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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

    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    August 2, 2013
    ViiWok
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    August 2, 2013
    The top mechanism isn't fitted yet, as you can imagine.

    It's foldable and adjustable and it weights about 10 kilos (this is aluminium, the final product will be in plastic so it will weigh much less).

    ViiWok
    Participant
    August 2, 2013
    "Attreyu" wrote:
    The top mechanism isn't fitted yet, as you can imagine.

    It's foldable and adjustable and it weights about 10 kilos (this is aluminium, the final product will be in plastic so it will weigh much less).



    Hey Attreyu, saw your post over at MTBS, I must say this is not what I was expecting. Perhaps a video to show what you envision, because I am just not seeing it. Over there you said there was no base, you just walked on a smooth surface with the shoes with rollers\balls. I can not see a 22 pound frame (lighter when it is made of plastic) keeping you in place when you take a step, whether you have rollers on your feet or not.
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    August 2, 2013
    Ah, don't worry about that, it's been taken into account. Your worries are pertinent but please trust me when I say that I've thought about every issue that might occur and found the appropriate solutions and implemented them into the design.

    Bear with me. It won't be long now and I'm not cutting any corners.
    ViiWok
    Up and Coming
    August 5, 2013
    Is it normal that it is rectangular ? for directions which will be "circular" ?
    arent you afraid of some accident with the feets walking on the side/corner of the square ?
    or if you face a corner ?
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    August 5, 2013
    You won't reach anywhere near the sides of the square, because the human gait is quite small and it will be somehow restricted even more since you will be fixed in the waist support.

    The walking radius all around is about 30-40 cm. The support's radius is almost double.

    More, since you will be walking-in-place, everytime you step forward, the other foot goes back so you are basically never leaving a very small imaginary circle in the center of the Viiwok.

    When it's ready, the circular mechanism at the top will be visible, right now it's only the support.
    ViiWok
    Up and Coming
    August 5, 2013
    Its because i'm a ninja, i want to use it to do kung fu and karate.
    AttreyuAuthor
    Up and Coming
    August 9, 2013
    A couple of more pictures, still not fully complete - the upper part will have a 15/15 cm. up/down movement for jumping/crouching and the ground fixing system is not installed, alongside with the sensors, but we're slowly getting there.



    ViiWok
    Up and Coming
    August 9, 2013
    I can't see, with this system, how you cant prevent the user of moving forward.
    If there is telescopic stuff, its means that they dont have a fixed length.
    So that they can extend/contract when moving forward, instead of holding you in place.
    no?

    Anyway you probably already tested it already so I must be wrong :)
    Participant
    August 10, 2013
    Thanks for keeping us updated!

    "Tgaud" wrote:
    I can't see, with this system, how you cant prevent the user of moving forward.

    The friction of the accompanied 'rollerskates' should just be lower than that of moving the whole structure. And I suppose the frame will have some rubber feet.