Over the past few days, virtual reality has been a recurring topic of conversation in the technology industry. In large part, because Apple opened reservations for the Vision Pro, its mixed reality glasses. However, this technology still has a disadvantage that prevents it from exploiting its full potential when we find ourselves in a virtual world: inability to move beyond a certain space. Well, Disney has just invented something incredible that puts an end to that problem.
Disney Researchthe division that develops new technologies for the company’s various businesses, from amusement parks to film efforts, presented the HoloTile. What is it? In simple terms, a special floor that allows a person to walk freely in a virtual world, but without leaving the limited area of the real world.
Does it sound familiar to you? Yes, it is something very similar to what Ernest Cline proposed in his legendary novel Ready Player One.
Obviously, Disney’s purpose with the HoloTile is to significantly improve its virtual reality experiences. His invention, as you yourself can see in the video above, is omnidirectional, so you can move with total freedom. Furthermore, it has a modular designmaking it easy to add other fragments based on the needs of the attraction.
These two characteristics give rise to a third: multiple people can move within the same HoloTile surface without colliding with each other. The idea, then, is that your next virtual reality attractions will not be limited to a single person.
“The HoloTile is the world’s first running floor. It is omnidirectional, modular and expandable for multiple people. It will automatically do whatever it takes to keep you on the ground. And the amazing thing about this is that multiple people can be on it. him and walk independently. They can walk inside virtual reality and many other things,” he comments Lanny Smoot, Disney’s most acclaimed engineer and inventor. He has more than 100 patents to his name.
Smoot himself acknowledges that HoloTile’s applications are very broad. It can even be used beyond virtual reality. He imagines a show with dancers executing all kinds of movements without leaving the same area. Also, a virtual tourist environment visited by several people.
Of course, those led by Mickey Mouse They have not revealed any details about how the HoloTile works. If they ever do, you can be sure it will be in the distant future. The approaches taken to the invention do not allow us to appreciate too much, although there does seem to be a mechanism below the surface that influences it in some way.
This is not the first time that a company has been interested in improving locomotion in virtual reality. Several years ago we met the Virtuix Omni, a treadmill that also allows movement in 360 degrees. Of course, you need to be held by your waist, and it only supports the presence of a single person. Its price? 3,000 dollars. At the moment, it does not seem that Disney has the intention of marketing the HoloTile.