Virtual Walking Generator from Omnidirectional Video with Ground-dependent Foot Vibrations

Virtual waking sensation can be experienced by combining optic flow and rhythmical foot vibrations. We hypothesized that the walking sensation would be enhanced by presenting foot vibrations matched with the ground in the video scene. Camera transitions were estimated from omnidirectional movies, and footstep patterns were generated. Then, vibrations matched to the ground in the scene were presented to users. We evaluated the system varying the vibration congruency with the grounds, and found that the ground-matched vibrations enhanced virtual walking sensation, but it depended on the ground type. The virtual walking sensation would contribute to improving virtual travel experiences.