In the beginning, there was Humphrey— a mechatronic device that worked in conjunction with a pair of data glasses to simulate flight in a 3-D environment.
This installation in the Ars Electronica Center has been a smash hit with visitors ever since the opening of the museum, which has replaced almost all of the “exhibits” on display there at least once over the past eight years. And, indeed, Humphrey will remain aloft in Ars Electronica’s airspace, but his new design will greatly enhance and intensify the experience of flight. Continual improvements in processing capabilities make it possible to generate simulations that get closer and closer to perfection. Virtual reality systems use stereoscopic imagery to produce the illusion of a real, three-dimensional environment.
By means of force feedback devices, even physical forces can be mechanically simulated in these virtual worlds. As the outcome of R&D work in which Ars Electronica Futurelab engineers utilized an empirical design process, Humphrey has mutated into the prototype of an apparatus that uses a combination of virtual reality and force feedback technologies to impart a feeling of weightlessness that is as realistic as possible and of the centrifugal force generated by flying. An aspect that makes a key contribution to this is the innovative mode of navigation, which enables the user to steer through an artificial environment by means of intuitive arm movements.
The essential elements are a data helmet, specially reinforced overalls resembling a pilot’s jumpsuit, and the equipment responsible for producing the force simulation. In designing the pneumatic components, engineers also took the factor of visual impact into consideration since one of their prime objectives was to enable users and observers alike to understand how the apparatus functions. The contracting muscles that produce flight also give viewers a direct impression of the forces at work upon the user. For the process of immersion—that is, for the user to completely get into a virtual world— the most important component is the data helmet that stereographically visualizes an environment consisting of computer-generated data. In keeping with the state of the art, the helmet was designed to be as light as possible and reduced to its functional elements. Leading edge technology also went into the force-feedback-generated “physics” at work in these immersive worlds, as well as the new
3-D environments that will premier at the opening of the 2003 Ars Electronica Festival.
The vision of being able to fly is certainly one of mankind’s oldest dreams. Gliding effortlessly above the roofs of Linz, seemingly freed from the pull of gravitation, or plunging into the depths of the beautiful blue Danube—Humphrey II makes it possible. Enhanced with a new 3D underwater world and expanded navigation capabilities, the flight simulator installation is now a diving simulator too.
Intuitive arm movements enable users to navigate through virtual worlds. Those who opt for the aeronautic variant can fly through the cityscape of Linz past prominent landmarks like the Cathedral, the Castle and the Brucknerhaus. And ambitious pilots can show they’ve got the right stuff on a special Humphrey test course.
In the new scuba variant, divers experience the Danube and its inhabitants—floating weightlessly, driven by the currents and enjoying thrilling experiences. Two stations have also been installed for collaborative adventures with very young Museum guests who aren’t allowed to dive yet. It’s a joint operation salvaging unimagined treasures from the depths of the Danube.
The constant improvement of computers’ processing performance capabilities makes possible increasingly exact simulations in artificial environments. A force feedback apparatus—a system of pneumatic tubes in which the user is suspended—makes it possible to mechanically simulate physical forces in a virtual environment. This technology imparts a realistic feeling of the weightlessness and centrifugal force generated during a flight or a dive.
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Ars Electronica Center Team Member and Associate Member
Martin Honzik
Robert Abt
Stefan Mittlböck-Jungwirth
Horst Hörtner
Stefan Feldler
Andreas Jalsovec
Peter Freudling
Martin Bruner
(Werner Pötzelberger
Christopher Lindinger
Michael Büttner
Peter Brandl
Erwin Reitböck
Wolfgang Ziegler
