Forum Discussion
Stompz - Low intensity, cost-friendly VR movement device
Hey all,
I have created a simple, inexpensive device that allows you to remain seated while walking through your virtual environments. It uses a pair of wireless ankle bracelet sensors that convert a walk-in-place gesture to respective keyboard or gamepad inputs.
The video:
The video is not very well done (I made it for my college class as a final project assignment). I will make a more interesting video soon. Until then you may want to skip to 3:28 in the video to save yourself from my horrible speaking abilities.
I invented a device very similar to the Virtuix Omni back in 2009. I have had it in the patent process for a long time now.
I realized while developing it that there are major drawbacks to this kind of "omni-directional treadmill".
1. They are expensive.
2. They are uncomfortable and unsteady.
3. They are exhausting.
4. They assume the user is healthy with no medical issues.
I would love to hear everyone's feedback for this method of VR movement. I would love to pursue developing this but it would be a lot of work and I want to hear what all of you Oculus fanatics think beforehand.
BTW, I talked with the CEO of the Omni (Jan) and it appears our devices aren't conflicting so I should be good.
Thanks for reading!
Relevant links: http://www.google.com/patents/US20130237378
http://youtu.be/zpRQgSqCVzE
I have created a simple, inexpensive device that allows you to remain seated while walking through your virtual environments. It uses a pair of wireless ankle bracelet sensors that convert a walk-in-place gesture to respective keyboard or gamepad inputs.
The video:
The video is not very well done (I made it for my college class as a final project assignment). I will make a more interesting video soon. Until then you may want to skip to 3:28 in the video to save yourself from my horrible speaking abilities.
I invented a device very similar to the Virtuix Omni back in 2009. I have had it in the patent process for a long time now.
I realized while developing it that there are major drawbacks to this kind of "omni-directional treadmill".
1. They are expensive.
2. They are uncomfortable and unsteady.
3. They are exhausting.
4. They assume the user is healthy with no medical issues.
I would love to hear everyone's feedback for this method of VR movement. I would love to pursue developing this but it would be a lot of work and I want to hear what all of you Oculus fanatics think beforehand.
BTW, I talked with the CEO of the Omni (Jan) and it appears our devices aren't conflicting so I should be good.
Thanks for reading!
Relevant links: http://www.google.com/patents/US20130237378
http://youtu.be/zpRQgSqCVzE
35 Replies
- Cool.
- very nice!
- Looking good :D I know there's a lot of people that play while sitting. Personally I prefer standing for maximum immersion.
- This could be good for working the abdominal muscles!! Could the sensitivity to stomps/steps be adjusted?
- I could definitely see this as a lower end method of helping with the motion sickness in addition to a means of input. It looks like it might have its limitations, like how do you go backwards, but overall I think this could definitely be a good offering at the low end. Speaking of which, what is the ballpark cost on a pair of these?
- I prefer sitting as well. In fact, I'm kind of limited to sitting right now since I just had ankle surgery (dislocated my ankle playing basketball a year ago and it never healed right). Definitely feel more stable and even though there is still some exercise it is minimal.
The stomps/steps are calibrated so anything from a leg jitter to a full stomp will trigger the movement. This will need to be reworked soon because I plan on adding a large, two-foot slam (how fun does that sound) that triggers the jump key/button.
In the end calibration will need to be worked in.
Felix12g - To move backwards the feet are slid on the floor (horizontal movement) rather than being stomped (vertical). It is not perfect but it was the most intuitive gesture I could come up with.
What I have existing cost me around $150. But that is for the full kits. I think if I can design a cheap PCB for these I can get the costs down pretty low. That's the goal at least!
Thanks for the questions guys. I am really happy to get feedback. I don't have much in the way of a tech community around me. I'm seeking help as I try and develop this because I am certainly no computer genius. - For the PCB, might I suggest using something like Fritzing (http://fritzing.org) for rouging in the prototype board. My project went straight from the protoboard in the program to actual protoboard in the project, ran perfectly, then designed the PCB and shrunk it and rearranged components easily for it to fit in the space that I'd need it to go in. They also have a fabrication service that can turn your PCB from a design to actual PCB if you don't want to mess with making it yourself. The cost is pretty good and comparable to others, but the more you order the cheaper your board will be.
- Any particular reason you went with motion detection rather than pressure sensors?
The controller I'll be launching in a Kickstarter later this week uses pressure sensors - and it works just fine when you're sitting down. It'll kickstart at under $100 - but I don't know what the final price will be.
-- Steve - Good question, Steve.
I've seen devices that use pressure sensing as a solution to this problem. The issue with most of them is that they are used more like a joystick than anything else (i.e. Leaning, or pressing a certain direction allows you to move that direction). I really wanted to preserve the walking motion (even while seated). I'm sure you could do this also with pressure sensors. I just haven't seen any. Yours is the first and it looks pretty much complete, from what I can tell.
The real reason I didn't go that route was because I got into accelerometers and found them to be cheaper to use wirelessly (though more difficult to use when interpreting the movements).
I believe your idea has some amazing potential (I'm a dev kit backer!). I look forward to learning about all of the new advancements as you develop this, and maybe help out if I can.
Best of luck on your campaign!
Matt - New video for my device that I did for school! A much more marketable one will be out soon.
Enjoy! and please let me know what you think!
