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The Effect of Translational and Rotational Body-Based Information on Navigation

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Human Walking in Virtual Environments

Abstract

Physical locomotion provides internal (body-based) sensory information about the translational and rotational components of movement. This chapter starts by summarizing the characteristics of model-, small- and large-scale VE applications, and attributes of ecological validity that are important for the application of navigation research. The type of navigation participants performed, the scale and spatial extent of the environment, and the richness of the visual scene are used to provide a framework for a review of research into the effect of body-based information on navigation. The review resolves contradictions between previous studies’ findings, identifies types of navigation interface that are suited to different applications, and highlights areas in which further research is needed. Applications that take place in small-scale environments, where maneuvering is the most demanding aspect of navigation, will benefit from full-walking interfaces. However, collision detection may not be needed because users avoid obstacles even when they are below eye-level. Applications that involve large-scale spaces (e.g., buildings or cities) just need to provide the translational component of body-based information, because it is only in unusual scenarios that the rotational component of body-based information produces any significant benefit. This opens up the opportunity of combining linear treadmill and walking-in-place interfaces with projection displays that provide a wide field of view.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the award of an Alexander von Humboldt Foundation for Experienced Researchers to RAR, the University of Leeds, and the Max Planck Society.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Leeds, School of Computing, Leeds, UK

    Roy A. Ruddle

  2. Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

    Roy A. Ruddle

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  1. Roy A. Ruddle
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Correspondence to Roy A. Ruddle .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Würzburg, Oswald-Külpe-Weg 82, Würzburg, 97074, Germany

    Frank Steinicke

  2. Drexel University, Department of Electrical Engineering and Computer Engineerin, Philadelphia, 19104, Pennsylvania, USA

    Yon Visell

  3. University of Toronto,  Toronto Rehabilitation Institute, Univ, University Ave 550, Toronto, M5G 2A2, Ontario, Canada

    Jennifer Campos

  4. Computer Science and Control (INRIA), National Institute for Research in, Campus de Beaulie, Rennes Cedex, 35042, France

    Anatole Lécuyer

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Ruddle, R.A. (2013). The Effect of Translational and Rotational Body-Based Information on Navigation. In: Steinicke, F., Visell, Y., Campos, J., Lécuyer, A. (eds) Human Walking in Virtual Environments. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8432-6_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4419-8432-6_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4419-8431-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4419-8432-6

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