A Techinque Based on Muscular Activation for Interacting With Virtual Environments

Abstract

Interacting with computers by using the bodily motion is one of the challenging topics in the Virtual Reality field, especially as regards the interaction with large scale virtual environments. This paper presents a device for interacting with a Virtual Reality environment that is based on the detection of the muscular activity and movements of the user by the fusion of two different signals. The idea is that through muscular activities a user is capable of moving a cursor in the virtual space, and making some actions through gestures. The device is based on an accelerometer and on electromyography, a technique that derives from the medical field and that is able to recognize the electrical activity produced by skeletal muscles during their contraction. The device consists of cheap and easy to replicate components: seven electrodes pads and a small and wearable board for the acquisition of the sEMG signals from the user’s forearm, a 3 DOF accelerometer that is positioned on the user’s wrist (used for moving the cursor in the space) and a glove worn on the forearm in which these components are inserted. The device can be easily used without tedious settings and training. In order to test the functionality, performances and usability issues of the device we have implemented an application that has been tested by a group of users. Specifically, the device has been used as natural interaction technique in an application for drawing in a large scale virtual environment. The muscular activity is acquired by the device and used by the application for controlling the dimension and color of the brush.