[DC] Navigating Impossible Spaces in Virtual Reality For Seamless Walking Experiences in Small Physical Spaces

In Virtual Reality (VR), navigating small physical spaces often relies on handheld controllers, such as teleportation or joystick movement, due to the limited space available for walking. However, walking-based techniques can enhance immersion by enabling more natural movement. This position paper presents research that employs the concept of "impossible spaces" to enable walking in small physical spaces. Three room-connection techniques – portals, corridors, and central hubs – are used to create impossible spaces by overlapping and adapting multiple virtual areas, maximizing the use of limited physical space. Our previous user studies show that all three techniques are viable for connecting rooms in VR within a play area of about 2.5 x 2.5 meters. Portals provide a flexible solution, as they can be placed in the middle of a room; corridors offer a seamless and natural transition between spaces; and central hubs simplify navigation in complex layouts by creating a central room that connects to all other rooms. The primary contribution of this work is to make walking in VR accessible for all users by demonstrating how these room-connection techniques can dynamically adapt virtual environments to fit small physical spaces, such as those commonly available to VR users at home.