Redirected Jumping: Imperceptibly Manipulating Jump Motions in Virtual Reality

Jumping is a fundamental movement in our daily lives that is often used in many video games. However, little research has been done on jumping and its possible use as a redirection technique in virtual reality (VR). In this study we explore Redirected Jumping, a novel redirection technique which enables us to purposefully manipulate the mapping of the user's physical jumping movements (e.g., distance and direction) to movement in the virtual space, allowing richer and more active physical VR experiences within a limited tracking area. To demonstrate the possibilities afforded by Redirected Jumping, we implemented a jump detection algorithm and jumping redirection methods for three basic jumping actions (i.e., horizontal, vertical, and rotational jumps) using common VR devices. We conducted three user studies to investigate the effective manipulation ranges, and the results revealed that our methods can manipulate a user's jumping movements without his/her noticing, similar to walking.