JP3200592B2 - Walking sensation generator - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a walking sensation generating apparatus, and more particularly, to a walking sensation generating apparatus capable of walking in an arbitrary direction and moving within a large-scale virtual space or a remote real space. About.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art If a technology that simulates the feeling of freely moving in a large space over a wide area in a limited space in a given direction can be realized, it is necessary to check the design of a new moving environment in advance and to go beyond time and space. Many applications can be expected, such as telecommunications.

Several methods have been proposed so far, but the simplest example uses a keyboard, mouse, joystick, or the like, which is a normal computer interface, called “Walk Through”, and displays the information on the screen of the computer. Is a method of moving only the viewpoint of the virtual space displayed on the screen. In these, an operation input by a computer interface is reflected in a steering wheel steering metaphor imitating a mobile device such as a car or an aircraft, and a steering feeling as if the vehicle is actually being driven is presented.

A more advanced embodiment is an apparatus commonly called a simulator. In the former, the steering wheel and the accelerator used indirectly by the metaphor in the former are installed as a full-scale model of the operation input means and a part of the cockpit unit of the vehicle or the aircraft, or the whole thereof. Then, translate them according to the operation of the operator,
By tilting it, the acceleration and vibration accompanying the movement are virtually reproduced to present a more realistic sense of movement. In many cases, these are used as game machines that learn the operation of the simulated mobile device or enjoy the operation itself.

[0005]

The movement by walking is the most familiar means as a means of movement in daily life, and is a method suitable for perceiving the size of the space. There are few examples where the device has been realized. The reason is that the flow of information between humans and the device is simple in the conventional simulation device for mobile devices and is easy to process by the computer because of the device. However, various operations such as course change and translation are performed, and it is difficult to measure these behaviors easily.

In addition, since these movements generally have a high degree of freedom and a high speed, a motion canceling mechanism for holding a pedestrian at a fixed point when a walking movement is performed has the same degree of freedom and responsiveness. is necessary.

Further, in a walking training machine proposed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-210024, since only the PI feedback method relating to the position of the pedestrian is used,
Generally, the response is poor, and there is a problem that a long belt mechanism is required to prevent the belt from falling.

The inventor of the present application has disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 10-567.
In No. 10, a walking sensation generating device was proposed, but this device measures only straight-running motions and makes it possible to cancel them out. There was no alternative but to use alternative methods such as directions.

Further, as an example of a mechanism equivalent to a two-dimensional belt mechanism, a paper entitled “Virtual Walking Device Using Infinite Plane”, Proceedings of the 2nd Conference of the Virtual Reality Society of Japan (1997)
In the method of September 1998), a plurality of small treadmills are connected in the lateral direction, and the treadmills are linked to each other to realize a torus-shaped belt surface, thereby realizing a walking surface in an arbitrary direction. However, these can set an infinite plane in any direction, but the device required for driving is large, and it can not sufficiently follow behavioral actions requiring high-speed response, and can only perform actions like sliding foot walking rather than walking. I couldn't respond.

[0010] Therefore, a main object of the present invention is to determine whether a user walks in a virtual three-dimensional large space including a slope or a remote real space in a limited space by a walking surface interlocking with a walking motion of a pedestrian. It is an object of the present invention to provide a walking sensation generating device capable of generating a feeling like the following.

[0011]

The invention according to claim 1 is
A walking sensation generation device that measures forward movement and course change movement from human walking movement and cancels movement due to walking, and a belt for canceling movement due to walking when walking by stepping on both feet. Mechanism, a rotation mechanism for rotating the belt surface of the belt mechanism in a horizontal plane, walking measurement means for measuring the walking motion in a non-contact manner, and when walking is measured in an arbitrary direction by the walking measurement means. And control means for rotating the belt mechanism by a rotation mechanism by an angle up to the arbitrary direction.

In the invention according to claim 2, the walking measuring means of claim 1 measures the movement of the toe, and the control means determines the course change angle in response to the detection of the lateral movement of the toe. Angle estimation means for estimating the angle of the belt, and rotation control means for rotating the belt mechanism by the rotation mechanism by the estimated angle so that the foot swinging obliquely forward always lands near the center of the belt in the left-right direction. Be composed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a pedestrian estimating means for estimating a pedestrian's walking speed and a pedestrian's position in response to detection of a straight forward movement of a toe by the gait measuring means. And a belt mechanism control means for driving the belt mechanism so as to hold the pedestrian at the center position in the front-rear direction of the belt.

The invention according to claim 4 further comprises an image presenting means for presenting an image of a virtual space or a real space to a pedestrian, generating a virtual space image by software and giving the image to the image presenting means. And at least one of a mobile robot that moves in the real space in conjunction with the walk of the pedestrian, captures an image of the real space, and provides the image to the image presenting means.

[0015]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of the present invention. In particular, FIG. 1 (a) shows a method for measuring and canceling a straight-ahead operation, and FIG. 1 (b) shows a method for measuring a course change operation. , Shows the offset method.

According to the present invention, a virtual 3D including a slope in a limited space is provided by a walking surface interlocked with a walking motion of a pedestrian.
Generates the sensation of walking in a three-dimensional large space or a remote real space. That is, as shown in FIG. 1 (a), the foot motion of a pedestrian on a treadmill is measured by a video camera, and for a straight-ahead motion, the pedestrian is constantly linked with the belt driving speed of the treadmill in conjunction with the walking motion. The belt is held at the center in the front-rear direction. At this time, by estimating the walking speed and the pedestrian position from the walking operation and using them for belt control, a faster response than the conventional PI feedback method regarding the pedestrian position is realized.

FIG. 1 shows the course change operation.
As shown in (b), the lateral movement of the toe generated only when the course is changed is measured by the above-described video camera, and when the lateral movement occurs, the entire belt surface is rotated in the horizontal direction. The operation is canceled so that the foot swung diagonally forward always lands near the center of the belt in the left-right direction. In the latter operation, it is necessary to keep the pedestrian near the center of the horizontal rotation of the belt surface at all times in order to secure the balance of the pedestrian. Responsiveness is required. According to the present invention, high-speed response is ensured in this respect by the above-described belt speed control method.

Further, the present invention is characterized in that the forward moving operation and the course changing operation are measured and estimated simply by attaching a reflective seal having a low feeling of wearing to the user to the user's feet. It is only necessary to perform a very natural walking motion. Simultaneously, the state of the three-dimensional shape of the walking surface, such as an inclined surface, the inertia force generated when the belt is accelerated and decelerated, and the centrifugal force generated when the course is changed are simulated using the biaxial walking belt posture holding mechanism for the belt surface. Present.

Based on the result of the walking motion obtained by the walking sensation presentation device, position information in the target space is managed by a simulation process for calculating the amount of movement in the target space, and the target remote real space or Get an image of the virtual space.

The obtained video and audio information are appropriately combined with a video and audio information presentation means using a large screen and a plurality of speakers, or a head mounted display and headphones.

Also, in order to present a sense of whether or not the user is walking in a remote real space, a mobile robot controlled by a measured walking motion of a user, and video and acoustic information measuring means mounted on the robot, and Wireless communication means for transmitting the information from a remote location to the user is also used.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the overall configuration of one embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the belt mechanism 1
Is a mechanism for canceling the movement caused by walking when the pedestrian 2 walks thereon, and is installed on the three-axis walking surface holding mechanism 3. The three-axis walking surface holding mechanism 3 has a walking belt surface rotating mechanism and a two-axis walking belt surface posture holding mechanism. The walking belt surface rotating mechanism rotates around the J1 axis, and rotates the belt mechanism 1 so as to face the course when the pedestrian 2 changes course. The two-axis walking belt surface attitude holding mechanism is rotatable about the J2 axis, and the belt mechanism is turned up and down slopes, and is rotated about the J3 axis,
The inertial force generated in the pedestrian 2 is offset.

In front of the belt mechanism 1, a CCD camera 4 with an infrared filter is installed in order to measure the foot movement of the pedestrian 2, and an infrared lamp 5
Is provided. Infrared reflective stickers 21 and 22 are attached to the tip of both feet of the pedestrian 2. Infrared seal 2
Reference numerals 1 and 22 reflect infrared light from the infrared lamp 5, and the reflected light is imaged by the CCD camera 4, thereby obtaining walking information of the pedestrian 2.

In order to measure the position and orientation of the head of the pedestrian 2, a magnetic position and orientation sensor 6 is attached to the head of the pedestrian 2. Further, in front of the pedestrian 2, an image presentation device 7 of a rear projection system for presenting video information in a virtual space or a real space in conjunction with a walking motion is installed. Video information is provided by the computer 8. For this purpose, the computer 8 is a virtual space management and image information generation for generating a virtual space by software, a mobile robot control management, a large-scale space movement information management, a whole system integrated management, a walking motion analysis, a walking sense presentation device control. Has a management function.

The walking information detected by the CCD camera 4 and the head position information detected by the magnetic position and orientation sensor 6 are input to a computer 9. The computer 9 has an optical position tracking device, a magnetic position and orientation measurement device control unit, a measurement system control unit, and a drive system control unit.

Further, a driving device 10 is provided for driving the belt mechanism 1 and the three-axis walking surface holding mechanism 3. The driving device 10 includes a belt mechanism driving device, a belt surface rotation holding mechanism driving device, and a belt surface posture holding device driving device. The drive device 10 is controlled by a drive system control unit of the computer 9.

Further, a mobile robot 11 is provided for acquiring images, video information and audio information of a remote real space. The mobile robot 11 is equipped with a CCD camera 12 and a microphone 13, and real-space video information and audio information of a remote place are acquired and transmitted by a wireless communication device 14 via an antenna 15. These pieces of information are received by the wireless communication device 17 via the antenna 18 and provided to the computer 8.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, a backward projection type image presentation device 7 is provided to present video information in a virtual space in conjunction with a walking operation. A system that surrounds the entire periphery of the device using a plurality of screens, or a head-mounted display may be used. Regarding the presentation of acoustic information, it is also possible to use a large number of speakers or use headphones.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a walking operation according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation.

First, the straight traveling operation will be described with reference to FIGS. In the straight running operation, the foot position information and the waist position information are measured and the belt speed of the belt mechanism 1 is controlled in order to offset the movement of the body caused by walking without the pedestrian being conscious.

That is, when the pedestrian 2 starts walking on the belt mechanism 1, a step (abbreviated as SP in the figure) is performed.
In SP1, the CCD camera 4 detects reflected light from the reflection seals 21 and 22 attached to the tips of both feet of the pedestrian 2. The detection output of the CCD camera 4 is given to the computer 9, and in step SP2, the motion information of the foot of the pedestrian 2 is measured by the optical position tracking device.

In the straight running operation of the pedestrian 2, when the pedestrian 2 is walking at a certain speed Vw, as shown in FIG. It must be kept at position X0. Ideally, the goal can be achieved by running the belt in the opposite direction at a speed that is completely linked to the walking speed. However, since it is difficult to directly measure the walking speed on the belt, the belt mechanism 1 is controlled by estimating the walking motion from the walking motion of the pedestrian 2. The belt speed command Vb, which is a control amount, is determined from the following two types of feedforward F1 (feedback related to walking speed) and F2 (PI feedback related to walking position).

First, the feed forward F1 will be described. In step SP3, the walking speed is estimated from the measurable standing time. Here, the standing time is a mode in which one foot touches the ground when walking and moves backward relative to the body. On the other hand, a mode in which a foot that has fallen backward during swinging is swung forward is called a free leg mode, and walking is a motion in which the standing leg and the free leg are alternately repeated with left and right legs.
Here, when these standing time and free leg time were measured from the actual walking motion, the following formula (1) was used.
Stance time regardless of the pedestrian is found to be inversely proportional to approximately walking speed.

Vw '= a / T + b (1) where Vw' is the estimated walking speed, T is the standing time, and a and b
Is a constant. Strictly speaking, there are individual differences in the constant coefficients a and b. For this reason, in this embodiment, the user has a walking function by moving the belt in advance at a constant speed, and has an adjustment function that adjusts these parameters to match the walking characteristics of the individual.

Next, a description will be given of a method of determining the standing / swinging mode of the toe motion. Here, the reflective seals 21 and 22 are attached to the positions of both feet of the pedestrian 2, and optically reflective by the CCD camera 4 installed in front.
Measure 2. Then, the speed information of the both feet is calculated by temporally differentiating the obtained detection signals of the both feet, and is compared with the separately measured belt speed information, so that the standing / free leg mode of the motion of the feet can be determined. Based on this time information, the walking state on the belt is analyzed, and the walking speed Vw 'is estimated by the regression equation obtained from the above-mentioned measurement, and the speed is fed forward.

Here, considering the estimation error and the time delay, F1 = −α · Vw ′ (2)

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting the pedestrian speed estimated value by the primary hold.

In this embodiment, the walking speed is estimated only when one of the feet lands, but in order to follow the continuously changing walking speed with as small an error as possible, as shown in FIG. Correction is continuously performed using a proper primary hold. In the primary hold method used here, the latest estimated value is set to Vw '(n), and the immediately preceding estimated value is set to Vw'.
(N−1), the elapsed time from the measurement of Vw ′ (n) to the present time is Δt, and after estimating Vw ′ (n−1), V
Assuming that the time until w ′ (n) is estimated is ΔT, the current corrected estimated walking speed Vw ′ is expressed by the following equation.

Vw ′ = Vw ′ (n) + {Vw ′ (n) −Vw ′ (n−1)} · Δt / ΔT (3) However, although the responsiveness is greatly improved in the feedforward control, The position error is caused by the estimation error that still occurs and the time delay of the response of the mechanism unit. Therefore, the feedback F2 relating to the position is added as an auxiliary.

Regarding F2, steps SP5 and S5
At P6, the distance error e between the position X of the pedestrian on the belt and the pedestrian holding target position X0 is used as a parameter,
Position control by I feedback is performed. Here, the pedestrian position X is the midpoint in the walking direction between the two toe positions obtained by the CCD camera 4 described above. This eliminates the need for extra pedestrian position measurement means using a thread or ultrasonic waves.

Here, X '= (Pl + Pr) / 2 (4) e = X'-X0 (5) F2 = β ・ e + γ∫edt (6)

The calculation of F2 is executed continuously each time the pedestrian's toe position information is updated. In summary, the belt speed command Vb can be defined by the following equation.

Vb = F1 + F2 (7) The coefficients α, β, and γ are constants determined within a range where the control does not diverge.

Next, the walking motion measuring means for canceling the course change motion and the belt surface horizontal rotation control method will be described. As for the course change operation, as described above, the movement of the toe of the free leg, which occurs only at the time of course change, being stepped diagonally forward is measured by the same method as the above-described CCD camera 4, and this lateral movement is generated. At this time, the belt surface itself is rotated in the horizontal direction to cancel the operation so that the foot swung obliquely forward always touches the vicinity of the center of the belt in the left-right direction.

FIG. 3 (b) shows a walking motion in which the right foot is swung forward to change the course to the right. In FIG. 3 (b), if the position where the right foot has left the floor is Pr0, the foot lands on Pr 'in front of Pr0 at the end of the free leg operation when the straight leg is running, but when changing course to the right. Means that the foot lands on Pr at the diagonally right forward position. The CCD camera 4 continuously measures the motion of the toes, and when such a lateral motion is measured during a free leg, as shown in FIG. Move the entire belt surface to J so that the displacement angle ang
Rotate horizontally on one axis. This stepping operation obliquely forward is similarly processed for both the left and right feet.

Specifically, in step SP7 of FIG.
The leg that swings significantly during swing movement swings right and left
In other words, the threshold in which the deviation angle ang is specified in advance
When measured above the value, the walking motion of the computer 8 shown in FIG.
The operation analysis unit determines that a course change operation is in progress,
Is set to 0 by the correction processing in step SP8. _j1
Is controlled. In step SP9, the control system shifts.
Enter angle ang as control error input, θ_j1PI control with
Perform feedback.

For the latter operation, the pedestrian 2 is always held near the center of the horizontal rotation of the belt surface in order to minimize the influence of the centrifugal force due to the rotation and to secure the balance of the pedestrian 2. There is a need. Here, high-speed response is ensured by the belt speed control method.

A belt drive system and a measurement system are provided on the belt surface which rotates horizontally in conjunction with the motion of the pedestrian. Although a plurality of signal lines for these controls or power supplies are connected from the base to the belt surface, the rotation of the belt surface becomes finite due to these mechanical constraints. However, for example, when the pedestrian 2 repeats the operation of turning right in the target space many times, the belt surface itself has to rotate rightward to offset the operation. Therefore, when the vehicle is rotated by a certain angle from the center value of the rotation range of the horizontal plane rotation mechanism due to the course change operation, the rotation angle is returned to the center of the rotation range at a low speed that does not affect the walking operation during the straight-ahead operation. Act simultaneously. Thus, even in a horizontal rotation mechanism having mechanical restrictions, a course changing operation can be realized at a restricted angle or more. This part corresponds to the correction processing in step SP8.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of updating a position in a virtual space. Next, a moving operation management method in the target space will be described with reference to FIG. By using this embodiment, the pedestrian 2 can obtain the sensation of actually walking in the synthesized virtual space or in a remote place only by walking on the belt very normally. Hereinafter, a method for realizing movement in the target movement space based on the above-described walking motion analysis result will be summarized. These are processed by the large-scale spatial movement information management unit mounted on the computer 8.

When moving in the target space, for the forward movement, the above-mentioned estimated directional speed Vw 'is integrated over time, and the position information of the pedestrian 2 in the virtual space is continuously updated. The course change to the left or right is realized based on the information obtained by the course change operation measurement described with reference to FIG. That is, as shown in FIG. 6, the deviation angle ang from the straight traveling direction generated at the time of a certain free leg is added as a direction change component of Vw 'at the time of time integration.

The above is realized as a mathematical expression. The position of a pedestrian at a certain time t is represented by P (t) = (P _x (t), P
_y (t)) and a two-dimensional position vector. The walking speed of the pedestrian at this time is expressed as Vw ′ (t) =
(Vw ′ _x (t), Vw ′ _y (t)), and the angle of deviation of the toe at time t with respect to the x-axis of the coordinate system fixed to the walking space is ang. As a result, the pedestrian's position P (t +
1) is obtained as follows.

[0052] _{P x (t + 1) =} P x (t) + cos (ang) · | Vw '(t + 1) · Δt | ... (8) P y (t + 1) = P y (t) + sin (ang) · | Vw '(T + 1) · Δt | (9) However, unlike the aforementioned equation (3), Δt is equal to the time t +
It is an elapsed time between 1 and time t.

The purpose of use of this embodiment is a virtual world,
Alternatively, it is to provide a feeling as if walking in the remote real world, and generate a moving space as a result of the moving operation. A description will be given of a method of acquiring video / audio information to be presented and a method of presenting the three-dimensional shape of a pedestrian when targeting virtual space and remote real space.

As a means for transmitting the result of the locomotion to the pedestrian 2, some kind of video presenting means and acoustic information presenting means are provided in front of the user. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, as an example, an image presenting device 7 using a large screen of a rear projection type is installed, and an image of a target space that changes in accordance with a walking motion is presented. However, this may be, for example, an image projection device that covers the entire sky around the pedestrian, or a small head-mounted display. Also, acoustic information generated in a target space can be presented to a pedestrian through a plurality of speakers or headphones.

The virtual space is generally a set of numerical data generated by CAD or the like, and this is displayed on the image presentation device 7 as a video signal by the virtual space management and image information generation unit of the computer 8. In this case, the position in the target virtual space is determined by comparing the movement information from the above-described position change algorithm with the walking movable area data obtained from the CAD data. Subsequently, by determining the position of the virtual camera by combining information from the magnetic position and orientation sensor 6 that measures the orientation of the head of the pedestrian 2, a computer graphics image in an arbitrary direction viewed from an arbitrary position can be obtained. Generate.
The sound information is synthesized by the computer 9 through the sound generation model also stored in the CAD data, and is presented to the pedestrian 2.

When the remote real space is to be used as a walking and moving target space, the mobile robot 11 equipped with the CCD camera 12 and the microphone 13 is arranged in the space, and the movement information from the position change algorithm is transmitted from the wireless communication device 17 to the antenna 16.
, And in the mobile robot 11, the wireless communication device 14 receives the information via the antenna 15 and runs by itself. The image of the CCD camera 12 attached to the mobile robot 11 and the sound information from the microphone 13 are received by the wireless communication device 17 from the antenna 16 on the system side via the antenna 15 from the wireless communication device 14, and the above-described presentation of the image and sound information is performed. It is presented to the pedestrian 2 by means.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of presenting a slope by controlling the posture of a pedestrian. Another of this embodiment
One of the features is a function of reproducing a slope, which is a three-dimensional shape of a walking surface. Here, as shown in FIG. 7, in the case of the virtual space, the area where the pedestrian is located is determined by the inclination angle sensor (not shown) mounted on the mobile robot 11 from the topographical information of the CAD data in the case of the real space. Is obtained.
Then, the belt surface itself is inclined by the walking surface holding mechanism having the J2 and J3 axes so that the walking belt surface has the same inclination N.
b, and the inclined surface is reproduced.

Further, in this embodiment, an inertial force different from the actual walking acts. This inertial force is reproduced in a pseudo manner by a two-axis walking belt surface posture holding mechanism.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of pseudo cancellation and generation of inertial force. First, when the pedestrian 2 accelerates forward, as shown in FIG. 8A, when the belt speed is accelerated by the acceleration a _belt as a result of the pedestrian 2 increasing the walking speed, the mass of the pedestrian 2 is increased. If m is m, the inertia force of _{ma belt} acts on the pedestrian forward. When the acceleration is large, this inertial force causes a danger of falling. Therefore, when the belt is accelerated, the belt is tilted by θ _j2 around the axis of the belt surface posture holding mechanism J2 in conjunction with the acceleration, and the gravitational component acting on the pedestrian 2 is simulated by the horizontal component force in the front-rear direction of the slope. Offset each other. θ _j2 is calculated as follows.

Θ _j2 = sin ⁻¹ (a _belt / g) (10) where g is the gravitational acceleration.

On the other hand, when the pedestrian 2 actually changes the course, a centrifugal force acts on the pedestrian 2 in the direction of rotation and on the outside. In this embodiment, however, in order to cancel the rotation itself, This centrifugal force does not work. Therefore, the gravitational component acting on the pedestrian 2 is generated in a pseudo manner by the horizontal component force in the lateral direction of the slope, inclining by θ _j3 around the J3 axis of the biaxial walking belt surface posture holding mechanism in conjunction with the rotation speed. θ _j3
Is calculated by the following equation.

Θ _j3 = sin ⁻¹ (r · ω ² / g) (11) where g is the gravitational acceleration, and r and ω are the turning radius and the turning speed when the course is changed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the pedestrian 2 can walk and move in a real space or a virtual space over a wide area in a small space, and can reproduce any information with or without information, regardless of the presence or absence of reality. is there. In addition, each space targets a three-dimensional world including not only a plane but also a slope. With this advantage, for example, when building buildings,
It is possible to evaluate a space design by actually walking in the target space at the stage of CAD data. In addition, a space that does not already exist due to ancient archeological sites or development can be reproduced by a computer, and the intuitive recognition of the space arrangement becomes possible. Further, by reproducing walking sensation in a remote real space in combination with some kind of robot, it becomes possible for users who are distant to a remote place to have a conversation while walking as an extension of a videophone. Furthermore, since the movement according to this embodiment can be realized by a pedestrian's intention instead of a movement forced from the outside like an existing treadmill, it can be applied to walking rehabilitation.

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention, when a pedestrian walks in an arbitrary direction on the belt mechanism, the walking motion is measured in a non-contact manner, and the belt mechanism is rotated by the measured angle. Thus, the motion can be offset so that the foot swung obliquely forward of the pedestrian always lands near the center of the belt in the left-right direction. Therefore, the pedestrian need only perform a very natural walking motion.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram for explaining the concept of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a walking operation according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a method of correcting a pedestrian speed estimated value by a primary hold.

FIG. 6 is a diagram for explaining a method of updating a position in a virtual space.

FIG. 7 is a diagram for explaining a method of presenting a slope by posture control of a walking surface.

FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining a method of pseudo cancellation and generation of inertial force.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Belt mechanism 2 Pedestrian 3 3-axis walking surface holding mechanism 4 CCD camera 5 Infrared lamp 6 Magnetic position and orientation sensor 7 Image presentation device 8,9 Computer 10 Drive device 11 Mobile robot 12 CCD camera 13 Microphone 14,17 Wireless communication device 15,16 Antenna 21,22 Reflective seal

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-6-308876 (JP, A) JP-A-10-55132 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G09B 9/00 A61H 1/02

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A measured forward movement and course change operation from the walking movement by human, a walking sensation generating device to cancel the movement due to walking, when walking taken the feet thereon, a movement by walking A belt mechanism for canceling, a rotating mechanism for rotating a belt surface of the belt mechanism in a horizontal plane, a walking measuring means for measuring a walking operation and a walking position in a non-contact manner, and a walking in an arbitrary direction by the walking measuring means. A walking sensation generation device, comprising: control means for rotating the belt mechanism by the rotation mechanism by an angle up to an arbitrary direction when it is measured. 2. The walking measuring means measures the movement of a toe, and the control means sets a course change angle in response to the lateral movement of the toe being detected by the walking measuring means. Angle estimation means for estimating, and for rotating the belt mechanism by the rotation mechanism by the angle estimated by the angle estimation means, so that the foot swung obliquely forward always lands near the center of the belt in the left-right direction. The walking sensation generation device according to claim 1, further comprising: a rotation control unit. 3. The walking estimating means, wherein the controlling means estimates a walking speed and a pedestrian position of the pedestrian in response to the detection of the straight-ahead movement of the toe by the walking measuring means; And a belt mechanism control means for driving the belt mechanism so as to obtain the pedestrian at a center position in the front-rear direction of the belt according to the estimation by the control unit.
3. The walking sensation generating device according to 1. 4. An image presenting means for presenting an image of a virtual space or a real space to a pedestrian, and a virtual space generating means for generating the image of the virtual space by software and giving the image to the image presenting means. The walking sensation generation according to claim 1, further comprising at least one of a mobile robot that moves in a remote real space in conjunction with the walk of the pedestrian, captures an image of the real space, and gives the image to the image presenting means. apparatus.