Immersive Virtual Reality Beyond Available Physical Space

Abstract

Technology provides Virtual Reality (VR) with increasing levels of realism: high-performance head-mounted displays enable delivering immersive experiences that provide users with higher levels of engagement. Moreover, VR platforms, treadmills, and motion tracking systems add a physical dimension to interaction that aims at increasing realism by enabling users to use their body to control characters’ movements in a virtual scenario. However, current systems suffer from one main limitation: the physical simulation space is confined, whereas VR supports rendering infinitely large scenarios. In this paper, we investigate the human factors involved in the design of physically-immersive VR environments, with specific regard to the perception of virtual and physical space in locomotion tasks. Finally, we discuss strategies for designing experiences that enable optimizing the use of the available physical space and support larger virtual scenarios without impacting realism.