Virtuix Omni
 | |
| Manufacturer | Virtuix |
|---|---|
| Website | Official site |
Virtuix Omni is an omnidirectional treadmill video game peripheral for virtual reality games currently in development by Virtuix.
The Omni uses a slippery platform used to simulate the motion of walking.[1] The platform requires special shoes that reduce friction when walking.[1] The player is fully enclosed within a ring that works with a safety harness to absorb the player's weight.[1] It is scheduled for release in September 2014.
Description
The omnidirectional treadmill works as a game controller to let gamers walk within game environments.[2] The Omni has a "bowl-shaped, low-friction surface" and works with special shoes.[2]
The Omni is designed to be used with a head-mounted virtual reality display, such as the Oculus Rift.[2]
History
Virtuix was founded by Jan Goetgeluk.[3] The Virtuix Omni team spent two years developing the product before bringing it to Kickstarter for crowdfunding its manufacture.[3] The company also sought to give every virtual reality gaming enthusiast the opportunity to use the Omni with haste.[3] The team experimented with the Oculus Rift in conjunction with the Omni in games such as Team Fortress 2.[3]
The Virtuix Omni launched its Kickstarter page on June 4, 2013.[4] Oculus Rift founder Palmer Luckey promised a product endorsement in advance.[2] It reached its set fundraising goal of $150,000 almost immediately.[4] The company has said that the Kickstarter prices will be "significantly" lower than the retail price.[3] The crowdsourced money is planned to be spent on converting the Omni prototype into a mass consumer product.[4]
Omni production was set to begin in December 2013.[4] The tentative shipping date for early units was January 2014,[4] but was delayed several months.[5] Virtuix planned to publicly ship the Omni in early 2014.[1] As of April 2014, the final version had not been released, though Virtuix announced that they had sold 3,000 Omnis.[6] The Omni is expected for release in September 2014.[7]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d Miller, Paul (June 11, 2013). "Testing the Virtuix Omni: a walk on the virtual side". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ a b c d Tweedie, Steven (June 3, 2013). "This Virtual Reality Treadmill Could Be The 'Holy Grail' Of Video Game Controllers". Business Insider. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Phillips, Tom (June 4, 2013). "Virtual reality omnidirectional treadmill funded on Kickstarter in a matter of hours". Eurogamer. Gamer Network. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e Mallory, Jordan (June 4, 2013). "Virtuix Omni VR treadmill Kickstarter goes live, fully funded almost immediately". Joystiq. AOL Tech. Retrieved June 17, 2013.
- ^ "Omni: Production and Shipping, Tracking and SDK, Events". November 3, 2013. Archived from the original on November 4, 2013. Retrieved November 4, 2013.
- ^ Kuchera, Ben (March 21, 2014). "The evolution of the virtual soldier: Hands-on with the latest version of the Virtuix Omni". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 4, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Corriea, Alexa Ray (April 8, 2014). "Virtuix Omni virtual reality treadmill shipping this September". Polygon. Vox Media. Archived from the original on April 9, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2014.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help)
External links
