Year: 2016
Type: article
Abstract: Two inexpensive methods of exploring a virtual environment are walking in place (WIP) and arm \nswinging. These techniques are compelling because they strike a balance between space requirements, \ncost, and proprioceptive cues. They seem to provide better spatial awareness of a virtual environment \nthan other inexpensive virtual navigation techniques such as joysticks or controllers. On the other \nhand, they are much cheaper and require less space than tracking systems. In our prior work, we \nhad success in implementing a WIP method using an inexpensive Nintendo Wii Balance Board. \nWe showed that participants' spatial orientation was the same as normal walking and superior to \njoystick navigation. \nWe seek to extend our previous work utilizing the Myo armband{ an inexpensive wearable device \n(199 USD) with electromyography sensors, gyroscopes, and accelerometers. We previously found that \nour arm swinging method outperforms a simple joystick and that spatial orientation is comparable \nto physically walking on foot. \nIn this work, we compare physical locomotion to both arm swinging and WIP. We implement \nthese methods with Myo armbands. Both algorithms let users freely explore an HMD-based virtual \nenvironment. We tested users' spatial orientation and distance estimation. Interestingly, our mean \nturning angle errors were higher than those in our previous studies. Also notable is that users \nperformed better at blind walking in the WIP condition than in physical locomotion.
Source: DLynx (Rhodes College)
Author: Preston Tunnel Wilson
Language: English
Subfield: Human-Computer Interaction
Field: Computer Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2396648219