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Walking Around In Spherical VR
GDaddy writes: "Space Daily has a report on a collaboration between University of Warwick's Warwick Manufacturing Group and VR Systems UK that spawned a VR system without dimensional boundaries. Called the Cybersphere, It combines the ease of use of the CAVE system (no head mounts, big projected walls), with the lack of distance limitations of, well, of no VR system developed so far. They say it allows a person to walk, run, and crawl smoothly and naturally around an arbitrarily large VR world by putting the user in a rolling sphere suspended on air bearings. But wouldn't the sphere's inertia cause a noticable lag when you start or stop walking, or when you change direction? They don't address it, and I'll remain dubious until I roll it on my own."
The dates mentioned in the article are from 1998. The idea itself isn't new either. At least one person has though about it as early as 1990 (me :-)
BTW, if they wish to follow the motion of the sphere without requiring any contact they can use the same mechanism as the MS IntelliEye mouse.
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Stop worrying about the risks of nuclear power and start worrying about the risks of not using nuclear power.
It's nice to see a troll with a sense of humour, keep it up!
Other problems (when I tried it - a couple of years ago now).
* Noise
* Lag
* Wobble (the sphere wasn't that rigid)
* Image alignment problems
Also if I remember right there was a problem with direction and turning, but I can't think what it was.
That said it was quite impressive.
My work sent me to try this thing out whilst it was in development. Although I felt it had a lot of potential it should not be mistaken for the answer to our synthetic prayers.
You take a step and then it moves, your weight further up the sphere causes it to rotate as you sink back to the lowest point. As it rotates the synthetic environment is updated. As a result the lag is a serious problem. This is extremely unnerving and caused me to fall over a couple of times. I really recommend against trying to run in one of these things.
When I got in they had to refit the panels that covered the entrance, therefore this was not something you could play with on your own.
On the up side there is none of the motion sickness that can be caused by VR glasses.
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
I could just see somebody trying to stop from a dead run, thereby whirling upside down, landing on top of their head, which would make that unlucky person likely the first virtual fatality.
This is a serious comment, and I definitely should not be joking about it, but arrrggghh, can't resist, must joke. Theme Hospital 2.0 VR anyone?
People replying to my sig annoy me. That's why I change it all the time.
For ventilation, just make microperforations. Could be good for the sound too, but it might cause problems with the aircushion that is supposed to suspend the sphere. Proper layout of the perforations could prevent that i assume. I think the trick will be to prevent people from falling over all the time. Imagine playing a soccer match inside this contraption ;-)
Couldn't this be implemented with those kind'of tracks that are on excercie machines (please excuse my bad english), that is, a "moving floor", only that it should be able to move sideways too. That way it should be possible to track the movement, of say your foot when you raise it, and then just shift the floor accordingly. Atleast that way you wouldn't need to rotate the entire sphere.
One more problem is that you can see the edges, where the walls join. I think this could be solved with a sphere, but I'm not sure how they are going to do fullimmersion 3D without headtracking (now talking about the Oxford project). The cool thing with the VR Cube and all CAVEs out there is that you can acctually leen over an object and see what behind it, this adds alot to the feeling. So I hope the Oxford guys understand that that they have to have headtracking.
Anyone got a sub $2000 headtracking system? (Tracking at least four objects)
Nah, you apply an initial resistance to the sphere so that you dont have this problem. Plus, if you made the sphere large enough you wouldnt notice the inclined sides when you walked.
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It would mean, however, that objects and external influences to your motion would also have to "feed back" into the sphere, which could be tricky. Hmm..
~matt~
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"So there he is, risen from the dead. Like that fella, E. T." - Father Ted Crilly
What if you were in a car simulation but really really really needed to go to the toilet??
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Answer me that!!
~matt~
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"So there he is, risen from the dead. Like that fella, E. T." - Father Ted Crilly
Yay! yet another dated article (1998)... sure it looks interesting, but where's the update after 2 years? I love it when people get excited over vapor. I could just as well put up a few "technical" drawings of my magic flying saucer and post it to slashdot a few years from now... hm... not a bad idea!
is this really news for nerds? stuff that matters?
I ate my sig.
Actually, he's almost got it here. Don't attach these devices directly to the boot!Attach them to 2 12x6" platforms, which can float underneath your boots.flying simply pulls them out from under your feet, suspending you in the air (provided you are wearing a harness). Stairs could be done, even the kicking, running that you want. Just reduce the force somewhat, so chances of injury are reduced.
The hands I'm afraid won'tt work though, would need too many of these devices in all kinds of shapes and sizes. Still, you're on the right track, I think. This will kick ass until I can get my direct neural connection inplanted.
Telefeedback, force feedback, and a few other buzznames for the same thing. It's just like power steering. You move something a little bit in one way, and some simple hydraulic valvery assists greatly. Throw in some pressure sensors in the sphere, and it can tell if you're starting to change direction. Some low-speed computer can keep up with this information. No more complex than a large Caterpillar-style tractor.
/thought/.
But on the other hand, let's not fixate on inertia. I bet your system adapts to it really quickly. Riding a unicycle is non instantaneous in changing directions. You have to kind of work at it. Not a major effort, but it does take
What is stopping you from stepping off the sphere in this case?
No, with shutter glasses or some kind of polaroid glasses, you get real 3D. Then you can you emulate a wall.
Why don't you just put down the twinkies ... and take a walk outside. That'll have the same result.
cool looking project. but some concerns have caught my eye:
air supply?
exit?
where is the panic switch?
"So there I was, Doctor, in the Avengers movie scenario, when I lost my balance in the middle of the river. Last thing I remember was dropping my Coke and then it's all flashes of water and the villain shooting..."
They could vary the mass of the sphere according to your mass. If you have a sphere made of a chunk of steel it'll take a lot of effort to overcome it's inertia, but if it was made of styrofoam (remember, this is hypothetical) it would go spinning every which way. I imagine after some R&D they could come up with a platform which could have it's mass adjusted on the fly.
There's my 2 cents.
Catch me on AIM: SigningiS
I prefer a void in conversation to a vacuous one.
But in VR shouldn't one want the ability to climb stairs, go uphill, and the like? I know this probably isn't something doable yet, but still, that'd be something more than the world ends at a certain point. Who really wants to walk around a endless flat plain?
If not now, when?
... do you breathe in that thing ?
I'm not so worried about breathing (li'l holes), but DO NOT use it after having the chili special at lunch...
Ooh, a sarcasm detector. Oh, that's a real useful invention.
People have been suggesting this for ages. I've heard people call this idea a hampster vr, or a bi directional treadmill. For your own home vr stuff, a plain old treadmill would be pretty cool. There are actually systems designed around that idea. Lots of ppl have suggested a hampster ball, just no one has built one as far as I know. If they build it its an engineering/programming feat, but not innovative.
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
The diagram of this seems to depend on a second wheel to move it's mouse-like sensors. Couldn't something similar to the non-mechanical motion sensors in Logitech's trackballs or MS's ball-less mice be used to simplify this? The less moving parts the better (and cheaper).
/. It seems very applicable to this product, should it prove to be more cost effective than standard projectors.
I know Logitech's ball has dots printed on its surface, presumably to aid the optical sensor (unless it's magnetic), so such a system may affect the quality of the projections. MS's mouse sensor can operate on any surface provided it is not transparent, so it may be preferred.
Also interesting is the topic concerning color LED spotlights currently on
I hope the inventors of this will be loose with the patent. With enough competition, this could be in our homes before long. Wasn't it predicted in "The Age Of Spiritual Machines" that PC graphics would be lifelike by 2007?
Feedback appreciated.
-Gary
"sigs cause cancer"
Tesla was not an englishman. He was european (I forget the country, and because I RESPECT my facts, I won't guess as to which) but gained American citizinship. And he did not try and pass off anyone's ideas for himself. Marconi tried to pass off Tesla's ideas as his own. When Marconi made the trans-atlantic signal, he was using 14 devices designed and pattented by Tesla, produced by Westinghouse. Tesla demonstrated radio transmission several years before Marconi, and unlike Marconi, actually knew what was going on.
You are only young once, but you can stay immature indefinitely.
Shouldn't be too much of a problem as long as you stay upright with your head close to your center of gravity. I can see your point though, if you are crawling around on hands and knees. Maybe they attach a "this end up" marker on your forehead to track your point of perspective.
Or even live out your fantasies with Lara Croft.
The sphere would begin moving under it's own power almost the same time the user started to move. Kind of like force feedback in reverse, the program being run would have preconceived notion as to what movement a user would make based on certain conditions. Say, there's a dragon lich directly in front of the level 1 user. Forward movement is unlikely, left or right movement is likely, backward movement is most likely, medium to maximum speed is likely, maximum speed is most likely. Then the computer would sense the position of the users feet, how the user was balanced, etc, and determine which movements the user was in position to preform easily, eliminate likelihoods and refine the notion. The instant the user began to move the computer would react and move based on the refined notion. Almost as immediately, the computer could sense if the user had done something unexpected. Such as, the user was poised to run but charged the dragon lich instead. In which case the computer would implement plan B, the dragon lich stomps, or does something spectacular to explain why the user feels the ground move under him, and perhaps this also serves to distract the user from the inconstancy. An AI that recorded and analyzed the user's reactions to situations would be helpful in predicting the user's next movement.
You're right about the inertia though - you have to watch your speed carefully, or else...
gl03.-
Today was just a day fading into another-Counting Crows
Today was just a day fading into another-Counting Crows
I rather have A glove (a la NES), goggles, and a mouse.
I forget where this was from, but I remember the quote, and it seems apropos:
When the term "virtual reality" came into play, Sociologists panicked and predicted that people would withdraw from the real world in favor of the virtual. When the experienced turned out to be more like playing Pac-Man with a bowling ball taped to your head, the excitement died down.
"Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master."
This seems a little dangerous. What happens when the user loses his balance? Is there anything to catch him? Also, if I understand this correctly, it seems like one might be able to get the poles to cross by crossing his legs.
Maann.. I don't know if I could stomach Tribes. Imagine getting hit square in the chest with a shockwave cannon and being thrown off a platform, spinning wildly through the air, plummeting hundreds and hundreds of feet, until your eventual gory collision with the ground below.
That's the kind of thing that'll give you post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master."
You spent a year there and you pronounced it War-ick? It is Wa-rick !!! They must have thought you simple...
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
My .02,
My .02,
zencode
iactivist.org/jason
I think that's just the problem with the spherical model. It would be easy to render terrain - but rendering an actual object, like a brick being thrown at your head, or a glass of beer, or a naked woman, would be considerably more difficult.
As for actually having sex with the naked woman... well, this isn't the device for that. I think you're going to have to wait for the nanorobots that interface directly with your brain.
"Beware he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he deems himself your master."
(short-lived product made by Mattel in the mid-eighties)
That's the bigest trackball I've _ever_ seen!
Having played CAVE-Quake, having the ability to actually move around instead of having to stand still in the middle and use the "joystick" would to me seem like a very nice improvement.
:)
Someone mentioned the sound being a potential problem for the sphere, but unless you're after perfect digital AC5 surrond , I can say that it will not be a problem. The CAVE system I was using had a modest audio equipment setup, but explosions, grunts, rocket launches, etc sounded well enough for me. And the directional bit was accurate enough to locate enemies by sound as well.
The only thing is, that considering how disoriented I got after a few minutes playing, I don't want to find out how it would be inside a sphere =)
But I'm damn sure it'd be one hell of game experience! CAVE-Quake was just superb.. can't really imagine what a SPHERE-Quake would be like, except for "damn intense"
You're not a skier are you? =) If I read your paragraph in falling into a horizontal position correct, you think the boots should be able to rise the person by being able to support the persons weight? If that's the case I can tell you he'll have two broken legs pretty soon. =) If I've misinterpeted you, you have my apologies.
The sensors that detect your moving off the sphere, which spins the sphere to keep you over it. That's why the water nipple is there, so you won't dehydrate until you've finished the payments on the sphere.
(IMHO). I routinely take *groups* of people into a CAVE, I can't see myself being able to do that with this thing (8 people all trying to walk in different directions?). The other advantage is that you can leave one side of a CAVE open, and people outside can look in and see stuff (kind of like a big bent powerwall), so you can be showing VR to say 20 people. You can't do that with this device.
OTOH, it looks pretty cool, and has definate new-and-funky appeal.
Mike.
Tales from behind the Lagom Curtain
Personally, I think if you can afford one of these gadgets, having sex with _actual_ women is not going to really be a problem :)
Gfunk
Send lawyers, guns, and money!
Just sitting back and waiting for Doug Englebart to call the patent police on this one! (that is, after they're finished with the whole "one-click ordering" hullaballoo...
GET FREE APPLE STUFF!
Well you'd have to wear body suits and bumping into each other would be simulated. Which is to be expected in a virtual world. That way you can't tell who is real and who isn't.
Alakaboo
Why does this remind me of those transparent spheres you put gerbils into, and watch as they run around and bump into everything? Or kinda like a mouse in a wheel, you run, but you don't go anywhere. Just more scenic now ;)
...I'll procrastinate tomorrow...
When I picture this, I get a vision of a bug in the embedded system, controlling the servos, ripping ones arms and legs from their sockets. Ouch. I think I will let someone else beta-test this contraption.
>Someone mentioned the sound being a potential problem for the sphere
/. I noticed a poster mentioning sound emitting "LED"s (SEDs?). It seems as if these, as well as multi-colored LEDs, could be arranged in arrays behind a transparent and durable walking surface and used instead of the proposed sound and projection systems.
Having looked at the LED topic currently on
With thousands of sound emmiting diodes encircling the user, audio effects could be precisely positioned. I assume a transparent plexiglass would be appropriate for the walking surface, provided small holes were present to allow both sound and air in.
Obviously the cost of these LEDs and SEDs are prohibitive at the current time, but as production goes up to meet the demand, this will most likely not be true for long. Another potential problem is sending power and information to the LEDs and SEDs on the moving sphere. Perhaps it could be used on a stationary sphere or dome encompassing the transparent movement sphere.
I've posted another response inquiring whether using optical motion tracking sensors such as those found in MS Optical Mice and Logitec Trackballs could be used to make this cheaper and less complex. That in addition to the space savings of removing the need for projectors or sound equipment could make the system much more space friendly.
Perhaps in the near future such a system will replace our TVs, Phones, and already scarce social lives.
Feedback appreciated.
-Gary
"sigs cause cancer"
Now I stop and wonder, this is of course a step closer to a complete VR-world, but how would one fix to have a second person there. This technique seems to me to be limitated to only one person, unless of course there is a second sphere somewhere, either in same room or in a different room. Which brings us to the next problem, if in the same room you can bump into each other but are still quite far from each other. At least I see that sphere as at least the size of the person, in my case that would be 6'8'' in the case that you have a 2'4'' person(which is unlikely but still) you would have two spheres of a total of 10' that means there is a distance of 5' and still you bump into each other. On the other hand in two different rooms you have the following problem, how can you bump into each other, or better said can you bump into each other
In my opinion it is a good step into developing a new VR-Experience but it is still just as the cave limited, just in a different way
Grootvoet
-= Free your mind and your Ass will follow,
-= Free your mind and your Ass will follow,
Bono(U2), MTV Video Music Awards=-
This is a great idea. However, walking inside a sphere will give the same type of feeling. I want a flat surface to walk and run on, not feel like a hamster in habitrail. BMaximus
They also used that sphere as potential method of transport back in the seventies: A way for people to cross rivers...
Virtual reality is cool.
But have you noticed how the "real" world is increasingly mimicing the electronic?
The secret of success is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake those, you've got it made. (Marx)
I have to agree with the original post... I could just see somebody trying to stop from a dead run, thereby whirling upside down, landing on top of their head, which would make that unlucky person likely the first virtual fatality.According to the developers, one serious issue needing consideration would be construction of a hatch of some kind which would be openable from both inside and out, and I kind of have to wonder whether the disorientation which would occur when the switch is turned off wouldn't be kind of overwhelming. Still, I look forward to jumping into one at the first opportunity!
political_news.c: warning: comparison is always true due to limited range of data type
... do you breathe in that thing ? After two hours of virtual walking though virtual beaches filled with virtual gorgeous women there will be no breathable oxygen left in the bubble.
And wouldn't the sound be atenuated by the sphere's walls ? (they have to be preety thick to suport a human without bending/breaking)
And the thing looks preety exprensive. I'll stick to a cheaper Actual Reality Sphere.
--
1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
I think that anyone who has had even a rudimentary training in VR systems has probably considered creating a sphere. One of the bigger problems with a spherical "CAVE" system is that, until you get to a fairly huge size, you end up with disorientation and balance problems. Some of these are compounded by the inertia of the sphere, but most of the problem is that we expect to walk on relatively level surfaces. So, unless the simulations which you are walking through are all up-hill then the tactile sensations of walking verses what you are seeing are going to be out of sync.
If I recall my University experiments on this, I believe that our group determined that 15m diam sphere would begin to have a level enough surface. A 3.5m diam sphere would be claustrophobic and you would have to be relatively short not to have head space issues, or just not move around very quickly. What we really concluded was that a better system would be to have a deformable sphere, such that the walls of the sphere were not ridged and could be manipulated to create a flat walking surface, or by extension, an inclided surface as well. How that would be accomplished is left as an exercise of the reader.
I see a perfect marketing opportunity. If these people are willing to brand their product in conjunction with a well known leader in modular livingspaces, they could profit immensely.
I speak, of course of:
VR by Habitrail!
Think about it: The ultimate geek houses with modular hallways, ladders, and function specific rooms. Oh, and excercise wheels....
I'm thinking more of a snowboarder. No, the boots shouldn't actually lift the person, just prevent him from falling. IE, if the person leaned forward far enough, the boots would reach their maximum tilt and go no further. I don't think the boots should ever attempt to "throw" the user forward. Then again, the boots are just one part and I think if you really were to build a simulator with such a design, you'd add a simple harness or program the simulator to halt if the person tilted forward and couldn't right himself.
= -
- JoeShmoe
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-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
Well, maybe they intend to interleave stereoptic images in the projections, with the occupant wearing a set of radio controlled flicker glasses. That's how the CAVE systems work. Ok sure, you're back to head mounted hardware. But it will fix the parallax errors.
Instead of getting fat at my computer while playing Quake III, I could be getting into shape.
Body by Carmack!
# (/.);;
- : float -> float -> float =
Well, if it's about the same inertia as you own body, it might actually work. You have to stop your own forward motion, too, when stopping walking. I'm not sure how big this sphere is supposed to be, however, and since all its mass will be on the outer radius, its inertia will be quite high, even if it's light-weight.
;)
Another problem might be that the ground will feel unstable, and you might start swaying and even fall. The ground will shift slightly. I, too, will have to try for myself
Bernd
Boots that have a two poles attached to the them via free-motion ball-and-socket joints. One pole is attached to the tip of boot, the other attached to the heel.
= -
Servos that can track and tilt the pole apply enough resistance to keep the boots level and counter the weight of the wearer.
As the person moves, pressure sensors inside the boot read the direction and strength of the force, and the servos compensate accordingly.
For example. When flat, the servos provide enough force to simulate the ground plane. When the person lifts his or her foot, pressure sensors on the top of the boot register this force, and the servos release grip on the poles to allow the boot to move up. When the person lowers his or her foot, sensors on the bottom of the boot register this force, and the servos remain flexible until the software detects that the user's foot has hit the ground plane or an object, at which point they clamp down on the pole.
Using this system, it would be possible to simulate walking, running, jumping, climbing, kicking, even fighting.
Combine this with a similar setup for the hands (using gloves) and the complete immersive 3D holodeck-type enviroment can be simulated.
So, does anything like this exist, and is there even a name for this?
- JoeShmoe
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
-- I wonder which will go down in history as the bigger failure: the War on Drugs or the War on Filesharing
Isn't that an oxymoron?
I love stacking my barbecues in the shed at the end of summer - you can't beat a bit of grill on grill action.
This, to all intents and purposes, looks like a scaled up version of my hamster's exercise wheel for people. Does this mean that we'll be able to get people as pets, shove them in one of these contraptions and then get our kicks as the person runs around responding to arbitrary stimuli.
Would be much more fun than my hamster
I think my brain is dribbling out down the back of my legs
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Just because you can, does not mean you should.
The problem is there is no depth perception. I don't even know if it tracks where your head is to generate the right viewpoint. What it needs is LCD shutter glasses and synchronised interleaved projection of left and right eye view.
I already have my own (!) - A bit larger that their model (About 6400 km radius - with a whole environment that I can go out and explore, they've even made it interactive, and got the whole sex thing working ;)
You can try it if you mail me a dollar ;)
> enough resistance to keep the boots level and
> counter the weight of the wearer.
Yes, it's called a human-wishbone machine. One programming mistake and it will rip you in half - right up the middle.
Any servo that is capable of solidly supporting my weight while jogging or kicking, would also be able to do damage ratable at PG-13.
Slashdot monitor for your Mozilla sidebar or Active Desktop.
Inertia may be somewhat irrelevant. The sphere
has an inertial lag reacting to your movements.
In natural conditions, your body also has such a
lag. However, the sphere's "visual" position
would be relative to the user's position, and
could easily compute a stopping distance for the
user. If anything will be a problem, it will be
the lack of force which the user has to apply
with his or her legs to stop. And as someone
pointed out below, this could be counteracted
by using the sphere's inertia to provide a force
against the user, more closely simulating the
real inertial effects of someone walking around
on the surface of the planet.
Some type of sensors will be needed for the case of coming to a sudden stop. In reality, when a person is running, and they try to stop quickly, they are forced to brake their movement due to the fact that momentum will keep them going if they don't. It doesn't take much, but nobody can come to a sudden stop. However, in the ball, nobody would actually be moving, the ball would. So if someone suddenly stops, which WOULD be possible since you're not really moving, the ball would keep going, UNLESS it was somehow able to sense that the person had stopped running and brake the movement. This MIGHT not be too difficult. As the person moves around in the ball, they will never move more than a few degrees away from the center of the berings. Anytime they try to, the ball will simply roll to compensate, simulating movement. If someone suddenly stops, they will move beyond that few degree margin and the ball, sensing a force centered on a spot that is too far from the center of the berings will engage brakes to slow the ball down and readjust it. There will probably be a few balancing issues to work out, but no more than someone would have in real life after a few beers. :)
-Restil
Play with my webcams and lights here
Yes, the inertia of the ball probably causes some lag in changing directions, etc. BUT, it might be worth noting how few people can turn on a dime when running at full speed in real life. The ultimate VR system *should* emulate this effect, not just feel like Q3 Arena on a big screen.
damn, a friend of mine and I just thought of maing something like this two weeks ago! I hope they didn't patent it...
I hate VR because in normal life you don't turn your head around to see something. I am not a touch typist, so I watch my fingers doing the typing to make sure I don't make any mistakes. Keeping my head in the same position, I look up at the monitor to double-check my typing. You can't view things like that with VR
What I would like to see (maybe there is already) is VR that tracks your eye movement or something also.
Do your best, hope for the best, suspect the worst.
I don't think it works that way. True, your body does have inertia, and you ARE used to the forces that come from that. But you can't just match the inertia of the surface you're walking on. Think of this: if you stand on solid ground and lean over, you fall with a characteristic equation of motion. In this thing, if you go off balace, you fall one way, the sphere rolls the other way. You have a different equation of motion, it won't FEEL quite right. Another example would be straffing (to appeal to the quake fans) rapidly changing direction from left to right would feel very strange, like the ground was moving under you (which it is). There's no way around that.
As noted before, this is an old idea - but one that is interesting, and of course, still in development.
Another individual noted that the military was developing an omnidirectional treadmill - this is true. It is part of the dismounted soldier project. Here is a link. Look around his site, under research and publications - you'll find it as a PDF file.
Basically, the treadmill can be thought of as two perpendicularly overlapping treadmills, the belts of which are composed of longitudinal "rows" of rollers along the length of each belt. Thus, when the user is walking in the center of the overlap, the motion vector is translated into X and Y motion, one axis for each belt (it is tough to explain, but once you see the thing, you will smack your head). It works real similarly to a holonomic drive robot, except in reverse. Also, various "terrain" can be simulated by tilting the platform, as well as controlling the belts with active braking/acceleration.
There is also a Japanese "toroidal" omni treadmill, but it is VERY hard to understand (I may have a link to it on my site).
Personally, I don't think any of these devices will see much entertainment or personal use in the future, just because of the scale of the devices, the complexity, and the cost of materials that go into them.
I personally advocate HMD's with tracking devices, because it allows for the most interaction with the virtual environment (ie, you can explore and look around the world easily, and manipulate and examine objects as well).
With that said, though, I think that this guy is onto something, and may make inbounds to the commercial and personal arenas before anyone...
I support the EFF - do you?
Reason is the Path to God - Anon
[quote]But wouldn't the sphere's inertia cause a noticable lag when you start or stop walking, or when you change direction? [unquote] Although it's a bit different, your body 'suffers' from inertia too ofcourse, causing a lag, when starting to move, etc. Although stopping this thing will probably be a bit different from stopping yourself when walking, my guess is that you can adapt your sense of equilibrum pretty quickly.
What if the sphere were light weight? Or if they could match the weight of the sphere to the weight of the occupant?
Microsoft aggravates my tourettes syndrome.
You can't expect to stay upright in this rig without moving your head. Does the system cater for the motion induced parallax as you move your head? It's not as big an issue on flight simulators I believe, because things are generally far away, but moving around a room would likely make you feel ill because what you see and what your brain expects don't match up.
The engineering is impressive nevertheless, and any theme park application would likely be improved by induced nausea.
STOP THE HUMANOID STOP THE INTRUDER!
What work did Tesla pass off as his own, hmm?
This sphere will certainly work well for navigation in large, open virtual worlds and I would love to try it out.
Now what happens when the user runs into a wall and the VR renderer supposedly stops moving his avatar? The "correct" thing would be for the sphere to stop rotating in that direction, which would require some active external control of its movements. It is a difficult problem, considering the size of the installation, and it would be interesting to know whether they plan to do any research on that in the future.
I guarantee you: Somewhere, right now, someone is trying to figure out to have sex using this device. You laugh now, but I know how human mind works...
^_^
---
I just want to point out, that a similar System, called SPIN (spherical projection interface) was presented at this year's Ars Electronica Festival in Linz, Austria.
The Device, created by Yuri(RR and Time's Up is already up and running, and uses additional bio-feedback to control the VR environment. You can see the project description including a cool video at http://www.yuri.at/spin/
regards,
Martin
J.C. Herz, either in Joystick Nation or an interview.
Stop before it's too late!
Well, YOUR intertia would do that in real life. It all depends how heavy this sphere is. Assumedly, though, it's light enough that you can start it "rolling" with minimal effort, so I'm guessing it would stop in the same.
My big complaint is that, essentially, you're walking on your screen. Better hope you have nice, soft, and very clean shoes.
I find it a great idea. And of course this ball will have some inertia, just like your own body has. All that is needed is to adjust the size and weight of the sphere so that is feels just like the inertia of jour own body!
For more info: The Utah Treadport
I was walking around the other day and looking all around me thinking "Wow... theres lots and lots of details!" Imagine what it would really take to present that? Throw on top of that sense stimulators, geez. This is when that old quote came back to me about god being the details. I wonder if we're getting closer and closer to understanding.
Also, just imagine what one could do in conjunction with music. Hell... the Ultimate
WinAmp plug-in is one step closer!
-DL
They played Doom in it!
Having tested the CAVE system developed at KTH (sweden) i though there were 2 major problems there which have to be in this system too.
.. the thing is made with plastic.. you dont sense it immediately but air will run out quickly .. some form of ventilation is possible in the CAVE design but this design will make that more difficult.
.. result : images have very low contrast since everything is immerged in a rather bright light. (and there is no solution to this as far as i see it unless you use a laser and a florescent panel i think.
1) oxigen
2) translucency. remember.. there is no helmet so you're looking at real PROJECTED screens. this means that the light from 1 screen will bounce in the others as well
That scheme (locking servos) works fine for flat or smooth slopes, but breaks down when the user steps on an edge. The user expects to be able to rock the boot back & forth keeping the same height. As I understand it, you would have to use active servos to push the toe/heel up & down in response to the forces involved. But hey, this is cool, you could simulate spongy or sticky surfaces really easily.
They ARE out to get you simply because They are in it for themselves and they don't care about you.
I think most of this technology was perfected in the late sixies and made various cameos on the UK TV show The Prisoner.
When I worked in the Reality Centre in the UK I related this idea to one of the visitors around five years ago. Their idea was to walk on top of a sphere as a tracking system and I pointed out that this would be inherently unstable and require motors + a significant underfloor area. I suggested that they needed to be inside a retroprojected sphere but it would be difficult to manufacture and getting in and out would require a door in the spherical screen.
Um, George Clinton coined that phrase ~20 years ago.
I bet you think Guns'N'Roses wrote "Knockin' on Heaven's Door".
-Isaac
I am not a lawyer, and this is not legal advice. For Entertainment Purposes Only.
I rather have A glove (a la NES), goggles, and a mouse. ID nearly had it down from the get-go. I dont see a need for anything more complicated or expensive. Time will tell and I wouldnt bet on a sphere.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Often wrong but never in doubt.
I am Jack9.
Everyone knows me.
... had the same idea. The novel is around 8-10 years old (?), and aimed at a fairly young reading level (12-14 year olds). In the book, the ball rolled on a sort of ball bearing treadmill, and individual balls could be moved up and down to simulate floor textures. (this is about as far as the book is worth reading, because after that dinosaurs start being created by some little turd's mind.)
Woohoo! It's the world's first virtual Zorb!
--Kai
--slashsuckATvegaDOTfurDOTcom
I swear, spend your moderation points on bringing up worthy points and clear questions, leave humour alone. Sure it's offtopic but the point you spent on me could have easily been spent on some other person's more lucid discussion of the technology at hand.
Ashley Clark
Here's some info on the CAVE project at Brown (I believe where it started):_ Journal/vol23/23GSJ28e.html
http://www.cs. bro wn.edu/research/graphics/research/cave/home.html
http://www.brown.edu/Administration/George_Street
-Chris
2. Or: No grease; you wear fuzzy socks.
3. Or: You wear socks with soles made of the plasticized magnetic material used in flexible refrigerator magnets. Under the plastic sheet-you-stand-on is an array of electromagnets. Thus walking resistance can be varied.
4. Or: the individual electromagnets in the floor array can be varied based on location, so that you might sense a bumpy/smooth terrain. You might be able to simulate walking up stairs, for example, by having the step "ahead" require more force to make your foot touch the ground, simulating (as with a step-excerciser) stepping "up".
**The sphere is a silly, expensive, cumbersome way to get unrestricted walking motion on a plane.
**If you want a spherical viewscreen, cut the bottom out and use a slippery surface instead for motion input/simulation.
"This message is composed of 100% recycled electrons."