JP2003241639A - Virtual space simulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a virtual space simulation device enabling an experiencing person to stably walk and run with natural feeling in all desired directions and to jump or to squat down, and to enable accurate detection of various actions of the experiencing person to be fed-back to the picture of a display device without necessitating a large scale equipment or complex constitution. <P>SOLUTION: The simulation system enabling an experiencing person to freely behave in a virtual space displayed on a display is provided with a display means to display the virtual space, a fixed casing for the experiencing person to hold on, a means to detect the position of the experiencing person, a means to detect the moving extent and moving direction of the experiencing person, and a means to control the display of the display means according to the detected position, moving extent and moving direction of the experiencing person. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a virtual space simulation apparatus configured so that a user can freely move around in a virtual space, and more particularly, to enable the user to act with a substantially natural feeling. The present invention relates to a virtual space simulation device having an interface.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, virtual space simulation devices applied to drive simulators, flight simulators, various game devices, system kitchens, etc., experience by expressing images, sounds, and shocks according to the motions of the users. It is an illusion that a person actually exists and behaves in a virtual space. As a display device for displaying such an image to the experience person, a display device arranged in all directions (front, rear, left and right, up and down) of the experience person as disclosed in JP-A-4-204842 is typical. Is. It is also common to use a head mounted display (hereinafter referred to as “HMD”) that can be mounted on the head as a display device. By outputting the video and the audio in synchronization with these display devices, it is possible for the experience person to experience the virtual space full of realism.

In such a virtual space simulation apparatus, for example, in response to an operator operating a controller or the like at hand to instruct movements such as forward movement, backward movement, and turning movement, a computer displays images corresponding to these movements. By expressing the sound and the sound on the display device, the experience person can be made to feel as if he / she is actually acting in the virtual space. However, with this method, only the image and sound perceived by the experiencer change, and the experiencer's own sense of action cannot be obtained.

Therefore, when the experience person himself / herself performs an action such as walking or turning on the device, the action and the amount of movement can be detected, and an image corresponding to the action can be displayed on the display device. There has been proposed a virtual space simulation device that provides a user with a natural sense of behavior by providing an interface.

In the simulation devices disclosed in JP-A-7-110650 and JP-A-7-129789, when an experience person walks inside a columnar casing including a display device, the columnar casing rotates and It has a walking interface so that the image according to the motion is displayed to the user. However, with this simulation device, the experienced person can walk forward with a natural sensation, but cannot move and turn in other directions freely, and forcibly performs such movement. There is a risk that your body will hit the housing if you try to take it.

The simulation device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-200162 is equipped with an interface that detects the stepping-on of a user at a certain place, calculates the amount of movement, and controls the display on the display device accordingly. ing. However, such a stepping motion at a certain place is different from the walking motion of kicking the floor with a foot to obtain a propulsive force forward, and therefore, the sensation that the experienceer is walking in the virtual space is sufficient. Can't get

The simulation device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 8-200162 has a walking interface configured so that an experienced person can walk on a belt having a special structure and can move back and forth and left and right. However, with this walking interface, it is difficult to sufficiently offset the propulsive force that the experiencer obtains by walking due to reasons such as large belt friction, so that the experiencer cannot obtain a natural walking feeling. There is even the danger of unintentionally stepping out of the case. Further, in such a walking interface having a complicated structure, it is difficult to calculate the amount of movement from the force of the experienceer to kick the belt when walking.

The simulation device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 10-55132 is a walking system in which the foot of an experience person is fixed to a pair of left and right walking boards, and the left and right feet can be alternately moved back and forth. Has an interface. However, the walking interface itself is immobile, and the grounded foot is pulled back to keep the experienceer's position constant. For this reason, it is not possible to perform a walking motion that kicks the ground to obtain a propulsive force forward, and a load is generated when the foot is moved due to the braking of the walking board. Therefore, even with this device, the experience person cannot obtain a sufficiently natural walking sensation.

[0009]

The conventional virtual space simulation apparatus described above is provided with a walking interface for feeding back the motions of a person's walking or the like to the virtual space. It is not possible to perform a walking motion with a natural feeling of obtaining propulsive force forward. Further, the motions of the experiencer are limited to walking and running, and other motions such as turning, jumping and crouching are not considered at all. Further, these devices also have a problem that the stability of the experienced person during walking and running is not sufficiently secured. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a virtual space simulation apparatus that enables a person to experience a stable walking and running in a free direction in the front, rear, left, and right, and a motion such as jumping and squatting. That is. Another object of the present invention is to provide a virtual space simulation device capable of accurately detecting various movements of an experience person and feeding back the movements to an image on a display device without requiring a large-scale device or a complicated structure. .

[0010]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a simulation system in which a user can act freely in a virtual space displayed on a display, wherein Display means for displaying the space, a fixed housing for the experience person to grasp, means for detecting the position of the experience person, means for detecting the amount and direction of movement of the experience person are detected. And a means for controlling the display of the display means based on the position, movement amount and movement direction of the experiencer.

The first embodiment of the present invention is a simulation device in which a user can freely act in a virtual space displayed on a display device, and the display device is for displaying the virtual space. A housing fixed to the simulation device, a sensor device attached to the housing for detecting an experience person, and a pair of left and right shoes, each of which has one or more rotatable bottoms. Shoe having a different trackball, a rotation amount detector for detecting the rotation amount of the trackball, and a direction detector for detecting the direction of the shoe, the display device, the sensor device, the rotation amount detector, and the And a controller capable of communicating with the direction detector, wherein the controller determines the position of the experience person from the detection information of the sensor device, and detects the rotation amount. The movement amount of the experience person is determined from the detection information of the device, the movement direction of the experience person is determined from the detection information of the direction detector, and the display of the display device is displayed based on the position, the movement amount and the movement direction of the experience person. It is characterized by controlling.

As the display device, screens installed on the front, rear, left and right, on the ceiling and on the floor can be used. Further, the display device may be a head mounted display (HMD) that can be worn on the head by a user. The sensor device preferably includes an upper sensor attached to the upper part of the housing and a lower sensor attached to the lower part of the housing.
The upper sensor detects the upper half of the body of the experience person, and the lower sensor detects the foot of the experience person.

It is preferable that the trackball is drivable and is driven by a signal from the control device. Further, the controller stores in advance a predetermined rubbing-offset rotation amount based on the turning amount of the trackball, so that the trackball is presently moved by the rubbing-offset rotation amount at all times while an experienceer walks. Drive in the direction of rotation. That is, it is possible to drive the trackball so as to substantially offset the slight movement of the experiencer due to the friction between the trackball and the floor surface, so that the experiencer remains at the same position while walking.

The case has a handle for the experience person to grasp, and the sensor device has a pressure-sensitive switch for detecting a load applied to the handle to detect whether or not the experience person is grasping the handle. It is preferable to be able to do so. It is preferable that the simulation apparatus of the present invention further includes an operation switch communicable with the control means, and a user can operate the simulation apparatus with the operation switch.

The second embodiment of the present invention is a simulation device in which a user can act freely in a virtual space displayed on a display device, and the display device is for displaying the virtual space. A rotation amount detector for detecting a rotation amount and a rotation direction of the trackball, which is a casing fixed to the simulation device and a floor surface on which a plurality of freely rotatable trackballs are aligned and arranged. A floor surface having, and a control device capable of communicating with the display device and the rotation amount detector, the control device determines the position of the experiencer from the detection information of the rotation amount detector, and the rotation amount. The moving amount and moving direction of the experience person are determined from the detection information of the detector, and the display of the display device is controlled based on the position, moving amount and moving direction of the experience person. It is characterized by It is preferable that the rotation amount detector is provided with a pressure-sensitive switch for detecting a load applied to the trackball so that it can detect whether or not a foot of an experience person is installed.

The third embodiment of the present invention is a simulation device in which a user can freely act in a virtual space displayed on a display device, and the display device is for displaying the virtual space. A casing fixed to the simulation device, a pair of left and right shoes, each shoe having one or more rotatable trackballs or roller members on the bottom surface,
A floor surface having a pressure-sensitive pad on its surface, and a control device capable of communicating with the display device and the pressure-sensitive pad, the control device determining the position of the experiencer from the detection information of the pressure-sensitive pad. However, the amount of movement and the moving direction of the experience person are determined from the detection information of the pressure sensitive pad, and the display of the display device is controlled based on the position, the amount of movement and the movement direction of the experience person.

The fourth embodiment of the present invention is a simulation device in which a user can freely move in a virtual space displayed on a display device, and the display device is for displaying the virtual space. And a case fixed to the simulation device, and a pair of left and right shoes, each having one or more rotatable trackball or roller members and one or more recognition members on the bottom surface. A camera member that is fixed to the simulation device and that can recognize the recognition member,
A display device and a control device capable of communicating with the camera member, wherein the control device determines the position of the experience person from the detection information of the camera member, and the movement amount of the experience person from the detection information of the camera member. And the direction of movement,
The display of the display device is controlled based on the position, the movement amount, and the movement direction of the experiencer.

In the second, third and fourth embodiments as well, similar to the first embodiment, the sensor device attached to the housing detects the experience person, and the detection information of the sensor device,
Also, the position of the experience person may be determined based on one or both of the detection information of the rotation amount detector / pressure sensitive pad / camera member.

[0019]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the text, the same reference numerals represent the same or similar members. First, the configuration of the first embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIGS.
Shown in. FIG. 1 schematically shows the overall configuration of this embodiment. The simulation device of the present embodiment includes a substantially columnar casing 1 fixed to the floor surface, an HMD 21 that can be mounted on the head of the experience person 100 or a screen 22 installed around the case 1, and the experience person 100. Consists of shoes 31 that can be worn on your feet. Hereinafter, each component will be described in detail.

The casing 1 is for detecting a load applied to the grip 2 for holding the posture of the experience person 100, the upper sensor 3 and the lower sensor 4 for detecting the position of the experience person 100, and the grip 2. The pressure sensitive switch 5 and the operation unit 6 for the experience person 100 to operate the simulation device.

As shown in FIG. 1, the ring-shaped handle 2 is
It is attached to the periphery of the housing 1 at a height where the experience person 100 can easily grasp it, for example, a height between the chest and the waist.
The handle 2 can be held by the handle 2 with one or both hands regardless of the orientation of the 00 with respect to the housing 1. Moreover, since the handle 2 is fixed to the housing 1, the experience person 100 can always keep the posture stable by grasping the handle 2 on the handle 1.

Each of the upper sensor 3 and the lower sensor 4 is composed of a plurality of sensors arranged in a band shape at regular intervals on the circumferential surface of the casing 1, and what the experience person 100 has with respect to the casing 1. It can be detected even in the direction. In addition, the upper sensor 3 is installed at a height that detects when the occupant 100 is normally standing upright, walking, etc., but not when crouching down, for example, the height between the head and the chest. In addition, the lower sensor 4 is normally upright by the person 100 experiencing the experience,
It is installed at a height such that it can be detected when walking, but not when raising or jumping, for example, at a height near the ankle.

These sensors 3 and 4 used in the simulation apparatus of the present invention are, for example, infrared sensors, photoelectric sensors, CCD camera sensors, etc. which are widely used in automatic doors, remote controls for home electric appliances, industrial equipment and the like. Can be used. Further, if the experiencer wears a wearing tool including a light emitting element having a specific wavelength near the chest and at the feet, the detection accuracy of these sensors can be improved. further,
By using the infrared sensor or the CCD camera sensor as the distance measuring sensor, the position of the experience person can be more accurately grasped. Such a distance measuring sensor is widely applied to the autofocus function of a camera.

The pressure sensitive switch 5 of the housing 1 detects whether or not the experience person 100 is holding the handle 2. Average person 1
By setting a predetermined detection load based on the hand weight of 00 in advance, when the experience person 100 grips the handle 2,
The pressure-sensitive switch 5 can detect this.

The operation unit 6 is installed at a position such as the top of the housing 1 where the experience person 100 can easily operate, and can operate and stop the simulation apparatus and perform various settings and other operations by using buttons and switches. You can do it.
Here, the operation unit 6 is shown as an example attached to the housing 1, but the operation unit 6 is an independent remote controller, which the experience person 100 holds in his hand or wears on his body to operate. It is also possible to do. For example, the experience person 100 may have a cane provided with the independent operation unit 6.

In the present invention, as a display device for displaying the virtual space to the experience person 100, as shown in FIG. 1, the HMD 21 or the screen 22 installed around the housing 1 is used. Although not shown in the figure, a simulation effect can be further enhanced by installing a speaker and playing audio synchronized with the video. HMD21 is
By receiving a video signal from the simulation device of the present invention and displaying the video signal on the video display unit that substantially covers the field of view of the experience person 100, the experience person 100 exists in the virtual space displayed on the HMD 21. You can get the feeling.

On the other hand, the screen 22 of this embodiment is a multi-screen composed of a plurality of flat screens. Although FIG. 1 shows only a two-sided flat screen,
The screen 22 of this embodiment further includes a flat screen 22 having two surfaces, and is composed of four front, rear, left and right surfaces. For each of these flat screens, for example, a rear projection type projection screen that projects an image from a rear projector can be used. However, the screen 22 of the present simulation device is not limited to this, and a cylindrical screen may be used, for example. Also, a screen may be installed on the ceiling surface.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the shoe 31 worn by the experience person 100 in the simulation apparatus of the present invention. The shoe 31 includes a pressure sensitive switch 32 for detecting the load applied to the trackball, a direction detector 33 for detecting the direction of the shoe 31, and a trackball unit 41.

The pressure sensitive switch 32 of the shoe 31 has the same structure as the pressure sensitive switch 5 of the housing 1,
It detects that the trackball of the unit 41 has a certain load or more. 100 people who wear shoes 31
When the person's foot is grounded on the floor, the weight of the experience person 100 gives a load to the pressure-sensitive switch 5 via the trackball. Therefore, a predetermined detection load is set in advance based on the average weight of the experience person 100. If set, it is possible to detect whether or not the experience person 100 is touching his / her foot on the floor surface.

As the direction detector 33, for example, a gyro sensor including a vibrating gyro, a piezoelectric element and a compass needle can be used. In this gyro sensor, when the vibration gyro detects a change in the angular velocity of the shoe 31, a current flows through the piezoelectric element, which is converted into a signal of a change in the direction of the shoe 31. Further, the azimuth magnetic needle is adapted to convert the direction of the shoe 31 into a signal and emit the signal at any time. These signals are transmitted to the control device via the rotation amount detector 44 or 48 of the trackball unit 41, as will be described later. 3 and 4 are transparent perspective views showing an example of the trackball unit 41. These have basically the same structure as a trackball widely used for a mouse of a personal computer.

FIG. 3 shows a mechanical trackball unit.
41 is shown. The trackball 42 rotates while being in contact with three points of the two rubber rollers 43 and the support roller 47. In order to detect the rotation direction of the trackball 42, first, the shoe 31 is given a plane orthogonal coordinate axis consisting of the x-axis and the y-axis and parallel to the bottom surface of the shoe 31. For example, the x axis may be taken in the toe direction of the shoe 31, and the y axis may be taken in a direction orthogonal to the x axis and parallel to the bottom surface of the shoe 31. Next, the two rubber rollers 43 are arranged at such positions that each detects rotation in the x-axis and y-axis directions. In the trackball unit 41 configured as above, when the trackball 42 rotates, this rotation is decomposed in the x-axis and y-axis directions and converted into rotation of the rubber roller 43, respectively. Further, the trackball unit 41 includes a rotation amount detector 44 for detecting the rotation amount of each rubber roller 43, and these can detect the rotation amounts of the trackball 42 in the x-axis and y-axis directions. It is like this. Further, each rubber roller 43 is provided with a motor 45 and a gear 46, and by driving the motor 45, the rubber roller 43 can be rotated via the gear 46. X with two motors 45
The trackball 42 can be rotated in all directions by rotating the rubber rollers in the axial direction and the y-axis direction by arbitrary amounts of rotation.

FIG. 4 shows an optical trackball unit.
41 is shown. Trackball 42, rubber roller 43, motor 4
5, the gear 46 and the support roller 47 are configured in the same manner as the mechanical trackball unit shown in FIG. 3, and the shoe 31 has a plane orthogonal coordinate system parallel to the bottom surface of the shoe 31 composed of the x axis and the y axis. Is given. The rotation amount detector 48 of the optical trackball unit 41 is an optical sensor, and is capable of emitting infrared rays from an LED or the like and sensing the reflected light. Trackball 42
Infrared light-sensitive elements are arranged in a dot pattern, and the amount of rotation and the direction of rotation of the trackball 42 can be detected by the optical sensor reading the movement of the reflected light reflected by these. The rotation amount and the rotation direction of the trackball 42 are represented by the coordinate system including the x-axis and the y-axis given to the shoe 31, as in the mechanical trackball unit described above.

The simulation apparatus of the present invention comprises a housing 1
Sensor device 3 and 4, pressure sensitive switch 5 and operation unit 6, HMD2
1 or the screen 22 and the trackball unit 41 of the shoe 31 are communicable, and are provided with a control device for receiving a detection signal from these devices and transmitting a control signal to these devices for control. . A method by which the control device controls each device will be described with reference to the block diagram shown in FIG. Here, a computer including a CPU, a main memory, and a main storage device is used as the control device. Figure 5
In, the detection information processing device, the central processing unit, the video output system processing unit, the audio output system processing unit, and the CPU of the control unit. The main storage device stores video and audio data to be displayed on the HMD 21 or the screen 22, a program for controlling each device according to certain conditions, and the like.

In accordance with the operation of the simulation device, the detection information processing device of the control device controls the pressure sensitive switch 3 of the shoe 31 from the trackball unit 41 of the shoe 31 via the wireless system 31a provided in the shoe 31.
2, receiving the detection information from the direction detector 33, and the rotation amount detector 44 or 48, receiving the detection information from the sensor device 3 and 4 of the housing 1, from the pressure sensitive switch 5 of the housing 1. Receive detection information. These pieces of detection information are processed as data for arithmetic processing and transmitted to the central processing unit. next,
The central processing unit operates a program stored in advance in the main storage device, processes and calculates this received data, and outputs data relating to the control of the display device (including the speaker device) to a video output system processing unit and audio output. To the system arithmetic processing unit. The video output type arithmetic processing device and the audio output type arithmetic processing device transmit a signal based on the above data to the HMD 21 or the screen 22 and the speaker. Further, the central processing unit can transmit a signal for controlling the motor 45 of the trackball unit 41 of the shoe 31 to the trackball unit 41 via the wireless system 41a, if necessary. ing. Also,
As shown in FIG. 1, on the floor of the simulation apparatus of the present invention, in order to make the rotation of the trackball 42 smooth,
Pad 7 made of a material with a high coefficient of friction, such as rubber
Is preferably laid out.

Next, the function of each part when the experience person 100 makes various actions in the simulation apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. On the floor surface of the simulation apparatus of the present invention, a plane orthogonal coordinate system composed of X-axis and Y-axis is defined in advance, and the position, direction and moving speed (movement amount per unit time) of the experience person 100 are set in this coordinate system. So that it can be represented using.

The experience person 100 can operate the virtual space simulation apparatus of the present invention by operating the operation unit 6 of the housing 1 after wearing the shoes 31 on the foot. When the device is operated, the HMD 21 or the screen 22 displays an image of one scene in the virtual space stored in advance in the main storage device of the computer. At this time, the experience person 100 preferably holds the handle 2 in order to keep the posture. In order to ensure the safety of the experience person 100, the experience person 100 is a handle
The computer may be controlled so that the virtual space simulation device does not operate unless it is held by 2, that is, unless the pressure-sensitive switch 5 of the housing 1 detects a load above a certain level.

When the virtual space simulation device operates, the experience person 100 can freely move, such as walking while grasping the handle 2 with one hand. When the experience person 100 walks, the trackball 42 on the bottom surface of the shoe 31 rotates, so that the movement of the body of the experience person 100 is offset by the rotation of the trackball 42, and the experience person hardly moves.

During walking of the experience person 100, the rotation amount detector 44 or 4
Reference numeral 8 detects the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the trackball 42, and transmits this to the computer as a detection signal. The detected rotation amount and rotation direction are expressed in the xy coordinate system given to the shoe 31, but the computer, on the other hand, detects the detection signal of the direction of the shoe 31 in the XY coordinate system of the simulation device by the direction detector. It is received from 33, and based on this, the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the trackball 42 are converted into the XY coordinate system. In this way, the X-
The movement amount and movement direction in the Y coordinate system are obtained.

Further, the sensor devices 3 and / or 4 detect the position of the experience person 100 while the experience person 100 is walking. For example, in FIG.
In, among the plurality of sensors arranged in a strip around the housing 1, one or a plurality of sensors facing the person who experiences the person 100 emits a detection signal. The orientation of the person 100 is specified. Further, as described above, the sensor devices 3 and 4 are preferably infrared sensors or
It is a distance measuring sensor consisting of CCD camera sensor, etc.
The distance from 00 can also be detected. However, in the simulation device of the present invention, the experience person 100 walks or moves while exclusively grasping the handle 2, so that the distance between the experience person 100 and the sensor devices 3 and 4 is not large during the operation of the device. It does not change. Therefore, it is possible to simplify the device by setting the distance between the experience person 100 and the sensor devices 3 and 4 in advance to a constant value and using a sensor having no distance measuring function.

As described above, the position, the movement amount, and the movement direction in the XY coordinate system when the experience person 100 walks are calculated, and the computer is based on the calculated values.
Alternatively, the image on the screen 22 is changed. In this way, the motion of the experience person 100 is fed back into the virtual space, so that the experience person 100 can feel as if he / she is present and acting in the virtual space.

As described above, even if the person who experiences 100 walks, the movement of the body is largely offset by the rotation, but due to slight friction between the trackball 42 and the rollers and the floor surface, Experiencer 100 moves slightly. For example, when the experience person 100 is walking forward, this friction causes the body to gradually move forward. Therefore,
The computer is the motor of the trackball unit 41
45 is driven to drive the trackball 42 in the current rotation direction at a rotation speed that can just offset the movement of the experience person 100. For example, when the experience person 100 gradually moves forward as described above, the track ball 42 is rotated so that the experience person 100 moves backward at about the same speed. To do this, the average amount of rotation of the trackball 42 when the average person 100 walks and
The correlation of the moving speed of 0 is investigated in advance. This correlation is calculated, for example, by calculating the moving speed of the experience person 100 as a function of the unit time rotation amount of the trackball 42,
This data is stored in the computer. Experiencer 10
Trackball detected by computer while 0 is walking 4
Experiencer 1 from the above correlation data according to the rotation amount of 2
The trackball is calculated by calculating the movement speed of 00, and the amount of rotation that almost cancels this (hereinafter referred to as the friction offset rotation amount).
Drive 42 in the current direction of rotation. In this way, the experience person 100 walking at an arbitrary speed can be kept at a substantially constant position. With the simulation device of the present invention,
Can perform various actions in the virtual space in addition to walking. Here, the operations of crouching, jumping and running will be described.

As shown in FIG. 6, when the experience person 100 crouches and the head of the experience person 100 becomes lower than the upper sensor 3, the upper sensor 3 does not detect the experience person 100. As described above, when only the lower sensor 4 detects the experience person, the computer determines that the experience person 100 is squatting, and displays an image corresponding to the situation on the HMD 21 or the screen 22.

Also, the experience person 100 jumps and the experience person 1
When the foot of 00 becomes higher than the lower sensor 4, the lower sensor 4 does not detect the experience person 100, and the pressure sensitive switch 32 of the shoe 31 also does not detect the load. In this way, the upper sensor 3 detects the experience person, but the lower sensor 4 detects the experience person.
When 100 is not detected and / or the pressure-sensitive switch 32 does not detect the load of the occupant 100, the computer determines that the occupant 100 has jumped and displays an image corresponding to the HMD 21 or the screen 22. ing. Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the experience person 100 can jump so as to ride on the handle 2. Therefore, if the pressure-sensitive switch 5 of the casing 1 is made to detect a load larger than the weight of the average experiencer, when the experiencer 100 leans on the handle 2 and jumps, this will be set rather than a normal jump. By determining the jump as a high jump and displaying an image corresponding to the jump on the HMD 21 or the screen 22, it is possible to virtually experience a high jump that cannot be actually experienced.

The running motion will be described with reference to FIGS. While running, the position is more likely to be unstable than other movements and the speed is high, so the trackball 42
Even if you drive, you cannot offset the movement of the experience person.
Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, the experience person 100 faces the housing 1 and runs while gripping the handle 2 with both hands,
It is possible to drive stably at a fixed position without losing the posture.

For the safety of the experience person 100, it is preferable that the computer controls each device so that the user can travel only in such a manner in the virtual space. Experiencer detected by the sensor device 3 or 4 as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10.
By comparing the line 51 connecting the position of 100 and the position of the housing 1 with the direction of the shoe 31 detected by the direction detector 33 of the shoe 31, that is, the traveling direction 52 of the experience person 100, the experience person 100
It can be determined whether or not is facing the case 1. Specifically, for example, in the XY coordinate system, the inner product of the vector connecting the position of the experience person 100 and the position of the housing 1 and the unit vector in the traveling direction of the experience person 100 is calculated, and this value is a certain value or more. It may be determined whether or not. Experiencer 100 is operating unit 6 of case 1
When the simulation of the virtual space is finished by operating, for example, it is preferable to secure the safety of the experience person 100 by driving the motor 45 to stop the rotation of the trackball 42 of the shoe 31.

A second embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the embodiment of the present invention, the experience person 100
The shoes worn by are normal shoes that do not have a trackball unit or the like, but have a sole with a high friction coefficient made of rubber or the like. A plurality of trackballs 42 are aligned and buried in the floor surface of the simulation device. Although not shown here, the trackball 42 on the floor is installed with the trackball unit as shown in FIG. 3 or 4 as in the first embodiment.
The amount and direction of rotation of the trackball 42 can be detected. As shown in FIG. 5, the trackball unit can communicate with the control device and send and receive a detection signal and a control signal. The configuration of other members is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In this embodiment, a method of detecting the position, movement amount, and movement direction of the experience person 100 will be described. A plane orthogonal coordinate system consisting of the X axis and the Y axis is defined in advance in the simulation device. Trackball 42 is this XY
It is arranged along the coordinate system. Here, the position of each trackball 42 can be represented by coordinates (X, Y).

The position of the experience person 100 can be detected by the sensors 3 and 4 as in the first embodiment, but can also be detected by the trackball 42. A trackball in contact with shoes when the person 100 experiences walking or running.
Trackball 42 spinning as only 42 spins
The coordinates of represent the position of the experience person 100.

The movement amount and the movement direction of the experience person 100 can be obtained from the rotation amount and the rotation direction of the trackball 42. In the present embodiment, when the trackball unit is also provided with the XY coordinate system as in the simulation device, the detected rotation amount and rotation direction of the trackball 42 are the same as the movement amount of the experience person 100 in the XY coordinate system. It becomes the moving direction.

Since the trackball 42 has a low resistance, once it rotates, it continues to rotate for a while even if the experience person 100 does not continue to rotate it. Therefore, when the experience person 100 freely moves within the simulation device while walking or running, even the rotation of the trackball 42 at the place where the experience person 100 is no longer detected is detected. Positions and actions may not be detected accurately. Therefore,
It is preferable that the rubber roller portion of the trackball unit is provided with a pressure sensitive switch so that only the trackball 42 whose pressure is detected by the pressure sensitive switch is above a certain level.

FIG. 12 shows a third embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention. In the embodiment of the present invention, the experience person 100
The shoe 61 worn by has a trackball unit, but does not have devices for detecting the rotation of these. Alternatively, shoes such as roller skates having a roller member on the bottom surface may be used. A pressure sensitive pad 62 is laid on the floor of the simulation device. A piezoelectric sensor is included inside the pressure sensitive pad 62,
The load at each position on the floor can be detected. Further, the pressure sensitive pad 62 can communicate with the control device as shown in FIG. 5, and transmits a detection signal to the control device. The configuration of other members is the same as that of the first embodiment.

In the present embodiment, a method of detecting the position, movement amount and movement direction of the experience person 100 will be described. An orthogonal plane coordinate system consisting of an X axis and a Y axis is set in advance in the simulation device. The position on the pressure-sensitive pad 62 can be represented by the coordinates (X, Y) in this XY coordinate system.

The position of the experience person 100 can be detected by the sensors 3 and 4 as in the first embodiment.
It can also be detected from 62. As described above, since the load at each position on the floor can be detected by the piezoelectric sensor inside the pressure sensitive pad 62, the position where the load is applied is the current position of the experience person 100. Can be represented by (X, Y) defined above.

The operation of the experience person 100 when walking is as follows. First, the experience person 100 steps forward with one foot, lands, and kicks the floor surface backward with this foot.
At this time, the trackball or the roller member on the bottom surface of the shoe 61 rotates and the foot moves backward. Next, the other foot is stepped forward similarly to the above, the weight is transferred to this foot, and the back foot is lifted from the floor. These operations are alternately repeated on both feet. At this time, the pressure-sensitive pad 62 detects that the loads on the left and right feet alternately move from slightly forward to slightly backward of the body of the experience person 100. Further, also in the motion of running, the same movement of the foot is detected. Here, the moving directions of the loads on the left and right feet detected by the pressure-sensitive pad 62 are parallel to each other, and
Since the direction is almost directly behind, from this, experience person 100
The moving direction of the can be determined.

Furthermore, since the movement of the load on the foot is continuous, from the time the trackball or roller member on the bottom surface of the shoe 61 lands to the time when the trackball or roller member leaves the floor surface again,
The distance moved on the pressure sensitive pad 62 can be calculated from the load detection result. Here, this moving distance is almost equal to the amount of rotation of the trackball or the roller member while the foot is landing.
It can be regarded as the amount of movement by 100 feet.
It should be noted that the higher the walking or running speed, the larger the amount of movement for each landing, and at the same time, the number of times of movement also increases. Therefore, the amount of movement per unit time almost accurately represents the moving speed of the experience person 100.

A fourth embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention is shown in FIG. In the embodiment of the present invention, the experience person 100
The shoe 71 worn by has a trackball unit, but does not have devices for detecting the rotation of these. Alternatively, shoes such as roller skates having a roller member on the bottom surface may be used. A recognition member 72 that can be recognized by a camera is attached near the toes and the heel of each shoe 71. Of screen 22
Camera members 73 capable of recognizing the recognition member 72 are attached above the four corners. HMD
When using, the camera member 73 can be attached to the housing 1. The camera member 73 is, for example, an infrared camera or a CCD camera, and the recognition member 72 can be a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode. These four recognition members 72 in total emit different wavelengths,
Be able to recognize each separately. An orthogonal stereoscopic coordinate system consisting of an X axis, a Y axis, and a Z axis is defined in advance in the simulation device. The camera member 73 detects the recognition member 72 in the imaging field at any time by the optical motion capture system, and detects its position (X,
Y, Z) is calculated. In addition, the camera member 73
Is capable of communicating with the control device and sends a detection signal to the control device, as shown in FIG. The structure of other members is
It is similar to that of the first embodiment.

The position of the experience person 100 can be detected by the sensors 3 and 4 as in the first embodiment.
It can also be detected by 73. The camera member 73 is
Since the four recognition members 72 attached to the shoes 72 are detected, the positions of both feet of the experience person 100 can be calculated from this, and the position (X, Y, Z) of the experience person 100 can be determined.

The moving direction and the moving amount of the experience person 100 are detected by the camera 73. The camera 73 detects the positions of the recognition members 72 attached to the toes and heels of the left and right shoes 71, respectively, so that the direction of the left and right feet can be known. Usually, the person who is experiencing the same direction as the foot is
Since the traveling direction is 100, this can be set as the moving direction of the experience person 100. Further, the movement amount of the experience person 100 can be calculated by the same method as in the third embodiment described above. That is, the distance traveled by the recognition member 72 while the left and right shoes 71 of the experience person 100 are landing on the floor can be set as the movement amount of each foot. In the present embodiment, since the camera 73 detects the three-dimensional position (X, Y, Z) of the recognition member 72, it may be determined from the vertical position of the recognition member 72 whether the shoe 71 is landing. In this way, similarly to the above-described third embodiment, the moving distance that each foot of the experience person 100 moves while landing can be regarded as the movement amount of the experience person 100.

[0059]

As described above, the present invention makes it possible for a person to experience natural movements such as walking, running, crouching, and jumping in a virtual space without requiring a large-scale device or a complicated structure. (EN) Provided is a virtual space simulation device that can be performed sensuously and safely. Further, by accurately detecting these actions and feeding them back to the image on the display device, the experience person can obtain a realistic simulation experience as if he / she were present and acting in the virtual space.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an overall configuration of a first embodiment of a simulation device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a shoe worn by a user in the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a transparent perspective view of a mechanical trackball unit used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a transparent perspective view of an optical trackball unit used in the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a communication method between the control device of the present invention and each device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which the experience person is crouching in the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state in which a user leans against a housing and jumps in the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a state where an experiencer is running in the simulation device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the experience person and the housing.

FIG. 10 is a plan view showing a positional relationship between an experience person and a housing.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of a second embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of a third embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view schematically showing the overall configuration of a fourth embodiment of the simulation apparatus of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 case 2 handle 3 Upper sensor 4 Lower sensor 5 Pressure sensitive switch 6 Control section 7 pads 22 screen 31 shoes 32 Pressure sensitive switch 33 Direction detector 41 Trackball Unit 42 trackball 43 rubber roller 44 Rotation amount detector 45 motor 46 gears 47 Support roller 48 Rotation amount detector 61 shoes 62 Pressure sensitive pad 71 shoes 72 Recognition component 73 Camera parts 100 experienced

Claims (12)

[Claims] 1. A simulation system in which a user can freely move in a virtual space displayed on a display, and a display means for displaying the virtual space and the user can grasp the virtual space. And a means for detecting the position, movement amount and movement direction of the experience person, and controlling the display of the display means based on the detected position, movement amount and movement direction of the experience person. A simulation system comprising: 2. A simulation device in which a user can freely act in a virtual space displayed on a display device, the display device for displaying the virtual space, and the simulation device fixed to the simulation device. A case, a sensor device attached to the case for detecting an experience person, and a pair of left and right shoes, each having one or more rotatable trackballs on the bottom surface and the trackballs of the trackballs. A shoe having a rotation amount detector that detects a rotation amount and a direction detector that detects the direction of the shoe, a control that can communicate with the display device, the sensor device, the rotation amount detector, and the direction detector. The control device determines the position of the experience person from the detection information of the sensor device, and the experience person from the detection information of the rotation amount detector. A moving amount is determined, a moving direction of the experience person is determined from detection information of the direction detector, and display of the display device is controlled based on the position, the moving amount, and the moving direction of the experience person. Simulation device. 3. A simulation device in which a user can freely act in a virtual space displayed on a display device, the display device for displaying the virtual space, and the simulation device fixed to the simulation device. And a floor surface on which a plurality of rotatable trackballs are arranged in alignment, the floor surface having a rotation amount detector for detecting a rotation amount and a rotation direction of the trackball, and the display device. And a control device capable of communicating with the rotation amount detector, the control device determines the position of the experience person from the detection information of the rotation amount detector, and the experience person from the detection information of the rotation amount detector. Of the display device based on the position, movement amount and movement direction of the experience person. Equipment. 4. The simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the rotation amount detector includes a pressure-sensitive switch that detects a load applied to at least one of the trackballs. Simulation device. 5. The simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the trackball is drivable and is driven by a signal from the control device. apparatus. 6. A simulation device in which a user can act freely in a virtual space displayed on a display device, the display device for displaying the virtual space, and the simulation device fixed to the simulation device. And a pair of left and right shoes, each having one or more rotatable trackballs or roller members on the bottom surface, a floor surface having a pressure-sensitive pad on the surface, the display device and A control device capable of communicating with the pressure-sensitive pad, wherein the control device determines the position of the experience person from the detection information of the pressure-sensitive pad, and determines the amount of movement of the experience person from the detection information of the pressure-sensitive pad. A simulation characterized by determining a moving direction and controlling a display of the display device based on a position, a moving amount and a moving direction of the experience person. Apparatus. 7. A simulation device in which a user can freely act in a virtual space displayed on a display device, the display device for displaying the virtual space, and the simulation device fixed to the simulation device. And a pair of left and right shoes, each shoe having one or more rotatable trackballs or roller members and one or more recognition members on the bottom surface,
A camera member fixed to the simulation device and capable of recognizing the recognition member, and a control device capable of communicating with the display device and the camera member, the control device experiencing from the detection information of the camera member. Determining the position of the person, determining the amount and direction of movement of the experience person from the detection information of the camera member, and controlling the display of the display device based on the position, amount of movement and direction of the experience person. Characteristic simulation device. 8. The simulation apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the housing includes a sensor device that is communicable with the control device and that detects a person experiencing the experience. apparatus. 9. The simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the sensor device includes an upper sensor attached to the upper part of the housing and a lower sensor attached to the lower part of the housing. A simulation device characterized by the above. 10. The simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the display device is a screen mounted around the housing or a head mounted display (HMD) that can be mounted on a head of an experience person. A simulation device characterized by being present. 11. The simulation device according to claim 2, wherein the housing has a handle for an experience person to grip, and the sensor device detects a pressure applied to the handle. A simulation device including a switch. 12. The operation device according to claim 2, further comprising an operation unit communicable with the control unit so that a user can operate the simulation apparatus with the operation unit. Simulation device.