PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill

Marco Gabrecht; Chenwei Huang; Denys J.C. Matthies; Hans Christian Jetter

doi:10.1145/3733155.3733202

PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill

Marco Gabrecht, Chenwei Huang, Denys J.C. Matthies, Hans Christian Jetter

Institute of Human-Centered Interactive Systems

1 Citation (Scopus)

Abstract

Simulating terrains to enhance immersion in virtual environments can improve user experience and may also benefit rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a method to physically simulate terrain with a hybrid-actuation insole prototype based on pneumatic and vibrotactile feedback. We utilize six coin cells vibration motors and 3D-printed pneumatic valve system that can inflate and deflate air pressure chambers in the midsole. We ran an exploratory lab study on a treadmill to understand how simulated terrains, including asphalt, grass, and sand is perceived by the user. Our study demonstrates that participants perceived the simulated terrains as distinct and convincing, with the sand terrain, in particular, being rated as the most realistic among the conditions tested.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments
Number of pages	9
Place of Publication	New York, NY, USA
Publisher	ACM
Publication date	17.07.2025
Pages	101-109
ISBN (Print)	9798400714023
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1145/3733155.3733202
Publication status	Published - 17.07.2025

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

SDG 8 Decent Work and Economic Growth
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities

Research Areas and Centers

Research Area: Intelligent Systems

DFG Research Classification Scheme

4.43-05 Image and Language Processing, Computer Graphics and Visualisation, Human Computer Interaction, Ubiquitous and Wearable Computing

Access to Document

10.1145/3733155.3733202

Cite this

Gabrecht, M., Huang, C., Matthies, D. J. C., & Jetter, H. C. (2025). PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments (pp. 101-109). (Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025). ACM. https://doi.org/10.1145/3733155.3733202

Gabrecht, Marco ; Huang, Chenwei ; Matthies, Denys J.C. et al. / PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill. Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. New York, NY, USA : ACM, 2025. pp. 101-109 (Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025).

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title = "PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill",

abstract = "Simulating terrains to enhance immersion in virtual environments can improve user experience and may also benefit rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a method to physically simulate terrain with a hybrid-actuation insole prototype based on pneumatic and vibrotactile feedback. We utilize six coin cells vibration motors and 3D-printed pneumatic valve system that can inflate and deflate air pressure chambers in the midsole. We ran an exploratory lab study on a treadmill to understand how simulated terrains, including asphalt, grass, and sand is perceived by the user. Our study demonstrates that participants perceived the simulated terrains as distinct and convincing, with the sand terrain, in particular, being rated as the most realistic among the conditions tested.",

author = "Marco Gabrecht and Chenwei Huang and Matthies, \{Denys J.C.\} and Jetter, \{Hans Christian\}",

note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2025 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).",

year = "2025",

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doi = "10.1145/3733155.3733202",

language = "English",

isbn = "9798400714023",

series = "Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025",

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Gabrecht, M, Huang, C, Matthies, DJC & Jetter, HC 2025, PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill. in Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025, ACM, New York, NY, USA, pp. 101-109. https://doi.org/10.1145/3733155.3733202

PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill. / Gabrecht, Marco; Huang, Chenwei; Matthies, Denys J.C. et al.
Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. New York, NY, USA: ACM, 2025. p. 101-109 (Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025).

Research output: Chapters in Books/Reports/Conference Proceedings › Conference contribution › peer-review

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AU - Jetter, Hans Christian

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AB - Simulating terrains to enhance immersion in virtual environments can improve user experience and may also benefit rehabilitation. In this paper, we present a method to physically simulate terrain with a hybrid-actuation insole prototype based on pneumatic and vibrotactile feedback. We utilize six coin cells vibration motors and 3D-printed pneumatic valve system that can inflate and deflate air pressure chambers in the midsole. We ran an exploratory lab study on a treadmill to understand how simulated terrains, including asphalt, grass, and sand is perceived by the user. Our study demonstrates that participants perceived the simulated terrains as distinct and convincing, with the sand terrain, in particular, being rated as the most realistic among the conditions tested.

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BT - Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments

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Gabrecht M, Huang C, Matthies DJC, Jetter HC. PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill. In Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments. New York, NY, USA: ACM. 2025. p. 101-109. (Proceedings of the 18th ACM International Conference on PErvasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments, PETRA 2025). doi: 10.1145/3733155.3733202

PAVES: Pneumatic And Vibrotactile Enhanced Shoes for terrain simulation in virtual environments on a treadmill

Abstract

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