Ground Control - Get your feet in the game

I am not the biggest proponent of seated only experience, but otherwise, looks interesting, reminds me of this awesome mod by Ben Heck, but with a lot more functionality https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aVLEXlNAxpY. The use scenario is similar to the StompZ, at least on paper, I would assume.
I have a question though - would it not be difficult for the player to discriminate his input between tilting (jump/crouch) vs sliding (walk)?
Otherwise, I can see this being quite good for skiing games (including jet ski, yay), or when you command a Titanfall-type mech, but I am not sure about walking (even StompZ seems more natural than that IMHO).

First off, thanks for posting your thoughts.

The problem we're trying to solve, VR locomotion, puts Ground Control in the same general category as Stompz and ODTs, in the sense that it allows unlimited VR locomotion while staying in a very small physical space. But that's really where the similarities end.

With Ground Control you don't mimic walking motions. Like a joystick, if you slide the foot pads forward and hold them there you will continuously move forward. This approach vastly reduces strain on the body, enabling those marathon gaming sessions. Personally I don't think I would last much more than an hour, if that, running on a treadmill.

I also found while prototyping that there is a bit of an Uncanny Valley thing going on. The brain will much more readily accept a clear abstraction (which Ground Control is) than something that is very close to the real thing but slightly off in noticeable ways.

To your question about the tilt vs slide movements, we did notice that people would have some trouble with that when they first tried it. But it didn't take long for them to distinguish between the two. It's important to note that everyone you see using Ground Control in those videos are strangers that came by our SXSW booth. Due to the lineups we had the demo was only two minutes long and almost everyone, over 1000 people, were comfortable with the motions by the end of it.

Thanks again for posting and keep the questions coming.

Nice, glad someone went this route, I have 3 prototypes here that are the evolution of the same exact setup I have been working on for quite a while now, to go with several other input solutions I am prototyping(lots are here in the forums if you look about). Glad this one is going somewhere, which means that my custom orders for my product will go up if yours takes off. Great job!

~B

lmaceleighton, your input project looks awesome! And thanks for the kind words.

You can reach me directly at aswitzer@vrgroundcontrol.com if you're interested in collaborating.

Bravo! <Stands up.> Bravo! <Claps hands.> Bravo!

I have been writing about this for a good while, sending Emails to developers, leaving comments wherever it seems appropriate, and then voila, you've already been working on it for a year and a half! I could not be more happy at this moment. :D

A thread I started on just this a few weeks ago on the Oculus forums: https://forums.oculus.com/viewtopic.php?f=26&t=20908

I have one (very strong) suggestion and one concern to mention.

You appear at the moment to have no control for leaning. This would be the sort of movement where if crouched behind cover you could lean left or right to fire without moving from place, while still maintaining some cover. Conceivably this could be implemented by alternating commands, such as crouch with both heels, then depress the foot forward on the side you wish to lean while keeping the other heel depressed. However I believe this would be less intuitive than simply a downwards pressure on one side or the other with both heels still depressed. Perhaps if crouched with heels depressed, a slide with just one foot or the other would cause a lean, as opposed to a crouched strafe if both feet slide while heels are depressed? In any case, your promo video should mention leaning control somehow as well so as to cover 'all' movement.

The concern is that you are using two foot controllers. I am not certain two is necessary and it will certainly increase the cost over a single platform concept. Could you explain the logic of using two platforms as opposed to one? I would worry that a competitor (that will certainly emerge if your idea takes off) could out price compete you by figuring out how to achieve the same level of control with a single platform.

Finally, it looked to me like the people in the demo were perched atop a stool as opposed to actually sitting in a proper chair. Personally I very much do not want to perch to play. What is the virtue of using a stool? They seemed to me to be made rather uncomfortable in their balance due to their being perched instead of sitting.

I suppose it goes without saying that you have a kickstarter backer with me. However I have to wait till I replenish my funds as I use a debit card Visa, not a credit card, so you'll get me a few weeks in.

Panpiper, I will address your great points shortly.

For the moment, Kickstarter linkage: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/260847652/ground-control-get-your-feet-in-the-game

Hah! I was the first backer! :)

It was just $5. to get my foot in the door (and claim first place). You will get more later, before the end of the kickstarter.

Now I have to go spam my friends...

Thanks for breaking the ice! I'll be sure to send you something with "First Backer" on it. :D

"aswitzer" wrote:
Thanks for breaking the ice! I'll be sure to send you something with "First Backer" on it. :D

:-)

"Ensuring that your foot stays on the center of the pad is obviously an important aspect of the product. We have been evaluating a number of potential solutions, such as grip tape and Velcro straps."

I expect a concave and textured surface on the footpad would probably do the job.

In the Pledge $700. or more, you listed; "Estimated Delivery: Jun 2016". I expect you meant June 2015.

@Panpiper, thanks for the catch on the pre-production date.

In regards to leaning, my thinking is that it would be handled by the positional tracking of the headset. So you would physically lean to the side. It's all about the separation of head (view), upper body (interaction) and lower body (locomotion). In a couple of my prototypes the foot pad was able to tilt to the side, which could have been used for leaning. The problem is that tilting your foot to the side is a VERY unnatural movement. It just proved to be too awkward to keep. If there is lot of interest in using Ground Control for leaning, pressure sensors on the top of the foot pad would be a potential option.

The reason for using separate foot controllers, as opposed to a single unit with two foot pads, is to accommodate the wide variance in people's stance (I place them further apart than my nephew) and the angle of their feet. The angle of the foot is actually the big one. No one's feet, at least in my experience, point straight forward when at rest. Having individual foot controllers allows you to easily position them in the most comfortable way for you. Also, if you only need one pad, due to injury or disability, you only need to buy one foot controller. Ultimately having discrete units for each foot reduces cost as it avoids complicated repositioning mechanisms.

Now to the stools. The stools you see in the video are actually a lot more stable than they might appear. Absolutely no one fell over or complained about feeling like they were going to. I want to say straight up that a stool is not required, Ground Control will work in a normal seated position. But a stool offers a lot of advantages:

1. Simply put, being more upright feels more natural. Experiencing a walking motion while fully seated is a little unnerving.

2. Being upright extends your legs and gets your knees out of the way. With your legs extended you also engage more of your leg muscles, making it an even easier experience.

3. It gives you clear personal space. If you're using hand tracking or a motion controller you don't want things like an arm rest in the way. If you wear the headset long enough you'll forget the arm rests are there and bash your arm into them at some point.

Lastly, with the foot pad surface, we're working on something very similar to what you describe. But having watched so many people use it I truly believe that no single solution that will work for everyone. Some people were very controlled when using it and the simple grip tape we had on the pads was sufficient. Others were throwing their feet around and struggled to keep their feet in the middle. I suspect the latter people would prefer to strap their feet to the pads. This exactly the kind of thing we're looking for feedback on though.