SHeF-WIP: Walking-in-Place based on Step Height and Frequency for Wider Range of Virtual Speed

Abstract

Walking-in-place (WIP) approaches face difficulties in reaching high locomotion speeds because of the required high step frequency, rapidly creating an awkward or risky experience for the user. In this paper, we introduce a novel WIP approach called Step-Height-and-Frequency (SHeF) WIP, which considers a second parameter, i.e., the step height, in addition to the step frequency, to better control the speed of advancement. We compared SHeF-WIP with a conventional WIP system in a user study conducted with 12 participants. Our results suggest that SHeF-WIP enabled them to reach higher virtual speeds (+80%) with more efficacy and ease.