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Innovations: Virtual Ball Equals Endless Horizon

« Washington Engineer - May 2006

VirtuSphere expands the virtual world

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A tester poses in a VirtuSphere. The HIT Lab is working with VirtuSphere Inc. to expand the range of immersive virtual reality.

• Go to the VirtuSphere Web site
• Read more about the HIT Lab

It looks like a confining, human-size hamster ball.

But get inside it and don virtual reality headgear, and the range of your world seems limitless.

That’s the idea behind VirtuSphere, a new approach to immersive virtual reality that is grabbing headlines and getting the attention of VR researchers around the globe. Now, under a Washington Technology Center grant, VirtuSphere Inc. is teaming with the University of Washington’s Human Interface Technology Laboratory, or HIT Lab, to explore applications for the new device.

Suzanne Weghorst, director of the HIT Lab, said researchers are excited about the possibilities the collaboration offers.

“We've been looking at omni-directional interfaces for some time,” Weghorst said. “We're convinced that VirtuSphere has developed the most elegant and effective solution for navigating within virtual environments. We're excited about helping further its potential.”

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A camera crew with Ivanhoe Broadcasting sets up to film the VirtuSphere in action at the UW HIT Lab.
A major problem in immersive virtual reality has been the ability of users to move freely and navigate naturally in a virtual environment. Even in a large room, users eventually run out of space.

The VirtuSphere solves this by placing users in a large hollow ball set on a sturdy platform of wheeled casters. The person within the ball is outfitted with wireless VR headgear and can walk in any direction or even run, jump, crawl and roll without space limitations, making for an infinite virtual plane. The ball disassembles for portability.

To date, VirtuSphere’s primary market has been military training. With the HIT Lab’s expertise and help, the Redmond-based company hopes to expand into such areas as interactive education, rehabilitation and gaming.

“The HIT Lab has a long history of creating breakthroughs in technology and in applying their knowledge to helping people learn and heal through virtual environments,” said Alexy Palladin, VirtuSphere CEO. “We are confident that through our joint work we will find new uses and new users for the VirtuSphere.”