Virtuix showcased the latest version of their Omni virtual reality kit, which contains 40 capacitive sensors, and allows you to track your every move and transmit it to your character in a computer game.
Until now, Omni has tracked your foot movements using Microsoft Kinect. Now it provides the ability to move analog, which means that the faster you go, the faster your character moves, and his speed limits are unlimited.
The user wears special sneakers with sliding plastic inserts on the soles and clips into the harness inside the Omni waist frame. This harness resembles a climbing harness and is attached to the surrounding support ring. The system provides sufficient support so that you can move your feet over the slippery surface at its base without fear of falling.
Then you put on your Oculus Rift glasses and the transformation is complete. This is how one techno journalist who tested the new system describes his experience.
“The Virtuix team downloaded Half Life 2 for me, and I turned into Gordon Freeman. I ended up in the Bypass Canal, one of the early levels of the game, where I could run around shooting at the Combine Soldier. Moving around inside the Omni generally works well, but sometimes presents a challenge as your steps don't always translate into movement step by step.
You also can't strafe or confidently move backwards - although we don't do this kind of thing in real life, but in first person shooters, these maneuvers are quite critical. Aiming is pretty bizarre, too, as the crosshairs on the screen are drawn based on where you are looking, not where your weapon is pointing.
But the most serious obstacle was movement disorientation. After five minutes on Oculus, I felt nauseous. The impact of two unusual technologies on my body at once led to sensory overload. All I had left was instinct, I ran around and hid behind cars while the bullets whistled over my head.
Promotional video:
I totally felt like I was in a game, and as I turned to look at the enemies, I had no idea where my body was turning in reality. It's hard to adapt to, but it creates incredible immersion. I'm sure that sooner or later I could get used to it."
Omni does not work perfectly yet, and does not allow you to absolutely accurately broadcast your movement to the character in the game, but it is a completely obvious symbol of the future, of which we will become a part very soon. Virtuix plans to ship the Omni this May for $ 499, and the system will work with any game or app that supports keyboard input.
