This study represents a systematic literature review in which we explored the locomotion techniques in virtual reality between 2012 and 2019. We analysed and compared 22 locomotion methods that we have identified in 26 papers included in our review. The objective is to better understand relevant locomotion techniques and their impact on the user experience. The review of the literature has shown a wide range of different locomotion techniques which each technique is characterized by different advantages and drawbacks, but classic locomotion techniques such as joystick outperformed all the proposed technique in the reviewed studies. We also proposed a taxonomy and two types of evaluation for locomotion techniques in virtual environment. These elements provide guidelines that may help researchers to choose the most adapted locomotion technique according to the aim of their study.After the first stage of research based on the article's abstracts, 61 papers were deemed relevant. After the second stage, 26 articles were selected and included in our study.

This paper reports empirical results from a study on the impact of the KatWalk virtual reality omnidirectional treadmill on the user experience. The omnidirectional treadmill is a mechanical device, that allows the user to perform locomotive motion in any direction, allowing for 360 degrees of horizontal movement. This locomotion method appeared as a potential solution of the locomotion problem in virtual reality after the emergence and the democratization of the new generation of head-mounted display systems such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rit. However, little empirical work has been done to test the efficiency of the tool as a locomotion technique in virtual environments. Twenty-four subjects (13 females, mean age = 30.38, SD = 6.32) participated in the experiment. Results showed that the tool is suitable for traveling in virtual environments seen through head-mounted display systems, whether they are composed of plan or bumpy ground, with or without obstacles.

During recent years, researchers showed the feasibility and the interest of using virtual reality (VR)-based activities of daily living (vADL) among patients with cognitive impairments for the recovery of capacities. While interacting, the VR system provides various kinds of information for different purposes, including display of the virtual environment and understanding of the task, and also highlighting the functionalities or delivery of instructions. Generally, in order to improve the patient's performance, additional cues are provided to enhance information saliency, such as arrows, change of colors, and so on. We give the definition of "contextual Additional Software Stimulus" (cASS) to any additional information related to the interaction and whose absence from the virtual environment does not have any effect on the unfolding of the task. This work was designed to study the effects of cASS on the performance in a daily living simulated task, including purchasing items in the Virtual Action Planning Supermarket (VAP-S). For this purpose, after implementation of cASS in the VAP-S, we carried out experiments, in which 23 healthy subjects (12 M and 11 F) and 12 patients with brain injury (12 M) took part. Results showed that the deliverance of cASS during the virtual task significantly improved some variables that described the performance of healthy subjects and patients with brain injury.