Gait performance in obstacle crossing: Impact of virtual information on an optical head-mounted display.

BACKGROUND

The use of optical head-mounted displays (OHMDs) has grown, enabling virtual information to overlay the real world. However, walking with an OHMD may reduce situational awareness and increase accident risk, especially during obstacle navigation. This study investigates the effects of wearing an OHMD on gait during such movement.

METHOD

Analyses were conducted on twenty healthy adults under three conditions: Obstacle crossing without an OHMD, with an OHMD but no virtual information (OC_HMD), and with an OHMD displaying virtual content (OC_AR). Participants' gait data were collected. The parameters examined included gait speed, stride length, step width, and the toe-off clearance and foot placement of both the leading and trailing feet.

RESULTS

The results showed that reading virtual information on the OHMD reduced approach speed (1.70 ± 0.25 m/s) and stride length (1.26 ± 0.14 m), while simply wearing the OHMD affected crossing speed (1.36 ± 0.20 m/s), which decreased further when virtual information was displayed. Regardless of the virtual information, toe-off clearance (210.79 ± 35.38 mm for leading, and 228.89 ± 55.61 mm for trailing) and trailing foot placement increased in both OHMD-wearing conditions (258.53 ± 46.25 mm for OC_HMD and 228.38 ± 56.56 mm for OC_AR).

DISCUSSIONS AND CONCLUSION

The findings suggested that wearing an OHMD, regardless of display activation, affected key gait parameters such as walking speed, stride length, toe-off clearance, and foot placement. Future OHMD designs for different environments should consider both the effect of virtual information and the mere presence of the device on gait performance.