Walk this way: Novel method enables infinite walking in VR

5 years ago
Anonymous $CLwNLde341

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/05/180529140935.htm

Computer scientists from Stony Brook University, NVIDIA and Adobe have collaborated on a computational framework that gives VR users the perception of infinite walking in the virtual world -- while limited to a small physical space. The framework also enables this free-walking experience for users without causing dizziness, shakiness, or discomfort typically tied to physical movement in VR. And, users avoid bumping into objects in the physical space while in the VR world.

To do this, the researchers focused on manipulating a user's walking direction by working with a basic natural phenomenon of the human eye, called saccade. Saccades are quick eye movements that occur when we look at a different point in our field of vision, like when scanning a room or viewing a painting. Saccades occur without our control and generally several times per second. During that time, our brains largely ignore visual input in a phenomenon known as "saccadic suppression" -- leaving us completely oblivious to our temporary blindness, and the motion that our eyes performed.