Simultaneous Real Walking and Asymmetric Input in Virtual Reality with a Smartphone-based Hybrid Interface

Compared to virtual navigation methods like joystick-based teleportation in Virtual Reality (VR), real walking enables more natural and realistic physical behaviors and better overall user experience. This paper presents a smartphone-based hybrid interface that combines a smartphone and a handheld controller, which enables real walking by viewing the physical environment and asymmetric 2D-3D input at the same time. The phone is virtualized in VR and streams a view of the real world to a collocated virtual screen, enabling users to avoid or remove physical obstacles. The touchscreen and the controller provide an asymmetric input choice for users to improve interaction efficiency in VR. We implemented a prototype system and conducted a pilot study to evaluate its usability.