In VR applications, users can swing a sword in a virtual space by moving a hand controller. However, when the sword’s trajectory directly follows the user’s physical movement, it appears slow compared with the instantaneous slashes of a swordsman depicted in movies and animation, reducing the sense of exhilaration.
In the method proposed in this research, when the start of a slashing motion is detected, the sword’s trajectory is predicted from its initial movement, and an arc-shaped motion blur is displayed along that direction. The sword itself is temporarily hidden, and its display resumes once the controller’s movement stops. This allows users to experience an exhilarating slash that feels as though the sword has been swung through in an instant, without noticing any discrepancy between the actual trajectory of their arm and the sword’s trajectory in the virtual space.
Arc-shaped motion blur displayed by the proposed method
In the current implementation, slashes are limited to large horizontal motions from left to right in order to improve the accuracy of trajectory prediction. In the future, we would like to explore trajectory prediction methods that can accommodate a wider variety of motions, so as to support more free-form slashes.