Electromechanical surface of rotational elements for motion compensation of a moving object
Mechanical surface of rotational elements for motion compensation of a locomotive object. A single layer of rotational elements formed as a mechanical surface on which a human can stand and/or move, and which automatically compensates for diverse human locomotion such as translation in two dimensions and rotation. The surface can be used to actively sense and compensate for varying speeds of human motion while in locomotion on the surface. The layer allows a user to move freely within a confined area and to be maintained within the confined area via motion compensation. Thus, the surface is particularly suited for immersion visualization environments where user motion on the surface is translated into user navigation through a virtual environment such as for computer games and simulation without necessitating constraints on immersive scene projection or participant motion.
1. A motion compensation system, comprising:
a layer of roller balls with which a user can contact, the layer defined by a perimeter within which movement of the user is confined and monitored, each of the roller balls capable of spherical rotation within the layer for moving a body part of the user to a predetermined location on the layer when the body part of the user contacts an array of roller balls in association with movement of the body part of the user to a current location on the layer;
a location sensing system in association with the layer for dynamically sensing the current location of the body part of the user on the layer relative to the perimeter when the body part of the user contacts the array of roller balls; and
a control assembly integral to the layer, the control assembly comprising a plurality of actuators in contact with the roller balls of the layer, the actuators for rotating the roller balls of the layer with which the body part of the user contacts to move the body part of the user from the current location on the layer, the control assembly controlled to compensate for the movement of the body part of the user to the current location on the layer by moving the body part of the user to the predetermined location on the layer.
2. The system of claim 1 , wherein the predetermined location is a previous location of the body part of the user on the layer.
3. The system of claim 1 , wherein the roller balls of the array are controlled for two-dimensional rotation to compensate for forward and lateral movement when moving the body part of the user to the predetermined location on the layer.
4. The system of claim 1 , wherein the user moves according to bi-pedal locomotion.
5. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a sensing assembly integral to the layer for:
sensing rotation of the roller balls of the array when the body part of the user is moved from the current location on the layer to the predetermined location on the layer, and
outputting rotation data.
6. The system of claim 1 , wherein the location sensing system senses the current location of the body part of the user based on weight exerted on one or more of the roller balls of the array.
7. The system of claim 1 , further comprising a control system in communication with the control assembly for:
receiving sensing information related to at least one of user movement or user rotation, and
controlling the control assembly to move the body part of the user to the predetermined location on the layer.
8. The system of claim 1 , wherein the layer is mechanically flexible to conform to a surface that includes one or more curvatures over which the layer is placed.
9. The system of claim 1 , wherein the layer is controlled according to a force feedback process to induce physical dynamics into the body part of the user via the roller balls.
10. The system of claim 1 , wherein the control assembly drives all roller balls of the layer or a subset of the roller balls of the layer separately.
11. The system of claim 1 , wherein the layer is employed in an immersive visualization environment for one or more of simulation, training, or gaming.
12. A motion compensation system, comprising:
a layer of roller balls on which a user can stand and move, the layer defined by a perimeter within which movement of the user is confined and monitored, each of the roller balls capable of spherical rotation within the layer for moving a foot of the user to a previous location on the layer when the foot of the user contacts an array of roller balls in association with movement of the foot of the user from the previous location on the layer;
a location sensing system in association with the layer, the location sensing system comprising a plurality of sensors in contact with the roller balls of the layer, the sensors for dynamically sensing a current location of the foot of the user on the layer relative to the perimeter based on weight exerted on the roller balls of the array; and
a control assembly integral to the layer, the control assembly comprising a plurality of actuators in contact with the roller balls of the layer, the actuators for rotating the roller balls of the layer with which the foot of the user contacts to move the foot of the user from the current location on the layer, the control assembly controlled to compensate for the movement of the foot of the user to the current location on the layer by moving the foot of the user back to the previous location on the layer.
13. The system of claim 12 , further comprising a sensing assembly integral to each of the roller balls of the layer for:
sensing rotation of the roller balls of the layer when the foot of the user is moved from the current location on the layer back to the previous location on the layer, and
providing rotation data.
14. The system of claim 13 , further comprising a control system for:
receiving and processing the rotation data, and
employing a feedback loop for dynamically controlling the control assembly to compensate for gait dynamics based on the rotation data.
15. A method of providing motion compensation, comprising:
providing an electromechanical layer of roller balls on which a user can stand and move, the layer defined by a perimeter within which movement of the user is confined and monitored, each of the roller balls capable of spherical rotation within the layer;
mechanically imposing actuators in contact with the roller balls to drive the roller balls in one or more dimensions when a foot of the user contacts an array of roller balls in association with movement of the foot of the user from a previous location on the layer to a current location on the layer;
mechanically imposing rotation sensors in contact with the rotational elements for sensing rotation data associated with driving the roller balls in the one or more dimensions to move the foot of the user from the current location on the layer to the previous location on the layer;
coupling a location sensing system to the layer for computing the previous location on the layer relative to the perimeter and the current location on the layer relative to the perimeter; and
dynamically controlling rotation of the actuators for rotating the roller balls of the layer with which the foot of the user contacts to move the foot of the user from the current location on the layer, the rotation of the actuators controlled to compensate for the movement of the foot of the user to the current position on the layer by moving the foot of the user back to the previous location on the layer while the user is in motion.
16. The method of claim 15 , further comprising computing a thrust vector created as the foot of the user contacts the roller balls of the array.
17. The method of claim 15 , further comprising controlling the actuators in contact with the roller balls of the layer with which the foot of the user contacts when moved from the current location on the layer to the previous location on the layer to simulate a surface or terrain type for user locomotion.
18. The method of claim 15 , further comprising:
computing gait and speed of the user; and
dynamically compensating for the gait of the user and a varying speed of the user.
19. The method of claim 15 , further comprising interconnecting a plurality of independent electromechanical layers of roller balls to make an active surface for use by one or more users.
20. The method of claim 15 , further comprising controlling speed and view in which a user navigates through a virtual environment based on movement of the user on the layer.