A stroll around the ancient city of Pompeii will be made possible this week thanks to an omni-directional treadmill developed by European researchers. The treadmill is a "motion platform", demonstrated in the video below in action, which gives the impression of "natural walking" in any direction. The platform, called CyberCarpet, is made up of several belts which form an endless plane along two axes. Scientists have combined the platform with a tracking system and virtual reality software recreating Pompeii (CityEngine, detailed in a previous post on this blog, found here).
The key to the CyberCarpet is a platform with a large chain drive. The chain drive is made up of 25 conventional treadmills which move in one direction, at right angles to the direction the chain is pulling. The platform gives "walkers" a walking area of 4.5m by 4.5m and moves fast enough to allow jogging at about two metres per second. Omni-directional treadmills are not new and have been in development for many years, including work done by the US military but this, included with the virtual reconstruction of the city, creates a far more engaging experience...
For more information the CyberCarpet and the CityEngine modelling approach check the links below.
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