Room Tilt Stick

Room Tilt Stick is an interactive head-mounted display (HMD) system that provides an illusory experience of tilting a room using a stick and of walking on an acutely inclined slope. In the proposed system, the tilting velocity of a three-dimensional modeled room in the HMD’s view is correlated with the degree of force transferred to the wall or ground with a specially designed stick. Here a weight scale (i.e., a Wii Balance Board) monitors to what degree the participant’s weight is rested against the wall (through a tiltable platform) or ground. After the illusory tilt of the room is completed, participants are instructed to walk on a two meter long wooden slope. The degree of physical inclination is gradually increased according to the walking distance, and the walking slope corresponds to an illusory wall in the HMD’s view. The system was tested in our laboratory exhibition, and 87 out of 100 participants reported a strong sensation of the room tilting by pressing the wall or ground with the stick.