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jan
Up and Coming
April 9, 2013

Virtuix Omni - Omni treadmill for use with the Rift

Hi all,

Wanted to introduce our Omni project to the game developers and Rift enthusiasts on this forum. With the advent of the Rift, it becomes apparent that a traditional keyboard / mouse / game pad is not conducive to great VR. Especially with the Rift, you no longer want to just sit down. At the very least, you want to be standing up. What if, instead of using a game pad to move around (with the possibility of getting motion sick while doing so), you could walk naturally and freely in the virtual world?

We have been working on the Omni for more than a year now. The Omni is the first omni treadmill focused on consumer use: affordable, compact, and enabling a user to move naturally in virtual environments such as games. Feel free to check out our website and Skyrim demo below: (note: this demo is with our old and clunky prototype :) )

http://www.virtuix.com




I believe there is a huge opportunity for game developers to create fascinating VR content. VR is a new medium that needs dedicated content, and the “killer game” that makes VR a “must-have” for a large audience. Good news: the canvas is vast and empty. I can’t wait to see what developers come up with!

We want to learn as much as possible from the input and creativity of this community, so please let us know your feedback! Let us know what you would like to change, have implemented, what questions you may have, etc.!

Best regards,

Jan

    77 replies

    Show previous replies
    janAuthor
    Up and Coming
    April 24, 2013
    Hi Peelje, thanks for your questions.

    We have not confirmed pricing yet, but are aiming to get the fully integrated Omni natural motion interface in the $400-$600 range (excluding shipping). This includes our tracking hardware and software, ready to be played with any game that uses keyboard input. Is that within your expectations?

    You probably subconsciously slightly adjust the way you walk. Walking on the Omni is not noticeably more fatiguing, since you are actually not using any energy to move yourself forward (rather, you move your foot forward and then have it slide back thanks to gravity).

    Yes, you can control your speed as you do in real life.

    Backing up is possible, but not that smooth. Luckily it's not that crucial for VR.

    The platform and shoes have no coating, but consist of a solid low friction material. As such, wear n tear is not an issue (in the contrary, the Omni works better after some "running in").

    Hope this helps! Let me know if I can answer anything else.
    Zonetripper
    Participant
    April 24, 2013
    Hi Jan, I think this project shows a lot of promise! One thing I'd like to know is how noisy this platform will be. From your videos it sounds like the neighbors might complain quite a bit :lol:

    Best of luck!
    ReT
    Up and Coming
    April 25, 2013
    I think the MOST important question people have yet to ask is "Will you support a US Size 13 shoe?" :P
    janAuthor
    Up and Coming
    April 25, 2013
    The noise is comparable with a regular treadmill. Should have decreased the volume of my recording mic during the non-game demo, because it indeed sounds like a nightmare, ha.

    ReT, footsize 13 should be fine. I have people with a footsize 15 asking me the same! :shock:
    Crespo80
    Up and Coming
    April 26, 2013
    Hi Jan, do you have an estimate about how many Omni units can you reasonably sell?
    Considering a potential of about 15/18'000 current rift developers/enthusiasts, and considering that the first VR-aimed game "The Gallery" had 1'500 backers (less than 1/10 of the total base) who pledged an average of about 50$, I think that about 1/100 of that same base can be very interested in your awesome device which costs just a little more than the rift itslef (400$ would be better of course, but 600$ is still a very fair price!): so 100/150 potential customers at 500$ each makes a 50'000/75'000 $ goal, is that what you're aiming for or do you think that there's room for a broader interest? :)
    janAuthor
    Up and Coming
    April 29, 2013
    Hi Crespo,

    I think there is a broader interest. Once people start using the Rift, they start realizing that keyboard/mouse/game pad is just not sufficient anymore. Walking around the Tuscany villa for the first time with a keyboard or game pad is quite disorienting. VR needs a natural motion interface. Sitting down and pushing buttons won't be enough. It's not full VR. So, the more people receive their Rifts, the more people will want the Omni. At least, that is what I hope :) .

    Second, I hope that the Omni can broaden the interest in VR, appealing to a larger market beyond VR enthusiasts or gamers. Our TF2 video surpassed 1 million Youtube viewers... I like to believe that those numbers probably also impact Oculus' sales numbers. The Omni speaks to people's imagination. With a killer app, full VR with Omni + Rift (+ Hydra) will become a must-have for a large audience.

    Then again, I am obviously not objective :) . But I believe our Kickstarter can be quite successful, beyond a $75,000 target.
    aabel
    Up and Coming
    April 29, 2013
    Jan you are completely right! using a game pad to walk around in first person is horribly frustrating and nauseating in VR. When I first tried the Tuscany demo I actually got angry at how horrible the keyboard/mouse controls were with VR, same for Rift Valley. Keyboard and mouse will not cut it in first person VR, it's frustratingly inadequate and anger inducing. We just implemented our wii board solution into the Tuscany demo and it became a pleasing experience as opposed to frustrating, your treadmill will be even better and we can not wait for your Kickstarter to launch!
    craigotron
    Up and Coming
    April 29, 2013
    @Jan - I'm really excited for the Omni, and if you hit that $400-600 price point with the Kickstarter, you can definitely count me in!

    Question: how well does the Rift accommodate sweaty brows? I sweat very easily and mainly from my head. I'm concerned that this will prohibit me from cardio-centric activities while immersed. I run into this problem while wearing ski-googles, and often have to take them off due to poor visibility from fogging. Have you run into any issues with your immersion setup?
    xanderdavis
    Up and Coming
    April 30, 2013
    I am going to back the hell out of this Kickstarter when it launches. Keep me posted!
    Remote Consulting to Clients Worldwide in UI / UX / VR: http://www.xanderdavis.com
    Crespo80
    Up and Coming
    April 30, 2013
    "jan" wrote:

    The Omni speaks to people's imagination. With a killer app, full VR with Omni + Rift (+ Hydra) will become a must-have for a large audience.
    Then again, I am obviously not objective :) . But I believe our Kickstarter can be quite successful, beyond a $75,000 target.

    I sincerely hope you're right :) , just try to be as objective as you can when deciding your kickstarter goal, maybe base it on the bare minimum Omni units you need to order from the manufacturers to keep the target cost.
    It sure is better a 100K $ campaign that largely exceeds the expectations and reaches 900K $, than a 1M $ campaign that fails by a hair's breadth ;)

    PS
    any chance to see you at E3 or other similar fairs?
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