Japanese researchers create VR walking simulators that can stimulate the feet without walking

Japanese researchers have developed a new virtual reality program aimed at imitating the feeling of walking. It simulates the feeling of walking by stimulating the feet while the user is sitting still. Researchers have found that participants in the VR system test experience an enhanced walking simulation when experiencing the virtual world from a first person perspective.

The creation of realistic walking simulations is seen as an important breakthrough in virtual reality, as one of the biggest challenges is to make users feel like they are walking. When the sensory system is used for third person perspective, users feel that it impairs their sense of motion during testing. The researchers of this project say that walking is fundamental to daily life and is worth trying to provide a high-quality walking experience in virtual reality.

Improving the realism provided in virtual reality will also be welcomed by gamers, especially due to the impact of pandemics, which have proven to be popular in recent years. Researchers hope to determine whether full body or hand and foot avatars viewed from a first or third person perspective can utilize optical flow and rhythmic vibrations to convey the sensation of walking in a virtual environment. In the test, when participants move their digital avatars, the platform synchronizes with the movements, feeling like the avatar with only hands and feet is their body.

Researchers conducted experiments with 40 participants in first person and third person perspectives. Everyone sees the same virtual world, where their fully embodied heads are linked to the user's head movements. Participants sit on a stool, connected to four vibration sensors made of aluminum springs and wooden boards placed on their feet. The user wears headphones that emit white noise to drown out the vibration sound in the system.

The researchers of the team are studying this technology to enhance the home VR use of players. They believe that a low-cost and miniaturized system can be designed, priced between $300 and $500.

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