A Technical Overview on Cutting-Edge Human-Joystick Locomotion aka Leaning in VR: Intuitive, Fun, Calibration-Free, and Open Source

Leaning interfaces, which conceptualize the human body as a two-axis analog joystick for locomotion, hold great promise for enhancing immersive VR experiences. This paper identifies three key barriers to their broader adoption: technical challenges (e.g., accurate tracking and calibration), lack of familiarity among developers and researchers, and cybersickness stemming from visio-vestibular conflicts inherent in continuous viewpoint movement. We sum up the technical state of the art and propose solutions to address these challenges making leaning interfaces robust, easy to use, and adaptable to various contexts. Finally, we provide a state-of-the-art implementation with this publication as open access.