SlalomPenguin-VR is a proof-of-concept VR locomotion interface designed to give users a natural, self-propelled way to move through virtual worlds. For the C.A.V.E Project, we reverse-engineered the “PenguFly” technique from academic literature—where users simulate walking by shifting their weight—and built a fully immersive alpine-skiing environment to showcase its effectiveness in a multi-projector, room-scale C.A.V.E.
Working in Unity with the MiddleVR plugin, I first implemented the core PenguFly mechanics, then enhanced them by adding gaze-based view rotation: wherever the user looked determined the camera’s heading, making navigation more intuitive on uneven snow terrain. From scratch, we modeled rolling hills, ski tracks and dynamic snow particles, then populated the world with slalom gates and flags that reacted to the user’s virtual skis. In the C.A.V.E itself, real-time tracking fed head-and-hand positions back into Unity, so the user truly felt like they were carving down a mountainside.
In informal user tests, participants reported that SlalomPenguin-VR felt both easy to learn and genuinely fun—comments like “I could actually feel the slope under my feet” and “turning felt as natural as on real skis” were common. Those early qualitative evaluations suggest that a weight-shift locomotion interface, when paired with gaze steering and a convincing alpine environment, can overcome many of the discomfort and disorientation issues plaguing conventional VR movement systems.
Key Challenges
- Refining the Core Locomotion: Diving into the original PenguFly approach, identifying its limitations, and tweaking parameters so movement felt responsive on both flat and sloped surfaces.
- Terrain-Aware Object Placement: Writing editor scripts to cast and align gates, flags and snowbanks on uneven meshes—ensuring they never “hover” or clip through the ground.
- C.A.V.E Tracking Integration: Learning MiddleVR’s tracking APIs and calibrating the room’s infrared sensors so that physical movements mapped flawlessly into the virtual world.