http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/ Engadget Comments for http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:33PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:47PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 4:27PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 7:48PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 4:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:39PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Haha I did too]]>Mar 19th 2010 2:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Wanted to see if you can move sideways, run, maybe aim better... Dude wasted my time]]>Mar 19th 2010 1:40PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:55PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:44PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
They had this exact demo at IITSEC this past December and I agree it was still quite limited. It's a babystep in the right direction though. The funny part is watching most people stumble when they first get in it and try and walk. ]]>Mar 22nd 2010 9:02AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 1:45PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
Having said that, they might be some ways to give you some approximation of the experience: you'd have to wear a full body harness, and it would have to pull down on your torso as you work against something under your feet to simulate climbing, and similarly it would hold your torso up while pulling away from your feet to simulate jumping. The actual things under your feet would be pads on the end of robot arms, constantly tracking your body to simulate the environment you're in contact with. You could have other robot arms providing points of contact for your hands and other parts of your body. Of course, programming this setup would be rather tricky, and errors could be hazardous or even fatal without proper precautions.]]>Mar 19th 2010 4:35PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 4:58PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
I'm still waiting for the SEGA360 type space war (Star Wars?, BattleStar Glactica?) type of game.

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so the ball turns according to the (natal processed) movement you do to fit the floor.

and the pieces of the balls are like tetrisphere pieces that can be pushed towards the inside, to make you do steps on a stair.

all motorized, all silent, and all very fast responding, of course

but it would be cool :)]]>Mar 19th 2010 4:18PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 8:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/This tech is outdated seriously.]]>Mar 19th 2010 3:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 4:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 4:53PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 6:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 8:16PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 8:32PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 19th 2010 11:08PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
If your that fat, then i think wondering if there's an XL size is the least of your problems. Plus they would probably need to reinforce the sphere... carbon fibre? titanium struts?]]>Mar 21st 2010 7:36AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 20th 2010 12:16AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/Mar 20th 2010 3:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
I still say a pico like projector fixed to the top of your head (as silly as it sounds) that has a wide angle projection is the way to go. With 'off body' motion sensing such as trackIR/Natal/We/Move then just turning your head would pan the image you see so if the image projected from the top of your head was say 210 degrees or whatever peripheral human vision amounts to then you would experience it as if it was a 360 degree wrap around screen.]]>Mar 20th 2010 4:08AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
Good idea, but it wouldn't be very well defined(low lux and pixel output) and it would shake with your movement. how about the sphere being lined with a giant flexible display, that would be very cool.]]>Mar 21st 2010 7:40AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/ With todays pico size projectors it would be a bit of a dim picture though. If you were in a room that was totally dark with walls that were coated with highly reflective, projector friendly paint it would be ok though. Just need to make a small, light, head mounted projector that could throw a 210 degrees wide screen up.]]>Mar 21st 2010 9:45AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/19/virtusphere-virtual-reality-hamster-ball-put-to-the-test/
Chillax, sorry maybe i should of been a bit more clear. It would shake on your head, the projector therefore would pretty much have to be strapped/bolted in place as a small slip/slide on your head would be amplified onto the screen, and to be fair i think the user would prefer to be comfortable. but whatever, it's still a cool idea.]]>Mar 21st 2010 10:46AM