Augmented rotations in virtual reality for users with a reduced range of head movement

A large body of research in the field of virtual reality is focused on making user interfaces more natural and intuitive by leveraging natural body movements to explore a virtual environment. For example, head-tracked user interfaces allow users to naturally look around a virtual space by moving their head. However, such approaches may not be appropriate for users with temporary or permanent limitations of their head movement.

In this paper, we present techniques that allow these users to get virtual benefits from a reduced range of physical movements. Specifically, we describe two techniques that augment virtual rotations relative to physical movement thresholds.

We describe how each of the two techniques can be implemented with either a head tracker or an eye tracker, e.g. in cases when no physical head rotations are possible.

We discuss their differences and limitations and we provide guidelines for the practical use of such augmented user interfaces.