Ever since the popularization of the concept of virtual reality, I perceived a problem: how can users move about in a VR space without moving about in the real world? I guess they solve this problem on the Holodeck with some kind of forcefield under one’s feet. Our forcefield tech is still in alpha, so I was intersted to read on Engadget about CirculaFloor:
CirculaFloor is a locomotion interface using a group of movable floors. The movable floors employ holonomic mechanism that achieves omni-directional motion. Circulation of the floors enables the user to walk in virtual environment while his/her position is maintained. The user can walk in arbitrary direction in virtual environment.
Check out the video–it’s pretty cool. The key here is ‘walk’. Circufloor should call me when they can handle sprinting, tumbling and jumping–then I can finally realize my dream of a VR game of Donkey Kong. I guess they just need larger tiles.
DarrenBarefoot.com 