Swimming Across the Pacific: A Virtual Swimming Interface Proposal for SIGGRAPH 2002 Emerging Technology

As a locomotion interface for virtual reality, swimming afloat in water, is an unfamiliar and intriguing paradigm. We propose to bring our newly developed virtual swim-ming apparatus to SIGGRAPH 2002 Emerging Technol-ogy. In our exhibit, we will showcase the swimming ap-paratus and the virtual ocean environment. The swim-ming participant will be suspended in the apparatus, an 8ft cubic frame mounted with pulleys and cords, in a prone position via a hang-gliding harness. He or she will see the accompanying graphic system which renders sky, sea waves, ocean floor and a virtual swimmer. The vir-tual swimmer mimics the user’s swimming movements by processing sensor data, while the head-mounted dis-play supplies the virtual view. Preliminary user experi-ences suggest the system is capable of providing realistic swimming sensations, and that it has great potential as a general purpose navigation system in immersive environ-ments. The compelling SAP experience attracts attention from artists, scientists and other researchers around the world, both as a performance art piece and a virtual nav-igation prototype. We would like to provide the same experience to SIGGRAPH attendees, enabling them to swim in mid-air and feel as if they are swimming afloat in water.