Redirected walking in mixed reality training applications

To create effective immersive training experiences, it is important to provide intuitive interfaces that allow users to move around and interact with virtual content in a manner that replicates real world experiences. However, natural locomotion remains an implementation challenge because the dimensions of the physical tracking space restrict the size of the virtual environment that users can walk through. To relax these limitations, redirected walking techniques may be employed to enable walking through immersive virtual environments that are substantially larger than the physical tracking area. In this chapter, we present practical design considerations for employing redirected walking in immersive training applications and recent research evaluating the impact on spatial orientation. Additionally, we also describe an alternative implementation of redirection that is more appropriate for mixed reality environments. Finally, we discuss challenges and future directions for research in redirected walking with the goal of transitioning these techniques into practical training simulators.