The Virtual Balance. An Input Device for VR Environments

Imagine a person navigating on the trackball of a mouse - it would need full body control. In this article we describe the Virtual Balance, an input device for a responsive virtual environment. This device is driven by weight shift on a small platform and does neither require special training nor wearing uncomfortable equipment. The Virtual Balance aims at intuitive navigation through complex 3D space. It can be used to skate or fly like on a magic carpet through a virtual world. With shifts of body posture the navigator controls speed and direction of his/her movement in the model world, which is calculated from the changing pressure on three weight cells under the platform. Different fields of application are presented, showing scenarios already realized as well as a variety of possibilities for future use.