Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 18, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
As part of the EU project Cyberwalk, scientists have developed a system that allows users to move through virtual worlds in an entirely everyday way. They simply walk on the “Cybercarpet” walking platform. A tracking system with several cameras is used to ensure that users do not fall off the platform despite their freedom of movement. Initially, it is possible to explore a virtual representation of ancient Pompeii. The system, developed under the direction of Marcus Ernst of the Max Planck Institute (MPI) for Biological Cybernetics, is to be presented for the first time today, Thursday, at a workshop.
The Cybercarpet is essentially a large treadmill with smaller treadmills mounted perpendicular to its direction of travel. This creates an omnidirectional platform on which users can walk freely in any direction. The walking surface’s size of four by four metres is an absolute necessity. “To transfer forces to the ground, a person must be able to move one or two steps,” Ernst explains in an interview with pressetext. If the platform’s active area were any smaller, movements would always have to be compensated for immediately, and the feeling would be like walking on ice, says Ernst.
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On the platform, users move through the virtual world visible in the VR display system, a head-mounted display. To prevent users from unintentionally leaving the platform’s walking area, a control algorithm adjusts the belts according to the person’s behaviour. The person is observed by a tracking system consisting of several cameras, which supplies additional information to the control algorithm. The cameras serve a second purpose at the same time. An analysis program evaluates gestures and posture to enable interaction with virtual objects, such as operating virtual door handles.
The system currently allows exploration of the ancient city of Pompeii before the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 BC. It was virtually reconstructed with the help of archaeologists, drawings and photographs. But this is only one example. The software developed by researchers at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich (ETHZ) http://www.ethz.ch, with which the virtual city was created, could also be used to visualise other environments. One possible use would be virtual walkthroughs of planned buildings. This would help people who do not deal with plans every day, Ernst believes. Other conceivable applications include medical rehabilitation, training, including in the military field, and sport and fitness.
In addition to researchers from the MPI for Biological Cybernetics and ETHZ, scientists from the Technical University of Munich and the University of Rome were involved in developing the Cybercarpet. The system is now being presented to a specialist audience for the first time at the workshop. A wider audience is expected to have its first opportunity to see the system live at an open day in October.
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