Exploring large virtual environments with an HMD when physical space is limited

Abstract

Virtual Environments presented through head-mounted displays (HMDs) are often explored on foot. Exploration on foot is useful since the afferent and efferent cues of physical locomotion aid spatial awareness. However, the size of the virtual environment that can be explored on foot is limited to the dimensions of the tracking space of the HMD unless other strategies are used. This paper presents a system for exploring a large virtual environment on foot when the size of the physical surroundings is small by leveraging people's natural ability to spatially update. This paper presents three methods of "resetting" users when they reach the physical limits of the HMD tracking system. Resetting involves manipulating the users' location in physical space to move them out of the path of the physical obstruction while maintaining their spatial awareness of the virtual space.