VirtuSphere Immersive Virtual Reality

mhzse writes "VirtuSphere provides a mechanical basis for truly immersive virtual reality environments, permitting the user to move about in virtual space by simply walking. The device consists of a large hollow sphere which is mounted on a specially designed platform that allows the sphere to rotate freely as the user walks in any direction. The user wears a head-mounted display, which provides the virtual environment.

Comments

Anyone else

[Liquorman]

think of hamsters?

Moo

[Chacham]

Behold the room of circle square,
Wherever it be, no matter where,
For when we enter it hollow space,
The real is gone, without a trace.

Oh, to enter that seductive wheel
Virtual entities are so surreal,
The actual, but, imperfections corrected,
We can blindly forget that they are projected.

And where the triangles are a bit too outright,
We'll turn a blind eye, enjoying the site,
And when the framerate and just doesn't make it,
We'll cry for a bit, but then mitigate it.

The call of the future, the holodeck cometh!
The hail of technology, there's no hiding from it.
As the real is so useless, it reeks with banality,
We don't want it at all, we want virtual reality.

Bon Scott Tribute Karma Burn

[alephnull42]

Let me be the first to say.... ...Balls!

Not great for VR Gaming

[Kainaw]

I've tried this setup twice in the past. It always feels like you are walking up an incline. To make it feel flat, the sphere has to be huge. As it is, the weight of the sphere is difficult to start moving and difficult to stop moving. What is required for a real-life VR environment is a flexible sphere that allows a flat surface for the user to walk on and power-assisted rotation to make it start and stop easily.

Re:Not great for VR Gaming

[Peldor]

But it's perfect for reliving the 'old' days when you had to walk uphill both ways to everything!

Re:Not great for VR Gaming

[XXIstCenturyBoy]

Its been a while, but when I was younger (like 20, i'm 29 now ;)) I pondered on a "real life Doom" technique. The way I saw it, after countless hours of Doom level editing, is to make it just the way Doom made it. With heightmaps.

I know it would be hard and probably not pratical but... You take a big warehouse, rig the floor and ceiling with 6' high wooden or plastic rod. Each rod is controlled by pneumatic (or whatever) to raise (in the case of the floor rod) or lower (for the ceiling one) and they meet in the middle (assuming a 12' space between the rods)

Anyone that made Doom levels will know how that would work. One could create any kind of levels, provided you keep the stairs to a minimum. But you can have Doom like doors (that open like in the game), window, walls and stairs.

Mix that with a VR helmet so that the user can see a gun, textured walls and ennemies instead of rods, and you have yourself a real life Doom. Reflective patches on the rod coupled with IR on the helmet could even be used to track if the player crouch or jump (god forbid)

It would not work for space infinite levels, but it would be great for hi-tech paintballs games. You'd have infinite maze for the players to play into.

5 bucks...

[omnispace]

says this will be the controller for the next Nintendo console.

Wireless?

[Digital_Quartz]

I wonder how they're getting the video signal to the HMD? Any decent resolution is going to require a fair ammount of bandwidth. It's obviously not going to be a cabled connection (where would the cables go?).

Re:1992 Called...

[Anonymous Coward]

Thus begins the saga of Zero Horse!

In A.D. 1301, the Siege was beginning...
King: What happen?
Lookout: Someone set up us a trebuchet.
Lookout: We get hail.
King: What?
King: Tell me the message.
King: It's Eric von Bunghole!
Eric von Bunghole: How art thee good gentlemen?
Eric von Bunghole: All thy castle art belong to my court.
Eric von Bunghole: Thou art on the way to plunder.
King: What he say?
Eric von Bunghole: Thou hast no chance to survive make thy days.
Eric von Bunghole: Ha ha ha ha!
King: Move Horse!
King: For Great Feudalism!

Re:I've always wondered how the holodeck worked.

[Drachemorder]

And heaven help people who dare to eat anything while spending significant time in a holodeck.

Imagine eating a large quantity of holographic food, digesting it,then walking out of the holodeck with the holographic substances integrated into your body...

On the other hand, that could be a really effective weight-loss plan.

What are the specs on the "special manipulator"

[Safe Sex Goddess]

"Users can even ineract with objects in virtual space using a special manipulator."

This sounds like it could be fun, depending on how big the special manipulator is.

Re:Cool, but useful?

[tyroneking]

On the contrary, it is very revolutionary;)

Re:First it was the mouse

[Rude Turnip]

"Then we had pressure sensitive balls."

Ah, forget it...this one's way too easy.

Hmm...

[MaestroSartori]

...kinda cool I suppose. Does limit the sorts of thing you can walk on - pretty difficult to simulate stairs, for example.

I always though that some sort of moving tile system with lots of small, tilting variable height tiles would work pretty well for simulating walking on undulating terrain, as well as being able to cover stairs etc.

Maybe a large spherical room with walls covered in shifting variable tiles of this sort, that way you could have overhangs etc as well. Go rock climbing up a virtual Eiger, with only a few feet to fall if you slip :)

I thought...

[ImaLamer]

...computers were made so we could walk *less*

Holodeck fun...

[ImaLamer]

Put on a Star Trek uniform and walk around the local renaissance festival. When people look at you funny or ask you what the heck you are doing tell them that you are in the holodeck and that none of them are real...

Re:Holodeck fun...

[LightningBolt!]

Or, put on a Star Trek uniform and bring a baseball bat to a major league game. Between batters, jump out of the stands and step up to the plate. When the police drag you out kicking and screaming, be sure to repeatedly shout "End simulation!" loud enough so the crowd can hear you.

Re:I've always wondered how the holodeck worked.

[kcb93x]

Actually, the holodeck was a combination of light tricks and tractor beams, AND replicators - physical items would actually be replicated, whereas "living" things weren't quite so "physical" IIRC.

Re:I've always wondered how the holodeck worked.

[Stagemonkey]

Ensign: "Excuse me Captain, I think I have to go take a holo-dook" Picard: "Ensign, you know just as well as I do that 3-d Realms hasn't released that game yet."