I have always been fascinated with the idea of the “holodeck” on Star Trek. In the show, the holodeck is an enclosed room in which objects and people are simulated by projected holographic images. Participants walk on a multidirectional treadmill that causes them to feel like they are walking through the world. How cool would it be if there was a holodeck for runners!?! Runners could run on any trail in the world or compete in any simulated race from the comfort of their own home.
Of course, our technology is not near as advanced as what the Star Trek characters enjoyed. However, there have been recent inventions that suggest that an actual holodeck is not far from reality. The most recent example is the CyberWalk. The CyberWalk is an multidirectional treadmill that is able to sense the motion of the user and adjust direction accordingly. By precisely monitoring the position of the user on the platform, the CyberWalk system attempts to adjust the speeds of the treadmill belts to keep the user as close to the center of the platform as possible.
When the user puts on a virtual reality headset, the feeling of walking through a virtual environment is pretty amazing. Take a look at this video for a demonstration:
The CyberWalk was built two years ago by a consortium of German, Italian, and Swiss labs. It is located at the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, in Tubingen, Germany. The invention is clearly too bulky and expensive for home use right now, but it is also in its infancy. It is exciting to think of the possibilities 5 to 10 years down the road.
