How Tango Dancers Would "Walk" in Virtual Landscapes
Developers participating in the CyberWalk Project have created an omni-directional platform for simulating natural walking movements in virtual worlds.
Here's a video (no audio) that shows a user outfitted with a harness and goggles as she walks on this omni-directional treadmill to explore a virtual landscape:
In a recent blog post about CyberWalk, Roland Piquepaille points out that "Even with recent improvements in virtual reality technology, it's still almost impossible to physically walk through virtual environments." So this omni-directional treadmill represents important on-going research into how to capture the essence of human locomotion and port it to 3D immersive environments.
Tango Dancers Shed Light on the Art of Walking
Tango dancing is all about "walking" or the "Caminada." Tangueros devote years to practicing and perfecting their walk. After just finishing my first four months of obsessive tango dancing, I'm struck by how difficult and challenging it is to develop a fluid, elegant walking style.
So it struck me that maybe there is some synergy to be found by bringing together developers of virtual-world walking systems with tango dancers who have created a variety of approaches to "walking" in different settings.
While watching the following seven tango dance videos that emphasize walking, I encourage viewers to consider the different aesthetics, movement patterns, weight changes, musicality and styles. Which of these elements can and cannot be captured on an omni-directional treadmill? Does the "walk" of tango dancers offer treadmill developers new ideas or insights about how they would like users to be able to navigate through virtual environments? And how will these treadmills capture the movements of two people simultaneously as in partnership dancing?
Enjoy the following videos as you consider these questions:
"Tango Italiano" with Shastro and Maria:
Tango by Julio Balmaceda and Corina de la Rosa:
Candida Andritsch and Jose Vazquez dancing in a fountain:
Pablo Rodriguez and Noelia Hurtado at Brussels Tango Festival '08:
"Perdizione" - Tango dancing in a supermarket:
Dario's Tango Guide - El Abrazo (Embrace) and Caminada (Walking):
Jorge Dispari and La Turca:
Posted by
Doug Fox on April 25, 2008 9:24 AM
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This post has started my brain spinning! (I do other dances, but my tango obsession started about a year ago and I love thinking about these things ...) The biggest thing that jumped to my mind in thinking about how tango could contribute is considering how much of our bodies we use to walk. We signal our intent to our partner not with our feet but with our entire body (especially our torso), right? I wonder if the technology could be developed to use sensors that pay attention to torso motion in order to respond faster to the walker's changes in speed, direction, etc. We know how much easier the dance flows when followers pay attention to signals from the torso rather than just the leader's steps!
That's an excellent point about the source of movement. Even though many of my tango teachers have reinforced the point that the intent to move is generated by the torso, I didn't make the connection to this story.
Next week, I plan to contact the developers at the Cyber Walk project and I'll ask your question about monitoring the torso in order to more quickly anticipate movements of the feet and changes in dynamics.
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2 Comments
This post has started my brain spinning! (I do other dances, but my tango obsession started about a year ago and I love thinking about these things ...) The biggest thing that jumped to my mind in thinking about how tango could contribute is considering how much of our bodies we use to walk. We signal our intent to our partner not with our feet but with our entire body (especially our torso), right? I wonder if the technology could be developed to use sensors that pay attention to torso motion in order to respond faster to the walker's changes in speed, direction, etc. We know how much easier the dance flows when followers pay attention to signals from the torso rather than just the leader's steps!
That's an excellent point about the source of movement. Even though many of my tango teachers have reinforced the point that the intent to move is generated by the torso, I didn't make the connection to this story.
Next week, I plan to contact the developers at the Cyber Walk project and I'll ask your question about monitoring the torso in order to more quickly anticipate movements of the feet and changes in dynamics.
Thanks for your comment!
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