CyberCarpet transports users to virtual worlds
EU-funded scientists have developed a platform which allows users to stroll freely through virtual worlds. The CyberCarpet is currently set up with a programme that allows users to visit the ancient Italian town of Pompeii and see it as it was before Vesuvius buried it under layers of ash and rock in 79 AD. However, its developers believe that it could have applications in a wide range of fields, including training and town planning. The carpet is a product of the EU-funded CyberWalk project, which is funded under the 'Information society technologies' (IST) thematic area of the Sixth Framework Programme (FP6). Previous attempts at creating virtual worlds left a lot to be desired; users navigated with a mouse or joystick, or walked in one direction on a treadmill while wearing special glasses equipped with computer screens. Users of these systems are therefore unable to behave normally, as if they were walking through a natural environment. By creating the CyberCarpet, which for the first time allows users to walk freely in any direction, the researchers hope to find out more about how people navigate their way through the world under semi-natural conditions. So how does it work? The platform itself, which is four metres across and chest high, looks like a giant caterpillar track. However, each individual tread of the caterpillar track is itself a treadmill, which moves in a direction perpendicular to the main track. Both the main caterpillar track and the individual treadmills which make up its links can move in both directions, and a specially developed algorithm ensures that the tracks move in response to the user's movements. As well as detecting the direction of the user's steps, the same algorithm notes the location of the user on the platform, to make sure that he or she is never in danger of falling off. Meanwhile the user is kitted out with a specially designed helmet which looks like it has four antennae. In fact, the four sticks with balls on the end are part of the CyberCarpet's tracking system. They help four cameras situated around the room to track the user's movements in precise detail. The cameras are linked up to a programme which takes in not only the user's position on the carpet, but his or her gestures and posture. These are rapidly analysed so that the computer is able to 'see' the user attempting to turn a door handle for example. The user's outfit is completed with a special pair of glasses fitted with monitors which allow him or her to see the virtual world. To help them develop an image of ancient Pompeii that is as realistic as possible, the CyberCarpet's designers consulted archaeologists, visited the town's ruins and pored over drawings and photographs. However, Pompeii is just the first stop on the CyberCarpet's virtual tour; the system's visualisation software could also be used to created futuristic cityscape or other environments. Other ideas for the system's use include the training of sportsmen and women, or providing fire-fighters with the opportunity to practice working in perilous situations. 'Other applications can also be imagined,' said Marc Ernst of the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cyberkinetics, the CyberCarpet project leader. 'For example, in medicine for the rehabilitation of people with motor impairments, or to support town planners and architects who want to visit their virtual buildings with their clients.'