Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality
Obstacle circumvention is an important task for community ambulation that is challenging to replicate in research and clinical environments. Omnidirectional treadmills combined with virtual reality (ODT-VR) offer a promising solution, allowing users to change walking direction and speed while walkin...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Sensors |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1667 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850088087526309888 |
|---|---|
| author | Marco A. Bühler Anouk Lamontagne |
| author_facet | Marco A. Bühler Anouk Lamontagne |
| author_sort | Marco A. Bühler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Obstacle circumvention is an important task for community ambulation that is challenging to replicate in research and clinical environments. Omnidirectional treadmills combined with virtual reality (ODT-VR) offer a promising solution, allowing users to change walking direction and speed while walking in large, simulated environments. However, the extent to which such a setup yields circumvention strategies representative of overground walking in the real world (OVG-RW) remains to be determined. This study examined obstacle circumvention strategies in ODT-VR versus OVG-RW and measured how they changed with practice. Fifteen healthy young individuals walked while avoiding an interferer, performing four consecutive blocks of trials per condition. Distance at onset trajectory deviation, minimum distance from the interferer, and walking speed were compared across conditions and blocks. In ODT-VR, larger clearances and slower walking speeds were observed. In contrast, onset distances and proportions of right-side circumvention were similar between conditions. Walking speed increased from the first to the second block exclusively. Results suggest the use of a cautious locomotor behavior while using the ODT-VR setup, with some key features of circumvention strategies being preserved. Although ODT-VR setups offer exciting prospects for research and clinical applications, consideration should be given to the generalizability of findings to the real world. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-473d929d2a744f39b4e53dd2a0fbb7d0 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1424-8220 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Sensors |
| spelling | doaj-art-473d929d2a744f39b4e53dd2a0fbb7d02025-08-20T02:43:06ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202025-03-01256166710.3390/s25061667Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual RealityMarco A. Bühler0Anouk Lamontagne1School of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y5, CanadaSchool of Physical and Occupational Therapy, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3G 1Y5, CanadaObstacle circumvention is an important task for community ambulation that is challenging to replicate in research and clinical environments. Omnidirectional treadmills combined with virtual reality (ODT-VR) offer a promising solution, allowing users to change walking direction and speed while walking in large, simulated environments. However, the extent to which such a setup yields circumvention strategies representative of overground walking in the real world (OVG-RW) remains to be determined. This study examined obstacle circumvention strategies in ODT-VR versus OVG-RW and measured how they changed with practice. Fifteen healthy young individuals walked while avoiding an interferer, performing four consecutive blocks of trials per condition. Distance at onset trajectory deviation, minimum distance from the interferer, and walking speed were compared across conditions and blocks. In ODT-VR, larger clearances and slower walking speeds were observed. In contrast, onset distances and proportions of right-side circumvention were similar between conditions. Walking speed increased from the first to the second block exclusively. Results suggest the use of a cautious locomotor behavior while using the ODT-VR setup, with some key features of circumvention strategies being preserved. Although ODT-VR setups offer exciting prospects for research and clinical applications, consideration should be given to the generalizability of findings to the real world.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1667gaitrehabilitationvirtual realityomnidirectional treadmillobstacle avoidance |
| spellingShingle | Marco A. Bühler Anouk Lamontagne Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality Sensors gait rehabilitation virtual reality omnidirectional treadmill obstacle avoidance |
| title | Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality |
| title_full | Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality |
| title_fullStr | Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality |
| title_full_unstemmed | Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality |
| title_short | Obstacle Circumvention Strategies During Omnidirectional Treadmill Walking in Virtual Reality |
| title_sort | obstacle circumvention strategies during omnidirectional treadmill walking in virtual reality |
| topic | gait rehabilitation virtual reality omnidirectional treadmill obstacle avoidance |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/25/6/1667 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT marcoabuhler obstaclecircumventionstrategiesduringomnidirectionaltreadmillwalkinginvirtualreality AT anouklamontagne obstaclecircumventionstrategiesduringomnidirectionaltreadmillwalkinginvirtualreality |