Influence of Visual Augmented Feedback on Walking Speed Perception in Immersive Virtual Reality.

WALKING speed; MOTION perception (Vision); VIRTUAL reality; OPTICAL flow; PSYCHOLOGICAL feedback; YOUNG adults

In virtual reality (VR), established perception–action relationships break down because of conflicting and ambiguous sensorimotor inputs, inducing walking velocity underestimations. Here, we explore the effects of realigning perceptual sensory experiences with physical movements via augmented feedback on the estimation of virtual speed. We hypothesized that providing feedback about speed would lead to concurrent perceptual improvements and that these alterations would persist once the speedometer was removed. Ten young adults used immersive VR to view a virtual hallway translating at a series of fixed speeds. Participants were tasked with matching their walking speed on a self-paced treadmill to the optic flow in the environment. Information regarding walking speed accuracy was provided during augmented feedback trials via a real-time speedometer. We measured resulting walking velocity errors, as well as kinematic gait parameters. We found that the concordance between the virtual environment and gait speeds was higher when augmented feedback was provided during the trial. Furthermore, we observed retention effects beyond the intervention period via demonstrated smaller errors in speed perception accuracy and stronger concordance between perceived and actual speeds. Together, these results highlight a potential role for augmented feedback in guiding gait strategies that deviate away from predefined internal models of locomotion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of PRESENCE: Virtual & Augmented Reality is the property of MIT Press and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)