Skip to main content
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
    May 26, 2013
    In case you are in the LA area next week, we are holding an event in Venice this coming Wednesday (5/29). We are currently on a 10-day roadshow with the Omni along the West Coast (visiting with Valve, Sixense, NASA and others) and will have a public demo event on Wednesday night at 7:30pm. You can find more info at http://www.virtuix.com/live. Seats are limited, but just wanted to pass this along – hope to meet some folks of our forum then!
    usb420
    Up and Coming
    May 26, 2013
    can you do an event in the bay area?
    Peejle
    Up and Coming
    May 26, 2013
    "jan" wrote:
    We are currently on a 10-day roadshow with the Omni along the West Coast (visiting with Valve, Sixense, NASA


    Holy s**t... NASA? Hope gov'mnt prices don't prevail. I am old enough to remember $600 toilet seats. Although if you can get NASA pricing more power to ya...

    Peejle
    krikis
    New Participant
    June 4, 2013
    Kickstarter have started:
    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1944625487/omni-move-naturally-in-your-favorite-game
    Blueshock
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    I got to admit, I'm tempted but with the materials and size we're talking about, the international shipping would be huge. I wish you the best of luck with this, it's something we've been designing in our heads since we were kids and hope you can bring it to the UK when you're all set up.
    janAuthor
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    Hi Blueshock, we do ship to the UK. Estimated shipping cost for UK and rest of Western Europe of $150-$200 (we'll have a distribution point in the vicinity).

    Best regards,
    Jan
    Krejlooc
    Participant
    June 4, 2013
    Dropped $400 on an early dev model today. I am so freaking excited.

    I love the return of Virtual Reality. This is probably the most exciting time in technology in quite a while.

    EDIT: Oh, we have an omni rep here answering questions. i asked on twitter, but this might be a better place to ask - this is being produced in Houston, correct? I live in Houston. Is there any way I could forgo shipping and just pick mine up in person when they're ready to be sent out?
    DrSnake
    Up and Coming
    June 4, 2013
    "TheSonicRetard" wrote:
    Dropped $400 on an early dev model today. I am so freaking excited.

    I love the return of Virtual Reality. This is probably the most exciting time in technology in quite a while.

    EDIT: Oh, we have an omni rep here answering questions. i asked on twitter, but this might be a better place to ask - this is being produced in Houston, correct? I live in Houston. Is there any way I could forgo shipping and just pick mine up in person when they're ready to be sent out?


    From the FAQ:

    We have excluded shipping costs from the reward thresholds, so that backers can keep flexibility over how much they want to spend on shipping; some people like the Omni delivered at their doorstep, others don’t mind picking it up at a distribution center. We plan to organize “pick-up events” in major cities for those who’d like to keep shipping costs at a minimum (and meet our backers at the same time).

    So you should be able to pick it up if they have a distribution center in Houston.
    Developer of One Secret Fantasy One of the best virtual reality dating games www.onesecretfantasy.com
    Krejlooc
    Participant
    June 4, 2013
    Doh, missed that in the faq. Thanks! I am so excited for this!
    AtariHistorian
    Up and Coming
    June 5, 2013
    CC'd from the Kickstarter comments:

    I'm trying to figure out what kinds of motion the Omni itself captures (without an add-on Kinect or other devices). Time index 0:33 of the video seems to give some hints. But it would be nice to see the features actually spelled out.

    ON/OFF CONTROLS: WALK [1 speed], RUN [1 speed], CROUCH, JUMP, SWIPE LEFT (no idea what swipe represents), SWIPE RIGHT (again, no idea what swipe represents). I didn't see a BACK in the configuration options. Does it exist, or does the shoe design make that dangerous?

    MEASURED CONTROLS: TURN LEFT, TURN RIGHT

    So for the standard up/down movement in a video game, it seems like we actually DO need another input device, like the Oculus? And for buttons as well. Anything else?

    For legacy games not designed for the OMNI, for left/right turns, I assume you're emulating mouse left/right movements, so if you turn 360 degrees, you may not end up facing the same direction in the game as you started?

    Despite these questions, I'm thrilled about the device. But I just want to know more about the details and get a level-set on the expectations of what it can and can't actually do at this point, and where the capabilities are expected to go before being shipped.
    Show more replies
    Terms & ConditionsAccessibility statement