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In this paper, we propose a novel and intuitive moving manner of users’ body in a virtual space. In our system, the users ride a popular fitness equipment, which has two pedals for left and right feet, and they can open or close their legs by sliding the pedals to the sides on it. On the equipment, the users can designate movement to any directions through body actions. Those movements of limbs’ actions give the users feeling of motions, which contributes to enhancing their immersion while suppressing VR sickness. In order to show the effectiveness of our approach, we conducted experiments to compare our method with a conventional method using a controller. As a result, we observed that our method increases the sense of immersion and reduces VR sickness.

Due to an increase in population, urban centers are currently seeing an increase in traffic, resulting in negative consequences such as pollution and congestion. Efforts have been made to promote a modal shift towards the use of more sustainable means of transport, such as walking and cycling, but several deterrents influence the citizens’ perceptions of safety, security and comfort, discouraging their choice of active modes of transport. This study focuses on the importance of providing meaningful information to vulnerable road users (VRUs) to support their perceptions and objectives while moving within urban spaces through a novel concept of route planning. A broad survey of the needs and concerns of VRUs through interviews, focus groups and questionnaires, applied to the Portuguese population of the Metropolitan Area of Porto, led to the development of a new concept of route planners that show personalized routes according to the individual perceptions of each user. This concept is materialized in a route planner prototype that has been extensively tested by potential users. Subjective evaluation and feedback showed the usefulness of the concept and added value to a familiar product, leading to a satisfying experience for participants. This study shows that there is an opportunity to improve these tools to provide a higher degree of power and customization to users on route planning, which includes addressing mobility restrictions and personal perceptions of safety, security and comfort. The ultimate goal of this new approach is to persuade citizens to switch to more sustainable means of transport.

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