The Effect on Lower Spine Muscle Activation of Walking on a Narrow Beam in Virtual Reality

— To what extent do people behave in immersive virtual environments as they would in similar situations in a physical environment? There are many ways to address this question, ranging from questionnaires, behavioral studies, and the use of physiological measures. Here we compare the onsets of muscle activity using surface electromyography (EMG) while participants were walking under three different conditions: on a normal floor surface, on a narrow ribbon along the floor, and on a narrow platform raised off the floor. The same situation was rendered in an immersive virtual environment (IVE) Cave-like system, and 12 participants did the three types of walking in a counter-balanced within-groups design. The mean number of EMG activity onsets per unit time followed the same pattern in the virtual environment as in the physical environment – significantly higher for walking on the platform compared to walking on the floor. Even though participants knew that they were in fact really wal...

• Type: Journal
• Year: 2011
• Where: TVCG
• Authors: Angus Antley, Mel Slater
• Keywords: Floor, Immersive Virtual Environment, TVCG 2011, Virtual Environment