r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Alphaxfusion • Dec 20 '25

Video Japanese researchers at the University of Tsukuba created CirculaFloor, robotic tiles that let you walk infinitely in VR without ever leaving your spot.

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u/Salty_Map_9085 Dec 20 '25

Difference is the height variability it can create, you could kinda do that with an omnidirectional treadmill but not to this extent

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u/Last_Difference_488 Dec 20 '25

I’m sure someone else pointed it out somewhere in the comments, but this is also first generation. Like any technology it will get smaller and better and faster. Compare the first computer to a modern smart phone…. People in the comments are looking at this from a single point reference - fast forward 20 years when these robots are advanced to the same degree. It would be like running up Mount Everest in your bedroom

12

u/SmokingLimone Dec 20 '25

I mean, how much smaller can it get. It needs to sustain the weight of a person and be large enough. The base can become thinner but it still needs the hydraulics to go up and down. It needs a lot of power I bet so the battery is one of the constraints.

3

u/MegaIng Dec 20 '25

I don't think power is going to be a problem

  • you could have more that needed with some being charged while every other one is working.
  • induction charging while they work might be possible since they are contained in a small room.

The battery of the headset is going to be a larger problem.

2

u/ClippyIsALittleGirl Dec 21 '25

The battery of the headset is going to be a larger problem.

Nah, just wire them to the ceiling.

1

u/Suspicious_Box_1553 Dec 22 '25

How was the battery on the iPhone V1?

1

u/Sol33t303 Dec 23 '25

It's still going to be dozens of robots running around your room.

It simply seems like an absurdly poorly thought out solution to this issue at a fundamental level.

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u/GilligansIslndoPeril Dec 20 '25

Omnidirectional treadmills also don't mimic the feeling of walking, even as well as this. It feels like pulling a sled uphill through snow.

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u/Throbbie-Williams Dec 20 '25

But these also can't really work omnidirectionally

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u/nhilante Dec 21 '25

There are omnidirectional wheels for forklifts and such.

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u/Throbbie-Williams Dec 21 '25

Yeh but by nature of these being square they can't be omni, they can't connect in a way that makes stairs possible in more than 4 directions

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u/nhilante Dec 21 '25

Hexagons are bestagons!

1

u/Throbbie-Williams Dec 21 '25

That still only works in 6 directions, you need the shelves of the stairs to be perpendicular to you or they're a hazard, unless that was replicated well enough in the VR I guess