results ...
A Wireless Sensor Network--a set of sensor nodes placed in different locations that sense their surroundings and transmit sensed data--can have a range of applications related to the environment, healthcare, transportation, security, and other areas. An analysis of published research provides an overview of the ability of "mobile elements" to improve terrestrial and underwater Wireless Sensor Networks.
As described in the analysis published in the International Journal of Communication Systems, mobile elements improve communication between sensor nodes by visiting static sensor nodes and collecting their data. This leads to a decrease in energy ...
