Development of a 3D interactive virtual market system with adaptive treadmill control

As the computer vision and virtual reality (VR) technology become mature nowadays, there is a huge potential to connect VR with the real world. In this paper, a 3D interactive VR system with adaptive treadmill control is developed. The subject walks on the treadmill at will. Interaction force between feet and treadmill are measured to estimate the subject´s intended walking speed. The treadmill belt velocity and 3D display adjust to the walking pace according to the subject´s walking intention, which makes the subject feel that he (or her) is walking in the real market. The experiment shows that the control results are smooth, which verifies the validity of the whole system.