A VR application that allowed players to walk into virtual interpretations of famous paintings using a treadmill interface.

The VR Gallery/Second Nature was a prototype developed in collaboration with <a href=”http://www.sdl.usu.edu/”>Space Dynamics Laboratory</a>, University of Utah, Logan, for the lounge@siggraph (internal link), an exhibit of interactive applications that I curated for SIGGRAPH 1995.

The system, called “Second Nature,” used a treadmill as an interface to a virtual environment consisting of 3D models of famous paintings displayed on a large screen. As you walked on the treadmill, you could tour the virtual gallery to view paintings on display. Infra-red sensors mounted to the monitor allowed you to indicate your desired direction by turning your head. You could enter a painting by walking through its frame to find yourself in a fully rendered real-time 3D version of the painting.

CP&F developed the concept, product identity, including the slogan, the diagram (C) and the logo concept (R), which was drawn by Geert Madsen.

I developed the application concept and collaborated with SDL on the interface design. Dean Garlick was the project lead at SDL. I also had help from Martia Isaksson, a Swedish intern from Kaos Pilots in Denmark, and Geert Madsen, a former student of mine from Space Invaders.