You’re walking along a street in Roman Pompeii at the start of the first millennium when you notice a spectacular stone building. You reach out toward it and your guide informs you it’s a temple to the god Jupiter, built in 200 B.C. With a flick of your wrist, you save the data and, school assignment complete, you step out of your pod and back into your living room.

Educational historical journeys are just one possible use of the Immersive Cocoon, a walk-in virtual reality pod being developed by NAU, an international design collective that aims to revolutionize the way we interact with computers. When complete, the Immersive Cocoon will be a sleek and shiny human-sized dome. Step inside and you’ll be enveloped by a 360-degree display screen and full surround sound.

When the software boots up, instead of using a joystick or mouse to navigate the screens, motion-tracking cameras will follow the movement of your arms, legs and face, and a motion-sensitive platform will detect if you’re walking or jumping. Videogame players will immediately recognize the Cocoon’s gaming potential. The motion-tracking cameras and wrap-around visuals could make for an incredibly realistic gaming experience, where you use your whole body to fight off enemies who approach from all directions.

Source: CNN