Locomotion Interfaces - Human Walking in Virtual Environments - page 194

Chapter 9
Locomotion Interfaces

Hiroo Iwata

Abstract A locomotion interface is a device that creates an artificial sensation of
physical walking. It should ideally be equipped with three functions: (1) The creation
of a sense of walking while the true position of its user is preserved, (2) Allowing the
walker to change bearing direction, (3) The simulation of uneven walking surfaces.
This chapter categorizes and describes four different methods for the design and
implementation of such interfaces: Sliding shoes, Treadmills, Foot-pads, and Robotic
tiles. It discusses related technical issues and potential applications.

9.1 Introduction

A locomotion interface is a device that creates a sense of walking in a virtual
environment (VE). It provides for the experience of physical walking while a walker's
body is maintained localized in the real world.
In many applications of VEs, such as immersive training or visual simulations,
users can benefit from a good sensation of locomotion. It has often been suggested
that the best locomotion mechanism for VEs would be walking [ 5 ]. It is well known
that sense of distance or orientation while walking is much better than while riding
on a vehicle. Proprioceptive and vestibular feedback during walking is particularly
important for navigation [ 29 - 31 ].
Effects of proprioceptive and vestibular feedback have been tested in settings
involving walking on real ground while immersed in VE. Loomis et al. [ 17 ]used
a HMD in triangle completion walking tasks. Five conditions were employed for
evaluating optic flow, vestibular, and proprioceptive stimulation as inputs to the path
integration process. Two conditions involved walking (with and without vision), two

( B )
Virtual Reality Laboratory, Department of Intelligent Interaction Technologies,
1-1-1 Tennodai, Tsukuba 305-8573, Japan
e-mail: [e-mail]

H. Iwata