A safe low-cost HMD for underwater VR experiences

Abstract

Recently, consumer head-mounted VR displays (HMDs) like the Oculus Rift1 and Samsung Gear VR2 have driven much research into interesting applications that include full-body sensory experiences. For example, PaperDude VR [Bolton et al. 2014] uses the Oculus Rift to implement a cycling exergame in order to motivate exercise. Other than using a consumer HMD like the Rift to provide the VR visuals, PaperDude VR includes a real bicycle on a stationary trainer in order to approximate a realistic experience using other non-visual senses. In another work, Birdly [Rheiner 2014] uses the HTC Vive3 as part of a system to simulate flying. In Birdly, the nonvisual elements are slightly harder to simulate, resulting in a rather complex robotic setup which includes sensory-motor coupling and a large fan to provide wind feedback.