Virtual Reality Hamster Ball

ChrisReid

Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
I've been talking about something like this for years, though the actual ball they have set up here is way too big. You stand inside with a set of goggles on, and you can roam around an environment at will. You can have some sort of manipulator device in your hands to interact with the environment depending on the application.

http://www.virtusphere.com/index.htm

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I'd love to have the option to play Ghost Recon by walking, looking around and shooting a rifle. But they need some treadmill with sensors instead of a ten foot hamster ball.
 
Hehehehe, that's the coolest idea ever. Though I don't think I'd have the slightest chance of operating it. It's a great idea because then excercising could be really fun.

Generic Comercial Guy 1: "Hey man, you wanna go see a movie?"
Generic Comercial Guy 2: "Nah, I have this new kickass Hamsterball excercise machine I wanna mess with."
Generic Comercial Guy: 1 "Wow, can I try it?"

Hehe, the possibilities are endless.

-Rance-
 
Look at the size of that ball, Ed - that guy will need to bend double if he gets down on his belly. And I haven't crawled much in places that went uphill and downhill in the same place...
 
The bottom of a ditch maybe.. the website does mention crawling as one of the applications. Yeah, but someone does have to invent some sort of treadmill that keeps you centered while you move in any direction.
 
That's still pretty cool, even if you need to remove everything else from the room to be able to try it out.
 
Whoa, someone make a WC Marine Commander mod for some FPS so we can play on that. And a Kilrathi Claw manipulation device, of course.
 
This time people will get tired of running around very fast. Finally a realistic simulator, instead of the usual olympic level triathlete.
 
hehehe, I get what you mean. someone could make what looks like an oversized hockey puck with a giant ball bearing in the middle, Kinda like a enormous trackball that you could walk on.
 
I'm truly reminded of american gladiator in seeing that. My how far we've come from the power pad. (I still have a power pad in my closet)


-Rance-
 
ChrisReid said:
Hey Delance:
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Yeah, I got distracted.

ChrisReid said:
Yeah, I get that the ball itself is stationary.. but it's still too big. I need a pad you just slide under the bed or against the wall in a closet when you're not using it.

That sounds doable, being the big hamsterball stationary and all. But still, isn't this the kind of stuff more fit to game arcades and such?
 
There are no arcades anymore.. it'll all just be home game stuff sooner or later.
 
Less smartass...

If they modify it, that could have some very, very interesting therapeutic applications. Not for physical therapy, but it would be *excellent* for those with, say, social phobias, or even things like fear of flying.

Similarly for situations like when disabled kids need to be oriented to new locations. There's not tactile or olfactory stimuli, but it could do a lot.
 
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