Locomotion Interface to the Virtual Environment to Acquire Spatial Knowledge

In this paper we describe the design of a (kind of) locomotion interface to the virtual environment for mobility training to enhance mobility skills of persons with limited vision. The design goal is to allow a user to walk on the device with limited size, and to give them the sensation of walking on an unconstrained plane to acquire spatial knowledge of an area. Many researchers have tried treadmill, a (kind of) locomotion device with unidirectional as well as omni-directional (Darken [9], Iwata [4], and Latham [7]). Our proposed device overcomes the major limitations of inability of simulation of actual movement of a person while using treadmills. The structure of the interface, and control principle of the device are presented along with the system and the software of locomotion interface. A discussion on the advantages and disadvantages of the interface is given.