RedirectedDoors+: Door-Opening Redirection with Dynamic Haptics in Room-Scale VR.

Area of Science:

• Virtual Reality
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Robotics

Background:

• RedirectedDoors is a technique for compressing physical space in virtual reality (VR) experiences.
• Previous implementations were limited to single, fixed door openings in laboratory settings.
• Scaling redirection techniques for expansive room-scale VR remains a challenge.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and evaluate RedirectedDoors+, a robot-based system for consecutive, haptic-enabled door-opening redirection in VR.
• To enable dynamic and arbitrary positioning of virtual doors within a physical play space.
• To maintain user immersion and safety by preventing boundary collisions in room-scale VR.

Main Methods:

• Development of a robot-based system comprising wheeled door robots with doorknob props.
• Implementation of a robot-positioning algorithm for just-in-time haptic feedback.
• Integration of a user-steering algorithm to control redirection gain and maintain user position.
• Simulation of VR exploration across six virtual environments.
• Conducting a user study with 12 participants experiencing a walkthrough application.

Main Results:

• Simulations provided usage guidelines based on user walking speed, paths, and robot quantity.
• The system successfully delivered haptic feedback during virtual door openings.
• User study confirmed the system's ability to redirect users within a limited play area while providing haptics.
• RedirectedDoors+ demonstrated effective compression of physical space for immersive VR.

Conclusions:

• RedirectedDoors+ significantly expands the applicability of door-opening redirection techniques for room-scale VR.
• The robot-based system effectively integrates haptic feedback with virtual environment navigation.
• This advancement facilitates more expansive and immersive virtual reality experiences within constrained physical spaces.