Walking with body-sense in virtual space using the nonlinear oscillator

This paper presents a novel construction of a locomotion system that compensates for walking-sense with simple interfaces using hands or fingers. The realization of moving with body-sense in virtual space has required high-quality system designs including walking cancellations, haptic feedback, and high-resolution displays. However, such approaches result in increasing costs of calculation and space, which obstruct the spread of VR technology. We therefore propose a new framework of locomotion systems with simple interfaces that give users "passivity and restraint", which are essential components of walking-sense. They are realized with mutual entrainment between a nonlinear oscillator and users' input. Two experiments were conducted for evaluation. The first one showed that our system gives users sense of distance based on a body standard and sense of rhythm with stable input. The second one demonstrated that the users of our system can experience a subjective body-sense and a sense of velocity.