It’s a problem that has long annoyed virtual reality researchers: VR systems can create a good experience when users are observing or manipulating the virtual world (think Michael Douglas in “Disclosure“) but walking is another story. Take a stroll in a virtual space and you might end up with your face against a real-world wall.
The same problem is becoming apparent in teleoperated robots. Imagine you wereteleoperating a humanoid robot by wearing a sensor suit that captures all your body movements. You want to make the robot walk across a room at the remote location — but the room you’re in is much smaller. Hmm.
Researches have built a variety of contraptions to deal with the problem. Like ahuge hamster ball for people, for example.
Or a giant treadmill. The CyberWalk platform is a large-size 2D omni-directional platform that allows unconstrained locomotion, adjusting its speed and direction to keep the user always close to the center. With a side of 5 meters, it’s the largest VR platform in the world.
It consists of an array of synchronous linear belts. The array moves as a whole in one direction while each belt can also move in a perpendicular direction. Diagonal movement is possible by combining the two linear motions.
Built by a consortium of German, Italian, and Swiss labs, the machine currently resides at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, in Tubingen, Germany, where it’s been in operation for over two years.
Source: http://spectrum.ieee.org