Horseback riding therapy simulator with VR technology

Abstract

We have developed a system that reproduce the effect of horse back riding therapy, which device may be enjoyed by healthy senior citizens, and has been specifically designed to rejuvenate both the mind and the body. We have also developed a Virtual Reality section that is effective in creating images and sounds that complement both each other and correspond to the movements produced by the drive system. The controlling action mechanism of the Virtual Reality Operation section allows interactive starting, speeding up, slowing down, turning, and stopping through commands given through the reins or by leg movements as auxiliary functions. We had 5 human experimenters ride the machine with an eye to pronouncing judgment on how well the machine reproduces the sensations of riding an actual horse in order to test the device. And we got the estimation by all of the experimental riders that real horses have the same walking movement as that produced by the simulator.