Implementation and Evaluation of “Just Follow Me”: An Immersive, VR-Based, Motion-Training System

TLDR

Virtual reality is widely used for training, but most VR training systems are situation-based; this study explores VR for motion training, which is essential in sports and the arts. The authors propose the Just Follow Me (JFM) interaction method, which uses a ghost metaphor and first-person viewpoint to train precise motions, hypothesizing that it enables students to learn motion effectively and quickly compared to indirect real-world teaching. JFM visualizes the trainer’s motion in real time as a ghost superimposed on the trainee, and the trainee follows this ghost from a first-person perspective to replicate the motion. Evaluation shows that JFM achieves training and transfer effects as good as, and in some cases better than, real-world methods, likely due to more direct proprioceptive information transfer from trainer to trainee.

Abstract

Training is usually regarded as one of the most natural application areas of virtual reality (VR). To date, most VR-based training systems have been situation based, but this paper examines the utility of VR for a different class of training: learning to execute exact motions, which are often required in sports and the arts. In this paper, we propose an interaction method, called Just Follow Me (JFM), that uses an intuitive “ghost” metaphor and a first-person viewpoint for effective motion training. Using the ghost metaphor (GM), JFM visualizes the motion of the trainer in real time as a ghost (initially superimposed on the trainee) that emerges from one's own body. The trainee who observes the motion from the first-person viewpoint “follows” the ghostly master as closely as possible to learn the motion. Our basic hypothesis is that such a VR system can help a student learn motion effectively and quickly, comparably to the indirect real-world teaching methods. Our evaluation results show that JFM produces training and transfer effects as good as—and, in certain situations, better than—in the real world. We believe that this is due to the more direct and correct transfer of proprioceptive information from the trainer to the trainee.