OMNI by Virtuix – The future of VR
The Future is NOW!
Seriously. You can’t sit there reading this, and pretend we don’t have magical boxes that hold all the information our planet has to offer at the click of a mouse or touch of a finger. Humanity is pretty amazing. As gamers, we have all had those moments when we wish for virtual reality. Remember Virtua Boy? You probably also remember throwing up or feeling nauseous then too. Well, that has all been fixed! I met with the wonderful gentleman of Virtuix (Jan Goetgeluk and Simon Solotko) last week, and after a personal trial, I can say the world of virtual gaming will soon change forever.
I first encountered Jan, a nicely spoken man who was happy to receive me. He escorted me into a small theatre upstairs and there was the Omni, a small circular platform with a partial sphere cut into it, and a circle being held up by two poles as if to meet at the average waist line. A gun and some goggles were waiting and I watched as Goetgeluk demonstrated the product flawlessly.
Jan has a background in mechanical engineering, while Simon worked on The Hydra. When Xbox360’s Kinect came out, Jan knew it could have a huge influence on the VR community. The Kinect allowed programmers to track movement without a copious amount of sensors. Movement problem one solved. Then the problem of actually walking in a virtual world needed to be fixed. With the scooped out partial sphere on the platform and special walking shoes, it makes for a natural walking motion, almost like an elliptical machine, if you have ever used one at a gym. The standing circle attaches around the waist and you can use it as leverage and it helps when you want to crouch.
The way the software works is the Kinect takes the images and movements of the body and its software translates them into action and movements based on their own code. So if you move your left foot forward, the software knows to press ‘w’ and that will be translated into the game for you to walk forward.
I got the chance to play with it, and let me tell you, I am a natural. It was easy for me to pick up walking, (probably because I’ve been to a gym and used an elliptical machine) and once I had the gun, the poor guys didn’t stand a chance. I cleared the level in minutes and wished there was more. The circle came with a stabilizing belt which was too big, as were the shoes. Considering it’s a prototype, I understand, but now they know there are lots of short and tiny people who will want to play as well. The shoes were a bit slippery at first, but you must trust yourself and the machine. I think my only issue was being restricted to shooting in the direction I am standing, which threw me off since in most shooters you have both. That is one thing they are currently working on and hoping to have ready for E3.
If you would like more information on the Omni or wish to Donate to their Kickstarter (starting June 4th) You can find them at http://www.virtuix.com/press and at Kickstarter.com
