Around the (Virtual) World: Infinite Walking in Virtual Reality Using Electrical Muscle Stimulation

Virtual worlds are infinite environments in which the user can move around freely. When shifting from controller-based movement to regular walking as an input, the limitation of the real world also limits the virtual world. Tackling this challenge, we propose the use of electrical muscle stimulation to limit the necessary real-world space to create an unlimited walking experience. We thereby actuate the users` legs in a way that they deviate from their straight route and thus, walk in circles in the real world while still walking straight in the virtual world. We report on a study comparing this approach to vision shift - the state of the art approach - as well as combining both approaches. The results show that particularly combining both approaches yield high potential to create an infinite walking experience.