Towards Lean and Elegant Self-Motion Simulation in Virtual Reality

Abstract

Despite recent technological advances, convincing self-motion simulation in Virtual Reality (VR) is difficult to achieve, and users often suffer from motion sickness and/or disorientation in the simulated world. Instead of trying to simulate self-motions with physical realism (as is often done for, e.g., driving or flight simulators), we propose in this paper a perceptually oriented approach towards selfmotion simulation. Following this paradigm, we performed a series of psychophysical experiments to determine essential visual, auditory, and vestibular/tactile parameters for an effective and perceptually convincing self-motion simulation. These studies are a first step towards our overall goal of achieving lean and elegant selfmotion simulation in Virtual Reality (VR) without physically moving the observer. In a series of psychophysical experiments about the self-motion illusion (circular vection), we found that (i) vection as well as presence in the simulated environment is increased by a consistent, naturalistic visual scene when compared to a sliced, inconsistent version of the identical scene, (ii) barely noticeable marks on the projection screen can increase vection as well as presence in an unobtrusive manner, (iii) physical vibrations of the observer's seat can enhance the vection illusion, and (iv) spatialized 3D audio cues embedded in the simulated environment increase the sensation of self-motion and presence. We conclude that providing consistent cues about self-motion to multiple sensory modalities can enhance vection, even if physical motion cues are absent. These results yield important implications for the design of lean and elegant self-motion simulators.

Fast visual prediction and slow optimization of preferred walking speed

“…The identified timing parameters associated with the fast and slow processes was 0.5 Ϯ 0.1 s and 59.1 Ϯ 12.0 s 2 , respectively. The initial response occurred after an average onset delay of 5.7 Ϯ 2.5 s, consistent with other experimental findings that induce the sensation of movement through sudden visual stimuli (Mohler et al 2005;Riecke et al 2005;Tanahashi et al 2007). The amplitude of the visual weighting parameter was 0.10 Ϯ 0.04, which corresponds to an average initial change in walking speed of 0.10 m/s and suggests that the visual feedback provided in this step perturbation experiment accounted for 10% of the sensory drive into the predictive selection of walking speed.…”

FIJI: A Framework for the Immersion-Journalism Intersection

“…(Published with written and informed consent of the subject.) Sodhi et al, 2013;Tang et al, 2014), olfactory (Dinh et al, 1999;Howell et al, 2016), vestibular (Brooks, 1999;Fung et al, 2004;Riecke et al, 2005), and gustatory cues (Nakamura and Miyashita, 2011;Narumi et al, 2011a,b). Slater and Wilbur (1997) used the term surrounding to refer to the extent to which an immersive experience is panoramic.…”

Auditory self-motion simulation is facilitated by haptic and vibrational cues suggesting the possibility of actual motion

“…Adding vibrations has been shown to facilitate visual circular and linear vection [Riecke et al 2005b;Schulte-Pelkum 2008] as well as auditory linear vection [Väljamäe et al 2006], but not auditory circular vection [Väljamäe 2007, paper C]. In Experiment 1, we investigated whether barely noticeable jitter might enhance auditory circular vection, in particular in situations where actual motion might seem possible.…”

“…Even though participants are often seated on a potentially rotating chair in auditory circular vection studies [Lackner 1977; · 3 Väljamäe 2005;2007], we are not aware of any study that investigated whether this does, in fact, facilitate circular vection. If this should turn out to be true, however, it would not only be of theoretical interest, but also relevant for many self-motion simulation applications, where it is often desired to provide a natural and compelling experience of the simulated environment and one's movement through that environment: Actual movements in the real world are typically accompanied by a strong sense of self-motion, suggesting that all virtual reality or multi-media simulations that do not elicit a similar feeling of self-movement might be severely limited and might not enable natural, effortless behavior and spatial orientation in particular [Riecke et al 2005b]. …”

“…Albeit vibrations being frequently used in motion simulation and multi-media applications, there has only recently been experimental evidence that providing vibro-tactile stimulation of the participants' seat can in fact increase both visually induced linear/circular vection [Riecke et al 2005b;Schulte-Pelkum et al 2004;Schulte-Pelkum 2008] and auditorily induced linear vection [Väljamäe et al 2006]. Note that in the study by Väljamäe and colleagues on linear, auditorily induced vection, adding vibrations facilitated vection only when accompanied by an engine sound and/or when only one rotating sound source was used.…”