English

Knotted Portals in Virtual Reality

General Topology 2020-04-21 v2 History and Overview

Abstract

This article describes a software named "KnotPortal" for visualization of branched covers of knots based on an idea by Bill Thurston to view a knot as a portal to other universes. Our implementation allows users to explore these knotted portals either on a screen or in virtual reality using a head-mounted device with room-tracking. This allows users not only to see these glued different worlds, but experience them by being able to walk through the portals. This software can be used to enable students to learn about knots, gluing, (branched) covers, or just to have a fun look at portals.

Cite

@article{arxiv.2001.02927,
  title  = {Knotted Portals in Virtual Reality},
  author = {Moritz Lucius Sümmermann},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2001.02927},
  year   = {2020}
}

Comments

The software is available for download at the imaginary.org website

R2 v1 2026-06-23T13:06:48.515Z