The intelligent carpet captures high-resolution foot pressure imprints
in real time as the user moves around by measuring the applied pressure
through resistance changes.
Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and MIT researchers have developed a foot-based VR locomotion system called "Seamless-walk" that promises a more comfortable experience without bulky equipment.
The
"intelligent carpet" sensor captures real-time foot pressure data
processed by a machine learning model using K-means clustering.
- The
system determines the user's body direction and foot intervals to
estimate movement speed and angle for an immersive VR experience.
- During tests with 80 participants, Seamless-walk demonstrated better performance than existing VR locomotion methods.
- Seamless-walk has a modular structure that allows for scalable and cost-effective installation of a touch-sensing platform.
- The team plans to add more detailed gait analysis functions to the system.
- The researchers envision future applications
for the technology in the healthcare, fitness, and gaming industries
for fall detection, health monitoring, and gym-based assessments.
