Beach Simulation

Virtual Reality has been used in clinical applications for about ten years and has proven to be an effective tool for treating various disorders. This page describes our results in building a 3D, motion tracked, immersive VR system for pain treatment and biofeedback research using free software and a small number of people.

The created Beach Simulation enables a subject to walk around and enjoy the scene that is populated with pleasant and engaging animated interactive objects. The scene consists of an island hosting:

  • Palm trees with coconuts.
  • Seashells lying on the beach.
  • Animals such as birds, butterflies, dolphins and crabs.
  • Human made objects such as chair, umbrella, hat, thermometer and a yacht.
  • The environment including the ocean, sky and a rainbow.

The following goals were defined and achieved:

  • 3D content.
  • Stereo rendering at 25fps.
  • Head and hand tracking for viewing and interaction.
  • Navigation system.
  • 3D sound effects.
  • Event scheduling incorporating user input.

The Beach Simulation runs on a computer system with NVIDIA 3D graphics card on Linux. Attached to the system are a head mounted display for 3D stereo view, a Playstation game controller, a Flock of Birds motion tracking system and an Biosensor from ProComp.

The Virtual Beach has been created using Flatland, a virtual laboratory for construction, simulation, evaluation, perception, and comprehension of complex software systems and simulation. Flatland is free. Using Flatland, development took only six months involving two programmers and two 3D artists. Flatland assists programmer by providing plugins and tools to simplify and speed up the development process.

A virtual beach has been created with “no tasks to accomplish”, no levels of game play and no specific time limits. As on a real beach, people enter at will, spend time and leave at will. Various attractions have been incorporated into the simulation such as flying seagulls, butterflies, walking crabs and dolphins swimming. People can interact with all the objects on the beach such as coconuts, seashells, butterflies, crabs, birds, chair, thermometer and palm trees. Overall, the scene provides enough activity to keep users interested for 20-30 minutes.

 

Screenshots