Myo arm: swinging to explore a VE

Abstract

In this paper, we use an inexpensive wearable device called the Myo armband (199 USD) to implement a simple arm swinging algorithm that allows a user to freely explore an HMD-based virtual environment. Using a spatial orientation task we directly compared our Myo arm--swinging method to joystick locomotion and physical walking. We find that our arm swinging method outperforms the simple joystick and that spatial orientation is comparable to physically walking on foot. Our arm--swinging method is inexpensive compared to tracking systems that permit foot exploration, does not suffer from space constraints, and requires less physical energy than walking on foot.