The dream of being able to correctly simulate walking or running in virtual reality has always been, from the start, in the sights of manufacturers and in the wish list many players. Whether with the Kat Walk C2 or theOmniOne, those accustomed to VR have never really been convinced by these devices, as the feeling turns out to be far too artificial to be conclusive. Here now is that THE GIST (Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology) presents a new way to walk in virtual reality :
The device that is presented stands out from the competition by offering a movement system based on the feet, which does not need a body tracking camera to work. This intelligent mat follows the movement of your feet in real time as well as the pressure exerted by them. An artificial intelligence interprets the information by being able to precisely determine the angle of the body, the feet and the speed at which the user walks or runs.
The solution would therefore be more comfortable and natural than all the others on the market, while being cheaper. Here is what Kyung Joong Kimprofessor at MIT (who is associated with the project) and principal researcher at the GIST declares:
For us, this was a great opportunity, but also a challenge, because this mat had not been developed for a specific application. So we wanted to do something practical and interesting with this system and our artificial intelligence technology. That’s why we decided to develop a completely new game controller for VR.
In the future and outside the video game, we plan to add more detailed gait analysis functions to the current system. This would improve our sensor and system to detect falls and monitor user health in a comfortable way, and without bringing privacy concerns.
This method could also be used in gyms to monitor users’ gait on the treadmill or to check their balance during strength exercises.
The research team tested the technology with a group of 80 participants responsible for navigating in a 3D environment. According to them, this device would “surpass” all locomotion systems VR existing. We look forward to testing the product and giving you feedback, although we remain cautious about the number of applications that will support this device.