Spatial Contraction Based on Velocity Variation for Natural Walking in Virtual Reality

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Physics

Background:

• Virtual Reality (VR) offers immersive 3D environments, but natural locomotion without physical space constraints is challenging.
• Existing VR locomotion methods (e.g., controllers, RDW) have limitations like unnaturalness or motion sickness.
• Technological advancements are needed to improve VR user experience and reduce physical exertion.

Purpose of the Study:

• Introduce Spatial Contraction (SC), a novel VR locomotion method inspired by Lorentz contraction.
• Evaluate the effectiveness of SC in reducing physical walking distance and improving user experience in VR.
• Investigate the potential of SC for integration with other VR locomotion techniques.

Main Methods:

• Developed a virtual space transformation method based on Lorentz contraction principles.
• Implemented SC to contract virtual space along the user's velocity vector.
• Optimized SC for smoothness, stability, and user perceptual alignment.

Main Results:

• Live user studies demonstrated SC significantly reduces physical walking distance and the need for resets.
• SC provides an observable contraction effect aligned with user intention, enhancing proprioception-visual consistency.
• The method proved effective across various virtual scenarios without special scene requirements.

Conclusions:

• Spatial Contraction (SC) is an effective VR locomotion technique for reducing physical movement.
• SC enhances VR immersion by aligning user perception and intention.
• SC shows promise for integration with existing methods like Redirected Walking (RDW).