Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

WeaVR: a self-contained and wearable immersive virtual environment simulation system

  • Published:
Behavior Research Methods Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

We describe WeaVR, a computer simulation system that takes virtual reality technology beyond specialized laboratories and research sites and makes it available in any open space, such as a gymnasium or a public park. Novel hardware and software systems enable HMD-based immersive virtual reality simulations to be conducted in any arbitrary location, with no external infrastructure and little-to-no setup or site preparation. The ability of the WeaVR system to provide realistic motion-tracked navigation for users, to improve the study of large-scale navigation, and to generate usable behavioral data is shown in three demonstrations. First, participants navigated through a full-scale virtual grocery store while physically situated in an open grass field. Trajectory data are presented for both normal tracking and for tracking during the use of redirected walking that constrained users to a predefined area. Second, users followed a straight path within a virtual world for distances of up to 2 km while walking naturally and being redirected to stay within the field, demonstrating the ability of the system to study large-scale navigation by simulating virtual worlds that are potentially unlimited in extent. Finally, the portability and pedagogical implications of this system were demonstrated by taking it to a regional high school for live use by a computer science class on their own school campus.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Bachmann, E.R., Calusdian, J., Hodgson, E., & Yun, X. (2012). A heading drift correction method for human position tracking using foot-mounted inertial/magnetic sensors. Proceedings of IEEE International Conference on Robotics & Automation, 2012.

  • Bliss, J. P., Tidwell, P. D., & Guest, M. A. (1997). The effectiveness of virtual reality for administering spatial navigation training to firefighters. Presence: Teleoperators & Virtual Environments, 6, 73–86.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, F.P., Airey, J., Alspaugh, J., Bell, A., Brown, R., Hill, C., ...Yuan, X. (1992). Six generations of buildingwalkthrough: Technical Report (#TR92-026). Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC.

  • Cruz-Neira, C., Sandin, D. J., DeFanti, T. A., Kenon, R. V., & Hart, J. C. (1992). The Cave: Audio visual experience automatic virtual environment. Communications of the ACM, 35, 64–72.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Deering, M. F. (1993). Making virtual reality more real: Experience with the virtual portal. Proceedings of Graphics Interface, 1993, 219–226.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feasel, J., Whitton, M.C. & Wendt, J.D. (2008). LLCM-WIP: Low-latency, continuous-motion walking-in-place. Proceedings of the 2008 I.E. Symposium on 3D User Interfaces, 97 – 104.

  • Feiner, S., MacIntyre, B., Hollerer, T., & Webster, A. (1997). A touring machine: Prototyping 3D mobile augmented reality systems for exploring the urban environment. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Wearable Computing, 1997, 74–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Foo, P., Warren, W. H., Duchon, A., & Tarr, M. J. (2005). Do humans integrate routes into a cognitive map? Map- versus landmark-based navigation of novel shortcuts. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, & Cognition, 31, 195–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, S. C., & Magee, L. E. (1998). Contributions of proprioception to navigation in virtual environments. Human Factors, 40, 489–497.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hodges, L.F., Kooper, R., Meyer, T.C., Rothbaum, B.O., Opdyke, D., de Graaff, J.J., … North, M.M., (1995). Virtual environments for treating the fear of heights, IEEE Computer, 28, 27 – 34.

  • Hodgson, E., & Bachmann, E. (2013). Comparing four approaches to generalized redirected walking: Simulation and live user data. IEEE: Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics, 19, 634–643.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson, E., Bachmann, E.R., & Thrash, T. (2013). Performance of Redirected Walking Algorithms in a Constrained Virtual World. Manuscript submitted for publication.

  • Hodgson, E., Bachmann, E.R., & Waller, D. (2011). Redirected walking to explore virtual environments: Assessing the potential for spatial interference. ACM Tranactions on Applied Perception, 8, Article 22, n.p.

  • Jayaram, S., Jayaram, U., Wang, Y., Tirumali, H., Lyons, K., & Hart, P. (1999). VADE: A virtual assembly design environment. IEEE Computer Graphics & Applications, 19, 44–50.

    Google Scholar 

  • Karr, C. R., Reece, D., & Franceschini, R. (1997). Synthetic soldiers [military training simulators]. IEEE Spectrum, 34, 39–45.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krijn, M., Emmelkamp, P. M. G., Olafsson, R. P., & Biemond, R. (2004). Virtual reality exposure therapy of anxiety disorders: A review. Clinical Psychology Review, 24, 259–281.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Loomis, J. M., Blascovich, J. J., & Beall, A. C. (1999). Immersive virtual environment technology as a basic research tool in psychology. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 31, 557–564.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, W.E., Hantel, T., Zetzsche, C., & Schill, K. (2013). Is the user trained? Assessing performance and cognitive resource demands in the VirtuSphere. Proceedings of 3DUI 2013. n.p.

  • Medina, E., Fruland, R., & Weghorst, S. (2008). VIRTUSPHERE: Walking in a human size VR “hamster ball.” Proceedings of The Human Factors & Ergonomics Society 52nd Annual Meeting, 2102 – 2106.

  • Razzaque, S., (2005). Redirected walking. Doctoral dissertation, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

  • Razzaque, S., Swapp, D., Slater, M., Whitton, M., & Steed, A. (2002). Redirected walking in place. Proceedings of the Workshop on Virtual Environments, EGVE '02, 123 – 130.

  • Reger, G. M., Holloway, K. M., Candy, C., Rothbaum, B. O., Difede, J., Rizzo, A. A., & Gahm, G. A. (2011). Effectiveness of virtual reality exposure therapy for active duty soldiers in a military mental health clinic. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 24, 93–96.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ribarsky, W., Ayers, E., Eble, J., & Mukherjea, S. (1994). Virtual reality for visualization. IEEE Computer, 27, 57–64.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rose, F. D., Attree, E. A., Brooks, B. M., Parslow, D. M., & Penn, P. R. (2000). Training in virtual environments: Transfer to real world tasks and equivalence to real task training. Ergonomics, 43, 494–511.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ruddle, R.A., Volkova, E. & Bülthoff, H.H. (2011). Walking improves your cognitive map in environments that are large-scale and large in extent. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 18, Article 10.

  • Slater, M., Usoh, M., & Steed, A. (1995). Taking steps: The influence of a walking technique on presence in virtual reality. ACM Transactions on Computer-Human Interaction, 2, 201–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Souman, J.L., Frissen, I., Sreenivasa, M.N., & Ernst, M.O. (2009). Walking straight into circles. Current Biology, 1538 – 1542.

  • Steinicke, F., Bruder, G., Jerald, J., Frenz, H., & Lappe, M. (2009). Estimation of detection thresholds for redirected walking techniques. IEEE: Transactions on Visualization & Computer Graphics, 16, 17–27.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinicke, F., Bruder, G. Jerald, J., Frenz, H., & Lappe, M. (2008). Analyses of human sensitivity to redirected walking. Proceedings of the 2008 ACM symposium on Virtual reality Software & Technology, VRST 08, Bordeaux, France, October 27-29.

  • Van Dam, A., Laidlaw, D. H., & Simpson, R. M. (2002). Experiments in immersive virtual reality for scientific visualization. Computers & Graphics, 26, 535–555.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waller, D., Bachmann, E. R., Hodgson, E., & Beall, A. C. (2007). The HIVE: A huge immersive virtual environment for research in spatial cognition. Behavior Research Methods, 39, 835–843.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Waller, D., Loomis, J. M., & Haun, D. B. M. (2004). Body-based senses enhance knowledge of directions in large-scale environments. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 11, 157–163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yun, X., Calusdian, J., Bachmann, E.R., & McGhee, R. (2012). Estimation of human foot motion during normal walking using inertial and magnetic sensor measurements. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation & Measurement, 61, n.p.

Download references

Acknowledgments

This work was supported in part by the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Army Research Office (ARO). The authors thank Proctor & Gamble for supplying the virtual supermarket used in this study. PNI Sensor Corporation donated two Spacepoint inertial sensors that assisted in construction of the second-generation WeaVR system and is sponsoring follow-up research by one of the authors.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology and Armstrong Institute of Interactive Media Studies, Miami University, Oxford, OH, 45056, USA

    Eric Hodgson

  2. Department of Computer Science and Software Engineering, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    Eric R. Bachmann, David Vincent & Michael Zmuda

  3. Department of Psychology, Miami University, Oxford, OH, USA

    David Waller

  4. Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA, USA

    James Calusdian

Authors
  1. Eric Hodgson
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Eric R. Bachmann
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. David Vincent
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Michael Zmuda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. David Waller
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. James Calusdian
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Eric Hodgson.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Hodgson, E., Bachmann, E.R., Vincent, D. et al. WeaVR: a self-contained and wearable immersive virtual environment simulation system. Behav Res 47, 296–307 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-014-0463-1

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13428-014-0463-1

Keywords

Search

Navigation