The Magic Carpet

 

Although nowadays the hype for Virtual Reality is high in the media, the general public has yet to grasp the possibilities that come with this technology of the future. Many tend to see it as yet another toy for the under-aged, or exaggerate the limitations of VR, just because it is not the "holo-deck" experience they know from science fiction movies. Many more do not know what to expect at all. However, our experience shows that for any one user, regardless of age or technological literacy, around 5 minutes with one of our experiences is enough to break the ice of this initial scepticism, which turns to anywhere between moderate interest to all out enthusiasm.

In order to bring these conclusions to use in bringing VR ever closer to the general public, we have created an experience tailored specifically for exhibition use. Step on to The Magic Carpet.

The experience includes the ability to fly freely around a mountain valley environment on a magical flying carpet. Using the provided motion controllers, the user may turn, ascend or descend at will, and even do barrel rolls (if they have the guts :) ). The speed of flight may be adjusted to the user's comfort, which an "emergency brake" being available at all times. The aim of this experience was to allow users to experience the freedom and dynamics of flying, while maintaining maximum possible realism at all times. To our great satisfaction, the experience has raised much applause and praise among attendee's of various fairs and conferences. We have also found that the experience, although very dynamic and unusual, does not induce simulation sickness, which proves our thesis that this drawback of VR is mostly a product of incorrect implementation.