Watch Drones Make Virtual Reality Physical
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Virtual and augmented reality have advanced leaps and bounds in recent years. In the 80s we imagined virtual reality (VR) as us donning huge, cumbersome viewing glasses and unwieldy gloves to interact with poorly rendered virtual worlds, but this is no longer the case. Devices such as the Oculus Rift are far smaller, lighter – and the graphics are superb.
Augmented reality has also come a long way. Google Glass maybe didn’t catch on – but developers in this area are confident that one of these days they will come up with a formula that works, and our lives will never be the same again.
All these developments, however, are still firmly stuck in the visual field. The Glass overlays data over the real world, and to interact with the Oculus Rift you still need special devices. The real life world is cut off from the virtual. That is, it was – until now.
Researchers from Queen’s University Human Media Lab have recently showcased a system that might just be the future of virtual and augmented reality. It is composed of multiple, small drones equipped with reflective markers to track their motion in 3D, called BitDrones.
BitDrones come in three types. PixelDrones have a LED display to show information. ShapeDrones combine to form physical 3D displays – they’re a bit bigger and serve as the building blocks of the 3D models. DisplayDrones come with a high resolution touchscreen and a forward facing camera, and serve as the system’s control panel.
You can manipulate the drones physically, nudging them this way, or moving that way – and interacting with the software in this novel way looks incredibly fun. The researchers demonstrate performing tasks with drones, such as selecting and opening files, and the drones responding and displaying the information.
At this early, experimental stage, the system consists of only three drones, but the team hopes to further miniaturise the drones – by using smaller and lighter displays and components – and make the system work with thousands of tiny drones.
