Disney Demos 'HoloTile Floor' with Possible Applications in Shared Virtual Reality

In the last 90 seconds of a recent Disney Parks video, there's a demonstration of a new technology called a HoloTile floor. Disney research fellow/R&D "imagineerer" Lanny Smoot specifies that "we don't know yet where it will be used" — though noting multiple people could walk in place during a shared virtual reality experience. It's an "omnidirectional floor" which can "automatically do whatever it needs to" so those walkers stay in the same place. "Imagine a number of people being in a room, being able to be somewhere else collaboratively and moving around, doing sightseeing."

Video also shows objects gliding smoothly along its surface, with its direction apparently controlled remotely by hand motions ("like telekinesis," as one design blog describes it). Smooth says in the video "There are just so many applications for this type of technology."

But IGN believes that it "just may be a game changer for VR and could bring us ever closer to experiencing the Holodeck from Star Trek." For those Star Trek fans out there, this sounds a lot like the promise of the Holodeck, a smallish-room that could virtually take our favorite crews wherever they wanted for some fun and relaxation between missions when it wasn't malfunctioning and trying to murder them... The applications of the HoloTile floor also extend beyond virtual reality, as Disney notes "The HoloTile floor can also be an insert in a theatrical stage, allowing performers to move and dance in new ways, or stage props and structures to move around or appear to set themselves up."

Tripping hazard

[Tony Isaac]

This floor does some interesting things, but for those who haven't practiced on it, the motion beneath your feet would be unexpected, not unlike learning to roller skate for the first time. I'd be interested to see tests of this floor using untrained participants with varying levels of walking ability.

Re:

[quonset]

And good lawyers. This being America, you can be guaranteed some fat slob will fall using this and sue Disney.

That said, this is definitely an interesting piece of tech. It's an upgraded version of omnidirectional conveyor belts used in warehouses. As usual, this could be used to play Doom or any other similar FPS which requires the user to run about. You could play in teams as well. For Disney, I could see some type of "ride" where you walk through and be chased or run after something.

Building layout co

Re: Tripping hazard

[hdyoung]

Run around while playing doom? Im not sure which planet you think were on, but this is Earth. Im not sure which species you are, but were talking about humans here. Most humans can run like doom guy for approximately 5.8 seconds before they puke, tear a ligament, or fall on their face.

Re:

[quonset]

Fine. Castle Wolfenstein. Better? :)

Re:

[kid_wonder]

Fine. Castle Wolfenstein. Better? :)

One word. Stairs

Re: Tripping hazard

[Roger W Moore]

Who says it has to be one to one with real distances? Very few space games have real astronomical distances within a solar system because otherwise it would take days to get anywhere and all the planets would be faint dots of light.

Re:

[Anubis IV]

That was my first thought as well when I saw the video a week or two ago. But for trained dancers or actors on a stage? The applications are practically endless. Likewise for ride experiences at a place like Disney.

But yeah, he was being very careful, so I don’t imagine this being a thing they’d want the public walking on.

Re:

[thegarbz]

the motion beneath your feet would be unexpected

Only if the software is really bad. The whole point of this is that the floor should react with the appropriate motion to the person moving on it. Really not that different from a mechanical gravity assisted treadmill. If the motion beneath your feet is unexpected then something went wrong.

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[Tony Isaac]

I certainly hope you're right.

I've ridden on a Segway scooter once or twice. It's supposed to be really "smart" about maintaining balance. But there was still definitely a learning curve.

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[Brandano]

The problem is that normal walking is a process of falling in one direction and catching your fall. This floor can move your feet so that you stay in one place, but how does it handle your need to actually accelerate in one direction to start taking a step? I think that for the experience to be seamless the floor would need to be able to tilt, which would negate the ability of having multiple people sharing the same space.

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[thegarbz]

This floor can move your feet so that you stay in one place, but how does it handle your need to actually accelerate in one direction to start taking a step?

The same way a Segway works. The process of pushing against the floor is a feedback mechanism to move it. When you walk you aren't catching your fall, you're pushing against the earth underneath you. If the earth moves away with just enough momentum you stay still.

This isn't the first VR treadmill using this principle. It's only the first that has completely independent areas allowing simultaneous and different use of two areas. Next time you're at a tech show jump on one of them at a VR exhibit, I suspect

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[rilister]

+1 on this. Bear in mind that this is a basically an early tech demo: the next challenge is getting the increasing the acceleration rollers can safely deliver in a precise match to your natural motion.

The principle isn't that hard: done perfectly, monitoring your gait (through measuring the kinematic distribution of load across your feet, and probably using external vision systems) high accelerations should enable people to walk perfectly naturally, not the slow, careful plodding in the demo. Done even slig

Re:

[noshellswill]

I watched the "moving floor" video. Even the exhibit-walkers looked woozy;  everybody else gets on and falls down. Call the lawyers ! 

The name seems terribly misleading

[93 Escort Wagon]

It looks like a really cool concept - but the floor material is doing actual physical interaction with the people or items on top of it - there's nothing "holo" about it.

This could certainly be used as an effective adjunct to a VR experience, which is probably why they picked the name... but I think it's a terrible name for this particular product.

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[bjwest]

It's 'holo' in the same sense a VR controller has 'VR' in it's name -- It allows interaction with holo-like devices such as 360 screens or a VR headset.

Re:

[ceoyoyo]

VR headsets aren't "holo" either. They're essentially heads up displays that use regular optics to project a regular image on a screen.

It's possible to make actual dynamic holograms but it's more computationally demanding and the phase calibrated LCDs to do it are expensive.