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In a similar vein, can someone build a machine that teaches people how to ski or snowboard? The balancing is the key, so the simulator can't just be goggles on

In a similar vein, can someone build a machine that teaches people how to ski or snowboard? The balancing is the key, so the simulator can't just be goggles on your eyes, it needs to make you feel gravity, sliding, falling sideways, recovering... Any ideas?

chadgeidel 10y ago
As an avid snowboarder, I think we are a long way from building a machine to teach someone to do this. It's quite a bit more complicated than just balance - edge control IMHO was the hardest thing to learn. I'm not suggesting it's impossible to create a machine to do so, but I would put it on the same difficulty level as building haptic gloves. (Creating haptic "boots" with separate platforms maybe?)
- chrisdun 10y ago
  CASI instructor turned AR/VR developer here and I'll second this - balance is only a part of the equation. The model used to train instructors includes in brief; - Flexion / extension of the legs - Forward / aft pressure - Subtle steering movement with the knees - Fine control over the angles formed by both knees and ankles All of the above vary depending what point of a given turn you're currently in and need to be coordinated in a fairly intricate fashion to get perfect pencil lines and turn "properly". I'll leave properly in quotes there because YMMV and you don't need these techniques to snowboard; having spent 3 months full time learning and using them I can say they make a big difference to how far you can push yourself though. A significant proportion of the sensation also comes from the inertia that you carry whilst on an edge, the resistance from which would be near impossible to convey without doing it for real.
meheleventyone 10y ago
I think for both examples VR becomes an immersion add on to a physical machine. Both examples are interesting because they involve much larger forces than haptics will provide. For example you can imagine a ski trainer like an artificial wave so you get the real forces and the sense of exposure you get looking down a large mountain. For cutting meat you need a simulation medium that can be cut with a knife and change density somehow on command.

chadgeidel 10y ago

As an avid snowboarder, I think we are a long way from building a machine to teach someone to do this. It's quite a bit more complicated than just balance - edge control IMHO was the hardest thing to learn. I'm not suggesting it's impossible to create a machine to do so, but I would put it on the same difficulty level as building haptic gloves. (Creating haptic "boots" with separate platforms maybe?)

chrisdun 10y ago
CASI instructor turned AR/VR developer here and I'll second this - balance is only a part of the equation. The model used to train instructors includes in brief; - Flexion / extension of the legs - Forward / aft pressure - Subtle steering movement with the knees - Fine control over the angles formed by both knees and ankles All of the above vary depending what point of a given turn you're currently in and need to be coordinated in a fairly intricate fashion to get perfect pencil lines and turn "properly". I'll leave properly in quotes there because YMMV and you don't need these techniques to snowboard; having spent 3 months full time learning and using them I can say they make a big difference to how far you can push yourself though. A significant proportion of the sensation also comes from the inertia that you carry whilst on an edge, the resistance from which would be near impossible to convey without doing it for real.

meheleventyone 10y ago

I think for both examples VR becomes an immersion add on to a physical machine. Both examples are interesting because they involve much larger forces than haptics will provide. For example you can imagine a ski trainer like an artificial wave so you get the real forces and the sense of exposure you get looking down a large mountain. For cutting meat you need a simulation medium that can be cut with a knife and change density somehow on command.