Star Trek fans will be familiar with the simulated-reality rooms, holodecks, that allow you to be immersed in computer generated world with characters and an environment you can interact with. It may seem like complete science fiction, but a team of researchers are making this a reality.
This technology is all part of the hunt by Hollywood and computer game companies to find the best tech to move their entertainment closer to reality. The idea of the holodeck is that rather than simply watching a movie or playing a video game with a controller, you would become part of it. So when you’re watching Gladiator, you could fight off a lion with your digital sword inside the colosseum that’s projected all around you. Or say you’re playing the latest Gran Turismo, you could find yourself in a projected cockpit of a Nissan GT-R smashing it around Mount Panorama, completely immersed in the environment.
Computer chip maker AMD is leading the charge to bring the holodeck to life, and even has its own version built in the companies Californian headquarters. Shaped like a dome and covered with wall-to-wall projectors, the room also uses surround sound and augmented reality to recreate the real world.
The question of how you would walk around without hitting your living room wall has already been answered, too, with the United States Army Research Laboratory’s “Omnidirectional treadmill” that lets you walk or run in any direction while the floor moves and you stay in the one place.
Microsoft has also been developing a similar technology called Illumiroom that will project images around your room while you play Xbox.
While all of this sounds ridiculously futuristic, some scientists and researchers believer we could see the technology in early consumer forms as early as 2014 – if you have enough money, anyway.
This article originally appeared on News.com.au.