Princeton’s Invisible Robots Deliver in VR & AR
▼ Summary
– Princeton researchers developed a robot that delivers real items like food and water to users in virtual reality without breaking immersion.
– The robot, controlled by an engine called Skynet, wears a VR headset and physically moves to place objects where users expect them.
– Users can interact with 3D models in VR, such as plucking a virtual drink, which then materializes as a real object delivered by the robot.
– The robot’s visual presence can be erased entirely, making objects appear to teleport and maintaining user focus on the virtual environment.
– This research, presented at the ACM Symposium, aims to unlock the potential of VR and mixed reality headsets as computing platforms.
Imagine reaching out in a virtual lunar landscape, plucking a digital bottle of coconut water from thin air, and watching it slowly materialize right on your desk. This seamless blend of physical and digital worlds is now possible thanks to groundbreaking research from Princeton University, where scientists have developed an invisible robot delivery system that operates within both virtual and augmented reality environments.
The team spent close to a year perfecting this innovative interface, which they’ve named Skynet. In their demonstration, a user wearing a Quest 3 headset can interact with virtual objects, like that bottle of coconut water, and place them in the physical world. As the digital item begins to materialize, Skynet, a robot also equipped with a VR headset, springs into action. It retrieves the actual drink and navigates across the room, placing it precisely where the user expects it to appear.
What makes this system truly remarkable is its ability to remain completely unseen. The robot’s visual presence can be erased in the user’s view, creating the illusion that objects are teleporting into reality. This maintains immersion and prevents any distraction from the virtual experience. The researchers also demonstrated that the robot could be visually redesigned within the simulation, appearing as something entirely different if desired.
This work was presented at the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology, alongside other pioneering studies exploring “proxies” for mixed reality interaction. Both approaches aim to unlock the full potential of headsets as versatile computing platforms, moving beyond entertainment into practical, everyday applications.
The project, titled “Reality Promises,” offers a glimpse into a future where digital intentions effortlessly manifest in the physical world, all without disrupting the user’s sense of presence or engagement.
(Source: UploadVR)
