You may have already heard about The Virtuix Omni, a so called omnidirectional treadmill video game peripheral.
Although I feel that this gadget is still in a very early stage of its evolution and will eventually be replaced by something much better, it is still rather interesting.
Just like almost everything VR related (except SL) it is getting a lot of attention lately.
Especially after reaching its Kickstarter goal of $150,000 almost immediately and eventually ending up with more than $1,100,00.
No matter how you feel about VR, it is clear that there are a lot of very generous people out there who are desperate for the VR (r)evolution.
Looking up to a dinosaur.
Simply put, it is a plastic bowl you stand in while simulating walking by sliding your feet, this movement is then translated into the game you’re playing and together with a VR headset you’ll experience the illusion of actually moving inside virtual surroundings.
Far from perfect but it works and it is a lot cheaper than most of multi directional treadmills that can only be found at laboratories, the army, etc.
These machines generally also need a lot more space to function.
So for the moment, it is a pretty cool thing that will give you the illusion of actually walking inside a game or virtual world.
With all the attention it is getting, it is very nice to see that they have bothered giving Second Life a go and even made a video of the experience;
Unfortunately it seems that they were just giving it a go and did not spend much time figuring out SL before they started their walk.
Dancing with some RL moves.
Graphics settings seem low and well the locations are not that visually stunning.
New Babbage, Frisland or, if I may say so myself, 1920s Berlin would perhaps be a bit more interesting to see.
Nevertheless, it is fun to see someone walking around SL with their RL feet.
I can imagine myself doing this quite a bit.
Especially in role-play sims this could add a whole new dimension, try and outrun a cop, for real!
Or perhaps have a running contest!
Stroking a horse.
In combination with a kinect or other 3d scanning gadgets you could even move your body in RL and have those movements translated to your avatar in SL, finally you too can dance in SL as bad as you do in RL!
But it will also make us get out of our chairs and move our selves.
I can imagine that this would make SL a much more entertaining option for exercise than going to the gym or running outside in RL.
But as I’ve said before, it is still a bit of a primitive device and I hope that eventually we get something that won’t involve us wearing a harness and sliding on plastic.
Why do I suddenly have to think about those baby seats on elastic bands they used to jump around in before they could walk?
Seriously, not a bad idea for VR is it? All you need is a hook in your ceiling, step in and run like hell. Just so you know, if you steal this idea without giving me a cut, I’ll break your knees.
I didn’t join SL to WALK!!! Much less run . . .
Pep (If I’d wanted to do that I’d have joined a gym.)
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I’d rather die than visit a gym or be seen running in public.
Yet I’d love to run my legs off in SL or some game.
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I hate going to the gym to lose my weight (even if it is effective). Much better to lose weight by running in SL with one of these things. It would be interesting, funny, probably cheaper than a gym and most of all, I would not have to listen to the bar talk of my colleagues to exercise. I had read something about this tool and my thoughts immediately went to how I could use this for my purpose … to lose weight with a great fun … as long as the circle of containment (and his pants) will be equipped of a size extra large auhauauhau
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Whoa…I just read your previous post about using the Rift, and you start to get a better sense of what’s possible through that video.. What’s the first thing you want to do when you walk up to a horse? Reach out and pet it! When you go onto a dancefloor with other people dancing, you want to join in!
Having the anonymity of an avatar to learn how to dance is an (admittedly purely entertaining, but nonetheless) impressive future use for the technology. I see your previous point about floating text a bit better, and not being able to instinctively use our hands is…irritating, to say the least. I think stepping back into VR’s early days and utilizing motion-tracking gloves will be a better compromise, perhaps with a “hidden” state to allow the user to type or other functions (such as grabbing a water bottle from all this running!).
For an intriguing look at what SL could be in the future, may I suggest having a look at an anime called Sword Art Online? It’s far more advanced than what we’re taking the first steps toward here, but it’s quite a natural interface, minus the sci-fi tech of brain synapse scanning of course, but the in-world menus, accessible by a specific gesture, are definitely a direction I’d like to see this Rift-enabled SL move in..
I look forward to seeing further developments, and I may just have to make a more realistic avatar to come visit 1920s Berlin!
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Thanks for the tip, I’ll check that anime out!
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