VR-Fit: Walking-in-Place Locomotion with Real Time Step Detection for VR-Enabled Exercise

Sari, Sercan; Kucukyilmaz, Ayse

Abstract

With recent advances in mobile and wearable technologies, virtual reality (VR) found many applications in daily use. Today, a mobile device can be converted into a low-cost immersive VR kit thanks to the availability of do-it-yourself viewers in the shape of simple cardboards and compatible software for 3D rendering. These applications involve interacting with stationary scenes or moving in between spaces within a VR environment. VR locomotion can be enabled through a variety of methods, such as head movement tracking, joystick-triggered motion and through mapping natural movements to translate to virtual locomotion. In this study, we implemented a walk-in-place (WIP) locomotion method for a VR-enabled exercise application. We investigate the utility of WIP for exercise purposes, and compare it with joystick-based locomotion in terms of step performance and subjective qualities of the activity, such as enjoyment, encouragement for exercise and ease of use. Our technique uses vertical accelerometer data to estimate steps taken during walking or running, and locomotes the user's avatar accordingly in virtual space. We evaluated our technique in a controlled experimental study with 12 people. Results indicate that the way users control the simulated locomotion affects how they interact with the VR simulation, and influence the subjective sense of immersion and the perceived quality of the interaction. In particular, WIP encourages users to move further, and creates a more enjoyable and interesting experience in comparison to joystick-based navigation.

Citation

Sari, S., & Kucukyilmaz, A. (2019, August). VR-Fit: Walking-in-Place Locomotion with Real Time Step Detection for VR-Enabled Exercise. Presented at 16th International Conference on Mobile Web and Intelligent Information Systems, Istanbul, Turkey

• Presentation Conference Type: Edited Proceedings
• Conference Name: 16th International Conference on Mobile Web and Intelligent Information Systems
• Start Date: Aug 26, 2019
• End Date: Aug 28, 2019
• Acceptance Date: May 21, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 26, 2019
• Publication Date: 2019
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 27, 2020
• Pages: 255-266
• Series Title: Lecture Notes in Computer Science
• Series Number: 11673
• Series ISSN: 1611-3349
• Book Title: Mobile Web and Intelligent Information Systems
• ISBN: 9783030271916
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27192-3_20
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4040467
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007%2F978-3-030-27192-3_20
• Additional Information: The final authenticated version is available online at https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-27192-3_20