Abstract
We describe the Virtual Jump Simulator, which allows subjects toperform an indoor parachute jump in a virtual environment. Thenecessity to jump physically off a platform combined with immersivevirtual reality and tactile feedback creates an experience witha high amount of presence, as the evaluation of the prototype confirms.The system consists of a steel cube, a mechanical absorbersystem with stacked eccentric wheels and counterweights that allowssubjects in the weight range from 35 to 150kg to jump withoutthe need for individual calibration, a virtual reality setup withhigh-quality 3D content and tactile stimuli. In the immersive virtualjump experience, we embed a story using rich multimedia content,such as images and sound. We iteratively tested the entire systemwith users of different backgrounds. Thereby, we gathered userfeedback from the very beginning to create a novel virtual realitysystem that allows for actual physical jumping and flying with freebody movement.
Reference
Eidenberger, H., & Mossel, A. (2015). Indoor skydiving in immersive virtual reality with embedded storytelling. In Proceedings of the 21st ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology (VRST), Beijing, China, Non-EU. Proceedings of the 21st ACM Symposium on Virtual Reality Software and Technology. https://doi.org/10.1145/2821592.2821612