Coordinate System?

Andrew C. Esh ([email protected])
Wed, 3 May 1995 09:48:12 -0500 (CDT)


I have what may be an interesting question. I was discussing how Escher
spaces (which have no "up" or "down") could be created in VR. I happened
upon the idea that spaces in the interior of a building could occupy more
virtual space than is left between other surrounding areas. (Dr. Who's
Tardis works like this.) For example: imagine a floor plan, at the middle
of which is a space the size of a closet. As you walk through the space in
VR, and enter the closet, you discover a Basketball court inside.

What does this do to the system of coordinates, considering that two 3d
spaces would then overlap at the same X,Y,Z coordinates? Is there a way
to express provisional coordinate systems, dpending on which part of the
space you are in? How about coordinates relative to a certain local point
of reference, such as the center of the room, or the entry doorway?

We may also want to think about variable attachment of coordinate
systems. I could define my Tardis as a self contained collection of
rooms, and place objects in those rooms based on the internal coordinate
system of the Tardis. Then I move my Tardis so that it's in the middle of
Central Park in New York City. All of the internal objects are still in
their relative places, but when the door is opened, they are are
temporarily placed relative to the objects in Central Park. Each time the
Tardis moves, everything in it has to be integrated with the new
location's coordinate system, without disturbing it.

Hmmm. You know, Dr. Who may have been ahead of his time. I kind of like
the idea of using a Tardis to travel. It's like being able to move your
system of Web home pages around with you. Maybe VR is going to be full of
Tardis parking lots, with GopherVR being used to run them. :)

---
Andrew C. Esh                 mailto:[email protected]
Computer Network Technology   [email protected] (finger for PGP key)
6500 Wedgwood Road            612.550.8000 (main)
Maple Grove MN 55311          612.550.8229 (direct)
<A HREF="http://www.mtn.org/~andrewes">ACE Home Page</A>