VirtuSphere is a self-contained apparatus that provides a marriage of the mechanical with the truly immersive virtual reality environments, permitting the user to move about in virtual space by simply walking.

The device consists of a large hollow sphere which is mounted on a specially designed platform that allows the sphere to rotate freely as the user walks in any direction. The user wears a head-mounted display, which provides the virtual environment. Sensors under the sphere provide subject speed and direction to the computer running the simulation. Users can even ineract with objects in virtual space using a special manipulator.

Here is a short list of possible applications for the VirtuSphere™:

In Military, Law Enforcement and Dangerous Occupations the VirtuSphere can be used for training and simulation drills. It may well be the next step in Video/LAN arcades and home gaming. In the Healthcare and Fitness Industry the VirtuSphere may be ideal for the training of the professional athlete, use in fitness clubs, a great tool for physical therapy and rehabilitation techniques, allow for physicians to enter a 3-D realm within a patient’s bodily system for closeup inspection of suspected disease. Wired into a computer communications network all kinds of possibilities exist for business and personal communications, education, virtual museum exhibits at home or in the classroom, travel and tourism without ever leaving your home. Imagine being at a Stones concert with all the sites and sounds in the comfort of your own living room.

This new technology may well revolutionize the way that mankind interacts with machine, and this is only the birthpangs of this new industry.