On the Cyberwalk

European researchers have built a system called the Cyberwalk that will allow individuals to literally walk through the ancient city of Pompeii.

The CyberWalk system itself comprises a very large surface that users walk on. The movement of the surface is controlled by a unique system that uses cameras to track the position and posture of the individual.  To 'see' the city, the user wears a commercial head-mounted display through which the virtual environment is projected.

'Walking through a virtual city was impossible before,' said Marc Ernst, the co-ordinator of the CyberWalk project at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics. 'We are the first to demonstrate that you can walk through a virtual city.'

Several attempts have been made to develop omni-directional treadmills, with Japanese researchers producing prototypes, and a group in the US developing a smaller treadmill for military use. Neither allow for truly natural walking and immersion in a virtual environment.

'You need a relatively large treadmill to simulate natural walking,' explained Ernst. 'The one that we have built is 6m by 6m, with an active walking area of 4.5m by 4.5m.'