Virtual Reality Sharks Nab Professor $240,000 Grant
It was in the pool during physical rehabilitation for his Multiple Sclerosis when computer scientist and game designer John Quarles thought to himself, 'there has to be a way to make this more engaging.'
The game Shark Punch is the result. By using a slightly modified divers mask and a waterproof phone he is able to create a game where the player is being circled by a shark and when it bites.
"I know the shark is biting me because there is this sound effect," he says.
Quarles says you could wear underwater headphones, but he just turns the phone up and that is more than enough.
He submerges in the pool and begins looking around. He swings his fist at the virtual predator.
The game uses the phones internal motion sensors to register when you punch. The same thing a pedometer app would use.
But the water also limits what is possible. You can turn your head and the device registers it but you can't move forward and backward in the game. Blue tooth, GPS, wifi and other traditional location technology aren't great in water --the radio waves are affected--and real-time tracking is imprecise.
See the full story here: http://tpr.org/post/virtual-reality-sharks-nab-professor-240000-grant#stream/0