About this Project

Within the project "TU Jump Into The Future", a Virtual Jump Simulator (VJS) was developed that allows users to perform a virtual parachute jump over the city of Vienna. The simulator combines a real physical jump with an immersive 3D simulation, starting from the view out of the virtual plane, the free fall towards the virtual city of Vienna and the landing in the virtual Vienna University of Technology. Tactile cues such as wind and spray as well as sound effects enhance the level of immersion. For the jump, the user is equipped with a head mounted display for 3D scene viewing, a stereo headset and a tailor-made jump suit that is attached by a mechanical rope system to a 3x3x3m bearing structure.

Project Partners

Waagner Biro, Eckermann Design, City of Vienna, BMWFW, Siemens, BIG, OCG, Schrack Seconet

Additional Information

The Jump Phases

The VJS comprises 4 phases: setup, physical jump, free fall and landing.

Setup	Physical Jump	Free fall	Landing

Setup

The setup consists of the bearing structure, the mechanical absorber system (eccentric wheels & counterweights), the jump suit, the virtual reality hard- and software platform and the 3D content. The 3D content comprises a detailed plane model, a 3D city model of Vienna at different level of details, the media objects along the fall's trajectory to tell the university's history and upon landing, a high-quality model of the university's celebration hall.

The tailor made jump suite.	The mechanical absorber system
The bearing structure.	The bearing structure.
View on 3D city model upon jump.	The 3D city model during landing.

The Story Behind

The installation "TU Jump Into The Future" was created by the Interactive Media Systems Group of Vienna University of Technology in cooperation with Eckermann Design. It was initially developed for the 200th anniversary of Vienna University of Technology and thus spans an umbrella over the university's history by combining a mechanical system that could have been theoretically built in 1815 with modern virtual reality technology from 2015. Furthermore, the trajectory of the virtual free fall is associated with a 200 year time axis and tell the story of the university's evolution by media objects (e.g. images, sound, narrator) that cross the path of the jumper.

Testing

The VJS was tested in more than 250 jump sessions by a wide variety of user groups. For real-life high quality feedback, we cooperate with the professional parachute jumper Ramin Mohammadkhani (licence #: 4984) from Skydive Tirol.

Follow Up

We recently started the follow-up project TU Fly Into the Future that aims at real flying through virtual worlds.

Demonstrations & Exhibitions

Gala der Technik, April 2015, Vienna

In April 2015, "TU Jump Into The Future" was firstly exhibited to the public at the "Gala der Technik" in Vienna where it was tested by more than 20 jumpers, including highly experienced persons such as Franz Viehböck, Austria's first astronaut.

Project Website

For more information, please visit the project website:

• jumpcu.be