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Visual Stabilization of Balance in Virtual Reality Using the HTC Vive

Authors:

Jonathan W. Kelly,

Brenna C. Klesel,

Lucia A. CherepAuthors Info & Claims

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception (TAP), Volume 16, Issue 2

Article No.: 8, Pages 1 - 11

https://doi.org/10.1145/3313902

Published: 03 April 2019 Publication History

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Abstract

Vision in real environments stabilizes balance compared to an eyes-closed condition. For virtual reality to be safe and fully effective in applications such as physical rehabilitation, vision in virtual reality should stabilize balance as much as vision in the real world. Older virtual reality technology was previously found to stabilize balance but by less than half as much as real-world vision. Recent advancements in display technology might allow for vision in virtual reality to be as stabilizing as vision in the real world. This study evaluated whether viewing a virtual environment through the HTC Vive—a new consumer-grade head-mounted display—stabilizes balance, and whether visual stabilization is similar to that provided by real-world vision. Participants viewed the real laboratory or a virtual replica of the laboratory and attempted to maintain an unstable stance with eyes open or closed while standing at one of two viewing distances. Vision was significantly stabilizing in all conditions, but the virtual environment provided less visual stabilization than did the real environment. Regardless of the environment, near viewing led to greater visual stabilization than did far viewing. The smaller stabilizing influence of viewing a virtual compared to real environment might lead to greater risk of falls in virtual reality and smaller gains in physical rehabilitation using virtual reality.

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Cited By

Schedler SGramann KHill MMuehlbauer T(2024)Balance performance of healthy young individuals in real versus matched virtual environments: a systematic scoping reviewFrontiers in Human Neuroscience10.3389/fnhum.2024.142258118Online publication date: 29-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1422581
Jian BHwang YLiang H(2024)Influence of virtual heights and a cognitive task on standing postural steadinessInternational Journal of Industrial Ergonomics10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103553100(103553)Online publication date: Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103553
Mahmud MCordova AQuarles J(2023)Visual Cues for a Steadier You: Visual Feedback Methods Improved Standing Balance in Virtual Reality for People with Balance ImpairmentsIEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics10.1109/TVCG.2023.332024429:11(4666-4675)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TVCG.2023.3320244
Show More Cited By

Index Terms

Visual Stabilization of Balance in Virtual Reality Using the HTC Vive
1. Computing methodologies
  1. Computer graphics
    1. Graphics systems and interfaces
      1. Virtual reality
2. Human-centered computing
  1. Human computer interaction (HCI)
    1. Interaction paradigms
      1. Mixed / augmented reality
      2. Virtual reality

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Published In

cover image ACM Transactions on Applied Perception

ACM Transactions on Applied Perception Volume 16, Issue 2

April 2019

94 pages

ISSN:1544-3558

EISSN:1544-3965

DOI:10.1145/3320114

Editors:
Martin Giese
University of Tübingen, Germany
,
Victoria Interrante
University of Minnesota, USA

Issue’s Table of Contents

Copyright © 2019 ACM.

Permission to make digital or hard copies of all or part of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for components of this work owned by others than ACM must be honored. Abstracting with credit is permitted. To copy otherwise, or republish, to post on servers or to redistribute to lists, requires prior specific permission and/or a fee. Request permissions from [email protected]

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 03 April 2019

Accepted: 01 February 2019

Revised: 01 January 2019

Received: 01 January 2018

Published in TAP Volume 16, Issue 2

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Seed Grant for Social Sciences from the Iowa State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

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Cited By

Schedler SGramann KHill MMuehlbauer T(2024)Balance performance of healthy young individuals in real versus matched virtual environments: a systematic scoping reviewFrontiers in Human Neuroscience10.3389/fnhum.2024.142258118Online publication date: 29-Jul-2024
https://doi.org/10.3389/fnhum.2024.1422581
Jian BHwang YLiang H(2024)Influence of virtual heights and a cognitive task on standing postural steadinessInternational Journal of Industrial Ergonomics10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103553100(103553)Online publication date: Mar-2024
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ergon.2024.103553
Mahmud MCordova AQuarles J(2023)Visual Cues for a Steadier You: Visual Feedback Methods Improved Standing Balance in Virtual Reality for People with Balance ImpairmentsIEEE Transactions on Visualization and Computer Graphics10.1109/TVCG.2023.332024429:11(4666-4675)Online publication date: 1-Nov-2023
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1109/TVCG.2023.3320244
Mahmud MCordova AQuarles J(2023)Auditory, Vibrotactile, or Visual? Investigating the Effective Feedback Modalities to Improve Standing Balance in Immersive Virtual Reality for People with Balance Impairments Due to Type 2 Diabetes2023 IEEE International Symposium on Mixed and Augmented Reality (ISMAR)10.1109/ISMAR59233.2023.00072(573-582)Online publication date: 16-Oct-2023
https://doi.org/10.1109/ISMAR59233.2023.00072
Ketterer JRinghof SGehring DGollhofer A(2022)Sinusoidal Optic Flow Perturbations Reduce Transient but Not Continuous Postural Stability: A Virtual Reality-Based StudyFrontiers in Physiology10.3389/fphys.2022.80318513Online publication date: 18-May-2022
https://doi.org/10.3389/fphys.2022.803185
Mahmud MStewart MCordova AQuarles J(2022)Auditory Feedback for Standing Balance Improvement in Virtual Reality2022 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces (VR)10.1109/VR51125.2022.00100(782-791)Online publication date: Mar-2022
https://doi.org/10.1109/VR51125.2022.00100
Liang HChi SChen BLi YTai THwang Y(2021)The Effects of Visual Backgrounds in the Virtual Environments on the Postural Stability of StandingIEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering10.1109/TNSRE.2021.308702129(1129-1137)Online publication date: 2021
https://doi.org/10.1109/TNSRE.2021.3087021
Santoso MPhillips D(2020)Optical Flow, Perturbation Velocities and Postural Response In Virtual Reality2020 IEEE Conference on Virtual Reality and 3D User Interfaces Abstracts and Workshops (VRW)10.1109/VRW50115.2020.00245(789-790)Online publication date: Mar-2020
https://doi.org/10.1109/VRW50115.2020.00245
Descheneaux CReinerman-Jones LMoss JKrum DHudson I(2020)Negative Effects Associated with HMDs in Augmented and Virtual RealityVirtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality. Design and Interaction10.1007/978-3-030-49695-1_27(410-428)Online publication date: 19-Jul-2020
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1007/978-3-030-49695-1_27
Xu ZZhang HWei WYang Z(2019)Virtual Scene Construction for Seismic Damage of Building Ceilings and FurnitureApplied Sciences10.3390/app91734659:17(3465)Online publication date: 22-Aug-2019
https://doi.org/10.3390/app9173465

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