[BIG SNIP]
>7. The primary senses of cyberspace are vision and vibration (with sound as
> a subset), not the basic five of realspace.
[SNIP]
>9. Flying is the natural form of navigating in cyberspace.
[SNIP]
>My present work with NASA is to develop a smart chair for training
>astronauts in zero g simulation based on the neutral posture, but spinoff
>tech has many applications in cyberspace. See NASA Tech Briefs September 94,
>page 34, or my bare bones Web pages.
>
>So, the extension of the frequency spectrum down to zero Hertz could add
>significantly to the immersive experience. Is it feasible? Do we want it?
>When - 2.0 or later, much later? It seems relatively simple to implement on
>top of the sound spec, but the consequences could be neverending.
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Time to step out from behind my tree.
(Hand extended) David Carmein, Virtual Space Devices, Inc., Minneapolis, MN.
I've been content to let you Graphics Gods and Godesses work your magic with
the 1.0 spec. Now that the discussion has expanded to include vibration and
motion, it's time to speak up.
My personal interest is utilization of proprioceptive sensing for comfortable
and effective navigation in cyberspace. We've got the organs. Let's use 'em.
We will all have a wide assortment of mechanical body transducers from which
to choose. They are either just hitting the market or are somewhere just
beyond the concept stage, coming from a number of companies. These include
VR-bicycles, linear and omni-directional treadmills, 3-6 DOF fully rotary
motion environments, and a host of motion platforms with limited rotation and
translation.
I would suggest that Brian's claim #9 would read better as: "Flying is *a*
natural form of navigation in cyberspace."
Many will simply prefer to walk.
We mustn't confuse vibration, as in sound, with motion control. Sound can
be quite effectively handled using AmbientSound, PointSound, all the field
modifiers, and the right HRTF hardware to interpret it. Increase amplitude,
lower the frequency, vibrate my chair, wiggle my gut. It's just not the
same as spinning a 180 to see what's coming up behind, or flipping head
for heels to spiral down a wormhole.
IMHO, resolution of sound issues must come first. Our early navigational
issues are solvable because VRML 1.0 *.wrl is static. We can perform navigation
using a mouse, and we can write drivers for other devices like treadmills or
platform-mounted chairs. Once we move into the realm of rotating logos, NOW
things get more complicated, because that logo is really acting on us
(through our eyes). Here we can be literally moved by the medium - the road
can feel bumpy, or the opposing avatar can flip you over.
This feels like it might be a newsgroup discussion until the point where
we're ready to start spewing some motion code. Yes?
David Carmein
Virtual Space Devices, Inc.
[email protected]
612.920.6291