An omnidirectional treadmill (ODT) is a mechanical device, similar to a typical treadmill, that allows a person to perform locomotive motion in any direction, allowing for 360 degrees of movement. The ability to move in any direction is how these treadmills differ from their basic counterparts (that permit only unidirectional locomotion).[1]
Omnidirectional treadmills are employed in immersivevirtual environment implementations to allow unencumbered movement within the virtual space.[2]
Advantages to pairing an ODT with an immersive virtual environment include:
Natural navigational movement of the system user within the enclosure while still providing contextual cueing which simulate physical traversal through the virtual terrain
Reverting immersive navigation tasks from hand-based (mouse, joystick) to mentally hard-wired whole body (leg) based
Enhancing immersion by providing a whole-body experience that begins at the soles of the feet and ends at the top of the head
Natural navigation employing the ODT has two fundamental, parallel paths. One path seeks to create wholly immersive, obstruction free environments as in virtual reality, while the other seeks a lower cost, more restricted device. The immersive vision is that of a large active surface upon which the user is able to walk freely and unfettered. The second approach employs a harness for tracking, and optionally provides whole-body force feedback.
Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages. Without a harness, the ODT user is able to accelerate away from center of the surface. The system must recognize this using a variety of sensing means, and gently accelerate the user back towards the center. Keeping the forces that return the user to center below the human sensing threshold is the main challenge with these systems. The larger the active surface, the easier it is to control using this means.
Additional routes are available, for example employing the mechanisms of two standard treadmills, one for the X and one for the Y axis. In such a setup, the mechanism for one axis would lay within the other, the belts typically being replaced with something akin to a wire ladder, and studs being used on footwear.
With a harness, the user is kept on center mechanically, and the surface area can be made much smaller. But actions such as rolling are not possible. On the plus side, a harness can provide body forces such as inertia or slope display. In addition, the harness may provide lifting force to simulate free-body flight. And the well-defined user space makes interaction with outside haptic devices feasible.
Omnidirectional treadmills have the potential to also be used in film, such as in conjunction with a green screen. This type of application would allow limitless movement by the actors.[3]
^Meglio, Marco (2022-08-15). "Using Virtual Reality to Identify Early Signs of Parkinson Disease: Jay Alberts, PhD". neurologylive.com. Neurology Live. Retrieved 2022-08-15.
^Lang, Ben (27 May 2014). "Infinadeck is a 1000 Pound Omnidirectional Treadmill Designed and Built By One Man". Road to VR. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
^Buckley, Sean. "This treadmill lets you walk in any direction". Engadget. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
January 01, 1970
omnidirectional, treadmill, this, article, multiple, issues, please, help, improve, discuss, these, issues, talk, page, learn, when, remove, these, template, messages, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, arti. This article has multiple issues Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page Learn how and when to remove these template messages This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Omnidirectional treadmill news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message This article relies excessively on references to primary sources Please improve this article by adding secondary or tertiary sources Find sources Omnidirectional treadmill news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message This article has an unclear citation style The references used may be made clearer with a different or consistent style of citation and footnoting January 2022 Learn how and when to remove this message Learn how and when to remove this message An omnidirectional treadmill ODT is a mechanical device similar to a typical treadmill that allows a person to perform locomotive motion in any direction allowing for 360 degrees of movement The ability to move in any direction is how these treadmills differ from their basic counterparts that permit only unidirectional locomotion 1 U S Army Research Lab s ODT with CAVE Graphics Omnidirectional treadmills are employed in immersive virtual environment implementations to allow unencumbered movement within the virtual space 2 Advantages to pairing an ODT with an immersive virtual environment include Natural navigational movement of the system user within the enclosure while still providing contextual cueing which simulate physical traversal through the virtual terrain Reverting immersive navigation tasks from hand based mouse joystick to mentally hard wired whole body leg based Enhancing immersion by providing a whole body experience that begins at the soles of the feet and ends at the top of the head Facilitating whole body haptic interactionFuture directions and discussion editNatural navigation employing the ODT has two fundamental parallel paths One path seeks to create wholly immersive obstruction free environments as in virtual reality while the other seeks a lower cost more restricted device The immersive vision is that of a large active surface upon which the user is able to walk freely and unfettered The second approach employs a harness for tracking and optionally provides whole body force feedback Both approaches have their advantages and disadvantages Without a harness the ODT user is able to accelerate away from center of the surface The system must recognize this using a variety of sensing means and gently accelerate the user back towards the center Keeping the forces that return the user to center below the human sensing threshold is the main challenge with these systems The larger the active surface the easier it is to control using this means Additional routes are available for example employing the mechanisms of two standard treadmills one for the X and one for the Y axis In such a setup the mechanism for one axis would lay within the other the belts typically being replaced with something akin to a wire ladder and studs being used on footwear With a harness the user is kept on center mechanically and the surface area can be made much smaller But actions such as rolling are not possible On the plus side a harness can provide body forces such as inertia or slope display In addition the harness may provide lifting force to simulate free body flight And the well defined user space makes interaction with outside haptic devices feasible Omnidirectional treadmills have the potential to also be used in film such as in conjunction with a green screen This type of application would allow limitless movement by the actors 3 See also editList of emerging technologies Redirected walking Simulated reality VirtuSphere a similar solution to VR locomotionReferences edit Meglio Marco 2022 08 15 Using Virtual Reality to Identify Early Signs of Parkinson Disease Jay Alberts PhD neurologylive com Neurology Live Retrieved 2022 08 15 Lang Ben 27 May 2014 Infinadeck is a 1000 Pound Omnidirectional Treadmill Designed and Built By One Man Road to VR Retrieved 15 December 2014 Buckley Sean This treadmill lets you walk in any direction Engadget Retrieved 17 February 2015 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Omnidirectional treadmill amp oldid 1104570775, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
