Human joystick: Wii-leaning to translate in large virtual environments

In this work we present an inexpensive method of exploring a large immersive virtual environment (VE). More specifically, we describe a method of physically leaning to explore a VE on a Nintendo Wii Fit Balance Board, Wii-Leaning. In two experiments described in this paper, we directly compare our Wii-Leaning method to two other methods of exploring a large VE. In Experiment 1, the feasibility and accuracy of our Wii-Leaning is tested by directly comparing it to joystick navigation. In a spatial orientation task, we find that when participants explore the environment by physically leaning that their spatial representation of the VE is more accurate. In Experiment 2, we then directly compare our Wii-Leaning method to "walking in place" using a spatial orientation task. We find that spatial orientation is similar in the two conditions and that Wii-Leaning was more preferred 2:1 by users.

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