TORONTO, Nov. 16, 2016 – Are you ready to tumble? York University’s Centre for Vision Research has three new pieces of equipment to study how motion and gravity affects perception, which could have implications for astronauts and regular people alike. Media will be able to try out the equipment at an interactive technical briefing and open house Wednesday morning.
Take a tumble in the tumbling room. Can you tell which way is up or down in a room that can spin 360 degrees? Have a seat in the suspended chair and rotate 360 degrees either with the room or separately, and see if you know whether it was the room or the chair that moved.
“The equipment is used to help determine how perception and movement work together and that can have implications for the elderly and for astronauts navigating in space,” says Laurence Harris, director of York U’s Centre for Vision Research.
Psychology Professor Laurence Harris, director of York University's Centre for Vision Research, takes a spin in the new tumbling room
York U Professor Laurence Harris taking the chair in the tumbling room for a spin
The second new piece is the Edgeless Graphics Geometry 3D stereoscopic visualization system. It includes a screen that takes in the whole of a person’s peripheral vision, 110 degrees on either side, and displays a scene or a sequence of tunnels to test how people move in space and what they perceive, while sitting or standing.
The third piece is the sphere. It’s similar to the tumbling room, but instead of right-side up animal print wallpaper, its interior is covered in different sized dots so that when it stops it’s even harder to know your position relative to gravity. This last piece can be viewed and tried after the first two pieces for those who can stay a little longer as it’s in a different building.
Funding for the equipment came from a 2013 Canadian Foundation for Innovation grant. The tumbling room and sphere were both built by Dymech Engineering Inc., while the Edgeless Graphics Geometry system was built by Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc.
SPACE IS LIMITED.
Please RSVP if you’re interested in learning more about the equipment and, of course, going for a spin. A GoPro or cell phone can be attached to the wall of the tumbling room for those interested in taking video while going round and round.
WHAT: Media technical briefing and open house for new equipment
WHEN: Wednesday, Nov. 23, from 10am to noon
WHERE: York University, Keele campus, 4700 Keele St., Toronto, ON M3J 1P3
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York University is known for championing new ways of thinking that drive teaching and research excellence. Our students receive the education they need to create big ideas that make an impact on the world. Meaningful and sometimes unexpected careers result from cross-discipline programming, innovative course design and diverse experiential learning opportunities. York students and graduates push limits, achieve goals and find solutions to the world’s most pressing social challenges, empowered by a strong community that opens minds. York U is an internationally recognized research university – our 11 faculties and 26 research centres have partnerships with 200+ leading universities worldwide. Located in Toronto, York is the third largest university in Canada, with a strong community of 53,000 students, 7,000 faculty and administrative staff, and more than 295,000 alumni. York U's fully bilingual Glendon campus is home to Southern Ontario's Centre of Excellence for French Language and Bilingual Postsecondary Education.
Media Contact:
Sandra McLean, York University Media Relations, 416-736-2100 ext. 22097, sandramc@yorku.ca
