Omnidirectional VR Treadmills Walking Techniques: Comparing Walking-in-Place and Sliding vs Natural Walking

In Virtual Reality (VR), exploring a large virtual environment is still an open research area, as software-based solutions can be challenging to use or contribute to motion sickness. Past work has used omnidirectional treadmills to emulate natural walking in a small space. Yet, the impact on user performance and experience of the different walking techniques these omnidirectional treadmills utilize is still unclear. This study assessed the effects of WALK-IN-PLACE, used with devices like KAT VR mini, and SLIDING, as used by devices like Cyberith Virtualizer ELITE 2, and compared them to NATURAL WALKING. Using a within-study design methodology, eighteen participants navigated a VR maze. We found that participants completed tasks fastest with NATURAL WALKING while SLIDING provided a balanced compromise between immersion and moderate physical effort, and WALK-IN-PLACE required the highest exertion with lower usability. These findings provide practical insights into performance and user-experience differences among the three VR walking techniques, informing VR-ODT selection for applications such as rehabilitation and training.