The ultimate virtual reality
VirtueSphere has been developed over 45 man years, and the end product is essentially a large hamster ball which when coupled with head tracking provides the ultimate virtual reality.
The VirtuSphere platform consists of a large hollow sphere that sits on top of a base
and allows the sphere to rotate 360 degrees. Wearing a wireless, head-mounted
display, users can step inside the sphere to fully interact in immersive virtual
environments. The VirtuSphere enables 6 degrees of freedom – one can move in any
direction; walk, jump, roll, crawl, run over virtually unlimited distances without
encountering real-world physical obstacles. (from the VirtueSphere website).
Basically this means that you can really take part in the game, or simulation, and be a lot more involved as you are really doing the movement, as opposed to just pressing buttons. The same applies to the aiming aspect, as guns etc can be linked to the head tracking, meaning that you can really experience FPS games.
However it is currently designed just for simulation purposes, and gaming is in the pipeline, but not for a while. However it does have the following advantages:
- User can move in any direction; walk, jump, roll, crawl, run over virtually unlimited
distances
- Life-like movements inside cyberspace
- Standalone or networked
- Multiplatform
- Need to change the purpose of use? Just reload the software
- Mobile solution, transportation in middle size car, assembled in 4 hour
Obviously this means that potentially you could adapt it for any old game, but it would be extremely difficult, and perhaps not worth the effort.
Anyway, we have the technology, and it is only a matter of time before this can be developed into a real life gaming experience, and imagine what it will be like!
Verdict: At the moment, great for simulation and for ‘exploring worlds’, but watch this space, because this could get big in the gaming world!
Popularity: 4% [?]
If you're new here, you may want to subscribe to our RSS feed. Thanks for visiting!
No comments yet.