Feasibility Evaluation of Mixed Reality Obstacles on Treadmill using HoloLens to Elicit Real Obstacle Negotiation

An ability of visually-guided and anticipatory adjustments of locomotion corresponding to upcoming obstacles is important to avoid trip-induced fall. For establishing gait training based on visually-guided and anticipatory adjustments, techniques reproducing realistic training environment are essential. Although some previous works proposed virtual obstacles using mixed reality, the feasibility of virtual obstacles encouraging people to perform realistic obstacle negotiation on a treadmill, where gait training is usually conducted, is still unclear. In this study, we investigated toe heights when stepping over the obstacle in both cases of virtual and real obstacles during walking on the treadmill. Five participants stepped over two types of mixed reality boxes and real boxes, with box placements close and distant from them. The results generally indicate that the toe heights of the leading foot tended to be similar between mixed reality and real obstacles in cases where the obstacle was located distant from participants, a condition that enabled participants to predict when obstacles approached. However, the toe heights of the trailing foot tended to be lower when stepping over the MR obstacles than the real obstacles. We discuss the feasibility and shortcomings of the future use of MR HMDs as replacement for traditional gait training setup.