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Attreyu
Up and Coming
May 25, 2013

Viiwok - Virtual treadmill & reality simulator.

Hi all, I'm a young systems engineer from Spain with a passion for architecture, topography, surveilling, photogrammetry and gaming.

In about 2 weeks I'll be launching an IndieGogo campaign (I'm european so I can't submit projects for KickStarter) for a similar product, a treadmill simulator that would have the added advantage that all the sensors would be built in (walking, turning, jumping, crouching) at 120 Hz response frequency (basically zero latency/lag, the same you have from using a keyboard/mouse combo).

You wouldn't need a Kinect or a Hydra at an added cost and you wouldn't need to wear those Virtuix special shoes to be able to slide, like in the Virtuix or the cvasi-walk like with the WizDish. You'd be able to crouch properly, instead of bending. You'd be able to sit down when you get tired after all that moving around.

The system is natively compatible with any platform - Windows, Mac OSX and Linux are supported out of the box, no special drivers needed, you plug it in and it's set to go. And most of all, the price would be around 250€.

The concept is orientated towards virtual exploration and tourism (real monuments, historic sites and other places of interest modeled and rendered using powerful gaming engines like the CryEngine) but FPS gamers would find it quite tight in addition to the Oculus, whenever the latter will be launched. Until then, players would be able to shoot ahead without an Oculus, using a normal monitor screen or a HDTV, since everything would be motion ready and fitted with all the necesary sensors.

Stay tuned for more details.

Youtube demos to follow and other details on http://www.viiwok.com during the next few weeks.

    104 replies

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    jan
    Up and Coming
    June 3, 2013
    Attreyu, in case this is helpful: it took us 10 days to get approved by Kickstarter, since hardware projects are extremely scrutinized. You need working prototypes, pics, designs, a solid manufacturing plan, etc. Good luck! I will be following your progress with much interest and excitement.

    Don't miss out on our early bird specials tomorrow - launch at 7am ET!
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    June 3, 2013
    Thanks Jan ! You too bro ! I sincerely hope you'll hit the jackpot and get to bring your product to the end-users. Whatever colab or info sharing you can think of, you can count on me. Also, if you think you need a specific number of time free of any competition perceived by the public, before I'll present Viiwok, hit me up with a PM. I don't want to damage your campaign in any way. Kickstarter will still be there one month from now.
    ViiWok
    Anonymous
    June 3, 2013
    Awesome "sportsmanship" guys! I'm really happy to see everyone getting along. The best of luck to both of you :)
    Atreyu
    Participant
    June 4, 2013
    I love your attitude Attreyu. The only problem is now I will have to buy both.
    Crespo80
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    The Omni kickstarter is out, Jan set the price of the device at the lower end of what he had planned, so 399$ (300€) that's a very fair price, but the shipping costs overseas are huge, so we Europeans have to look towards EU devices, and yours is the most promising!
    I can't wait to see your campaign!
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    You need to also bear in mind that the final price for the omni will be around 5 or 600 dollars. 400 is the kickstarter price. Will see how it turns out. In the end the viiwok would be bought by our US friends too.
    ViiWok
    markkane
    Participant
    June 4, 2013
    Looking forward to this, sounds extremely promising! I kinda bailed out on the Omni Kickstarter - not because of this device, but because of the international shipping costs + VAT, that would more than double the costs of the early bird specials I was looking at. I wish Omni all the luck in the world and I'm super thrilled they made their goal already, but for me the total package is too expensive.

    So if your device can offer competitive features and quality and you can offer it similarly or cheaper priced with lower shipping costs to Germany, you'll have my money! ;-)
    AtariHistorian
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    "Attreyu" wrote:
    Jumping: the bearing wheels sustain a 20kg each, trey are specifically designed for me by Omnitrack. You have 8 on each foot so unless you are over 320 kilograms, you should be fine. I foresaw the momentary load spike when you jump, it's about 50% at the second you touch the ground from jumping but the wheels can take it.

    Okay. But I'm more worried about the load on landing. You've described the best case, which is if you land with your feet perfectly flat, and so the weight is evenly distributed on the bearing wheels. But what happens when someone lands with more weight distributed forward, aft, or to the sides? (Aside from not jumping perfectly, one may walk pronated or supinated, which puts far more pressure on the left or right side of the foot.)

    It strikes me as being quite easy to overload the bearings and to damage them over time.
    Jimmyl
    Participant
    June 5, 2013
    Hi Attreyu

    I was one of the first 10 or so to pledge on the Omni & so nabbed one at the early, early bird price but I'm still very interested in the Viiwok, especially since I'm based in the UK. Now that the Omni has been so successful I doubt it's necessary to hold off on running your campaign & I'm very anxious to see what you have. A couple of questions:

    - Will you be able to tie pace/speed of movement to analogue stick emulation? (It's not totally clear if the omni will do this & it would seem to me pretty important for VR to not be limited to a few set speeds.)

    - I presume that being in Europe (sort of, lol) that shipping would be massively discounted for me versus the Omni's frankly eye-watering import costs, but can you tell me if you will be likely to get a Viiwok out a fair bit sooner than Christmas this year?

    I will still be keeping my Omni pledge but January seems a long way away (also, entirely selfishly, I have a holiday booked for January & would like to get a bit of motivation to exercise in time for that). An earlier shipping date would really sell it to me & I have no qualms about owning 2 large ambulation systems (the multiplayer VR revolution I'm hoping will be next years big thing).

    Thanks
    adriendod
    Up and Coming
    June 5, 2013
    Sounds interesting! You have my support from France! Btw, your site is not working?
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