From: pkenny@ADS.COM (Patrick Kenny)
Subject: Re: Bumping into the real world
Date: Wed, 9 May 90 01:29:03 GMT
Message-ID: <787#XP#@ads.com>
Organization: Advanced Decision Systems, Mt. View, CA (415) 960-7300


In article <11333@hoptoad.uucp> hoptoad!gnu@capmkt.com (John Gilmore) writes:
>
>hjb@hplb.hpl.hp.com (Harry Barman) wrote:
>>            it would be very useful to be able to (literally) walk around a
>> virtual world without bumping into objects from the real world.
>> One way to acheive this would be to have something rather like a walkway, but
>> which can move in any direction.
>> An enhancement to this would be adding the ability to tilt the platform,
>> thus enabling you to walk `uphill' and `downhill' to different parts of the
>> virtual world.
>
>The obvious thing is a sphere which you are inside (or atop), mounted on
>rollers.  The machine could control the rolling resistance of the sphere
>to make it easier or harder to move, and could monitor the forces your
>feet placed on the sphere to determine where you were trying to go.
>Simulating textures on the surface (gravel, grass, concrete, water)
>would be hard.  And its would have to be a LARGE sphere if you were
>able to lie down in your virtual world without noticing the curvature.
>-- 
>John Gilmore      {sun,pacbell,uunet,pyramid}!hoptoad!gnu      gnu@toad.com
> Boycott the census!  In 1942, the Census Bureau told the Army which block
>every Japanese-American lived on, so they could be hustled to internment camps.
>         Maximum penalty for refusing to answer:  $100, no jail.


The only problem one would have with using a sphere would be a place to 
store or access the equipment. If you were wearing a body suit and helmet
with cords hanging out, how would they be able to exit from the sphere.
Sure you could use radio or infrared, but that can get expensive.
Also in order to get a somewhat flat bottom, the sphere would have to be
quite large, even for walking.
 I think a walkway, or as someone had suggested, some type of arm that
will hold you up that could also rotate you. Then you could implement a 
real flight simulator, or "Peter Pan" simulator.


--
___________________________________________________
Patrick Kenny    pkenny@saturn.ads.com            |   I Didn't Say it
Advanced Decision Systems 1500 Plymouth Street    |  I Just Thought it.
Mountain View, CA 94043                           | My Computer Said it.