Validation of Gait Parameters During Turning Obtained From Consumer Virtual Reality Devices

Virtual reality (VR) has gained increasing attention as a tool for measuring human gait behavior to assess mobility. The tracking accuracy of consumer-grade VR devices during turning has not been investigated, even though turning is a frequent and necessary component of human locomotion. This study evaluated the accuracy of consumer VR devices in estimating gait parameters related to whole-body movement during turning. The positions of VR devices on the head, waist, hands, and feet were tracked while walking along straight and cornered paths. Gait parameters derived from the VR device positions were compared to those obtained using a markerless motion capture system, which served as the reference. The VR-based measurements demonstrated reasonable accuracy across both walkway types, with percentage errors generally below 10%. Movements in the sagittal plane were estimated more accurately than those in the horizontal plane. Although the gait parameters obtained from the VR devices showed linearity (Pearson’s correlation coefficients exceeding 0.5), the estimation of lower-body gait parameters exhibited slight instability. These findings suggest that VR devices provide reliable measurement of gait parameters, offering foundational insights into the potential use of consumer VR devices for gait analysis.