Velocity-dependent dynamic curvature gain for redirected walking

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality (VR)
• Human-Computer Interaction (HCI)
• Perception and Psychophysics

Background:

• Redirected walking (RDW) enables users to traverse larger virtual environments than their physical space allows.
• Understanding human perception of virtual path curvature is crucial for effective RDW.
• Existing RDW techniques often use static controllers, limiting exploration distances.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate human sensitivity to walking on curved paths in VR.
• To validate a novel, perceptually motivated, velocity-dependent dynamic RDW technique.
• To compare the effectiveness of dynamic RDW against static RDW in increasing free-walk distance.

Main Methods:

• A psychophysical experiment measured sensitivity to path curvature at different walking speeds.
• An applied study compared a velocity-dependent dynamic gain controller with a static controller for RDW.
• Participants walked freely in a large virtual city model, with distance before reorientation recorded.

Main Results:

• Lower sensitivity to curved paths was observed at slower walking speeds (larger radius of curvature).
• The dynamic gain controller significantly increased the mean walked distance (22 m) compared to the static controller (15 m).
• Participants could explore larger virtual spaces with the dynamic RDW technique before needing reorientation.

Conclusions:

• Perceptually informed RDW techniques, particularly dynamic ones, enhance user experience in VR.
• Dynamic RDW, combined with reorientation strategies, facilitates unaided exploration of extensive virtual environments.
• Findings support the development of more immersive and expansive VR experiences through advanced RDW.