Virtuix Omni Kickstarting June 4th!!!

[colocolo]

The video doesn't really help IMO. It's the first video that I've seen that shows it this noisey

An excellent review, like always from LinusTechTips.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGFuedKS9Mg

[usb247]

looks like this is almost ready. My wishlist items would be

1. It should come with a gun or make the gun optional since it seems like such a natural fit for the Omni

2. needs to be collapsible

3. less noisy and support regular shoes

4. get rid of kinect

These improvements would make it a much more user friendly package.

[MrGreen]

It is loud as hell but man does it look fun! I have a room I could lock myself in where the noise wouldn't bother my gf.

I hope the Kickstarter succeeds but I'm a little worried. This seems like a niche within a niche and I guess Jan will need a pretty hefty sum to get a product like this in production.

[baggyg]

Hi JanVR,

I am looking forward to the Kickstarter. Missed the Rift one and regretted it whilst waiting for my pre-order so hoping to get in on day one. Is it worth at this stage us sending you questions so that the FAQ can be complete when launching?

I for one have a couple of questions:
1) I am not sure what the kinect is actually doing. Presumably the viewpoint is 100% controlled by the Rift tracker. Is the kinect used for positional tracking? In which case I presumed this can be dumped for a hydra alternative.
2) Watched the video above and still unsure how you are managing the cable. I can see that the rift box is attached to one of the legs and the cable outside the ring. However if you keep turning in one direction wont this wrap around you?

Anyways, good luck with the kickstarter.

[JanVR]

The sound in the video from Chris Pirillo is quite terrible. Want to assure everyone that the Omni is not that loud (if so, we'd be in trouble). Hopefully after our live event in LA on Wednesday, people can attest to this.

@usb247: the final product will have integrated tracking (so need for Kinect), will be easy to disassemble and store away (like exercise equipment), and will not be as loud as in the video. The gun is the Cabela Top Shot Elite, which you can buy on Amazon for $40-$50.

@baggyg: the Kinect is currently used to track the leg movements (so that your avatar walks or runs when you do in real life). The cables are less of an issue than people seem to think. I have not spent any time building an overhead cable system, since so far I did not find it necessary. Yes, if you keep turning in the same direction, you'll get wrapped up in the cables, but that does not seem to happen often in a game. No cables would be better, but they are not a deal breaker.

[crespo80]

WOW, the video from LinusTechTips is very well done and very informative, you could use parts of it for the kickstarter, it actually showed something new even to me, and I'm following this from the beginning!

I'm a little puzzled about the shoes, they got rid of the retractable pin? If so, what's the use of the grooves on the surface now?

[JanVR]

Hi Crespo, most of our prototype shoes have the plunger pin, since it helps with the stability. I happened to be wearing the pin-less loafers when Linus filmed, so I just rolled with it (I prefer the loafers since they are extremely comfortable ).

[usb247]

Thanks for the answes Jan. I understand that you can disassemble the unit. It would be nice if there was a quick release for the arm or some way to tilt it out of the way. Or...you could have a lid that comes with it so when it's not it use it could double as an end table

btw, you already solved the hard problems so I'm just thinking of ways to make it better.

[Zoide]

Was Pirillo's girlfriend wearing pin-less shoes? I got very concerned when I saw her sliding all over the place in this video:

Starts at 6:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... bB0#t=384s

[JanVR]

Yes, no pin and the main issue was that the belt was way too big for her (she is very petite), so she did not have any proper support.

[RABID]

Was Pirillo's girlfriend wearing pin-less shoes? I got very concerned when I saw her sliding all over the place in this video:

Starts at 6:25
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... bB0#t=384s

Lol is it possible for her to be any more uncoordinated? but seriously I don't think half life was a good choice to throw her in to test it, Tuscany demo prob would have been better. Either way its a day one on kick starter for me

[Lilwolf]

The kinect is a bummer. I don't have one, and was waiting for the next version to come out.

Is there work being done to allow for different trackers? Seems like the leap might be a better solution (faster updates, higher res close up (which you need), and cheaper). Might be able to mount one on one of the supports and get both legs? (I guess one leg might get hidden behind the other).

Or maybe a hydra hung upside down (or on top). But then you can't use the hydra with games with the Omni... and that would be a bummer.

I'm not worried about the noise (its good in all but that one video).

I am a bit worried about the prices. I didn't realize the center had to hold your weight so much. This will have to increase the cost considerably just to have something strong enough.

[virror]

Stated several times already that the Omni will not require the user to have a kinect.

[colocolo]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVNr15CTPMk

[Marulu]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DzUsBto9bB0

EDIT: Changed video because previous video has already been posted.

[RoTaToR]

@Marulu:
Thats the SAME video as Mickman postet on this Thread at Sun May 26, 2013 9:39 am (Page 1)

[Marulu]

@Marulu:
Thats the SAME video as Mickman postet on this Thread at Sun May 26, 2013 9:39 am (Page 1)

Sorry, I didn´t notice this thread had multiple pages.

EDIT: I am going to change the video above to a vlog of him discussing his experience using the Omni.

[Vamplifire]

does anyone have an idea on how much they are going to want (price wise) for the kickstarter?

[Marulu]

does anyone have an idea on how much they are going to want (price wise) for the kickstarter?

There isn´t a fixed price yet, but they mentioned they are aiming for somewhere between 300$ and 500$

[FR3D]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/356 ... r?ref=live

i think we will need this too

best regards

FR3D

[gray]

Kinect is obviously very slow for VR and it's noticeable in the videos. What sort of latency does your integrated tracking solution have?

[baggyg]

Kinect is obviously very slow for VR and it's noticeable in the videos. What sort of latency does your integrated tracking solution have?

I would imagine quite inaccurate as well. Done some test this week with it and its a nightmare. Plenty of false positives. I reckon Jan must have a pretty good algorithm going to sift through the data.

[Rickardo69]

The fact that its going to have integrated tracking is great , thats one less peripheral for people to worry about.

[mahler]

I've seen statements as support for tall people up to 6'5"
However I'm 6'6" with hips going up to 125cm (which is relatively high compared to others with the same height)
Do you have a specific answer on which hip-heights (in cm) will be supported?

(It might be good to measure this without putting on the shoes and then add an extra 2cm or 3cm for the soles)

[OutatimeTV]

However I'm 6'6" with hips going up to 125cm (which is relatively high compared to others with the same height)

WOW, you are really a high hippie.
I'm nearly the same height but my hips are at 115cm.
I have worries that my feet will touch the border of the Omni bowl while walking/running.

[JanVR]

Hi Mahler, the supported height numbers are not hard limits. Up to 6'5", the Omni will work well; 6'6" would still work ok, but functionality will start decreasing at that point (the support belt might get too low on your hips). That said, you could still have a good experience on the Omni, and it will still work; just not as optimal. Hope this helps!

Jan

[WiredEarp]

@ JanVR: Have you thought about mounting a laser mouse to the special shoes you are using? If you have to use a shoe anyway, a laser mouse sensor or sensors is probably a good thing to use to sense your foot movements. I think by doing this, you would eliminate the use of the Kinect for basic movement, and provide much more responsive feedback.

It wouldn't be a solution for accurate foot/leg tracking, but if the idea is just a device that lets people walk around in a natural way, its probably a good fit.

[Mystify]

@ JanVR: Have you thought about mounting a laser mouse to the special shoes you are using? If you have to use a shoe anyway, a laser mouse sensor or sensors is probably a good thing to use to sense your foot movements. I think by doing this, you would eliminate the use of the Kinect for basic movement, and provide much more responsive feedback.

It wouldn't be a solution for accurate foot/leg tracking, but if the idea is just a device that lets people walk around in a natural way, its probably a good fit.

Similar things have been suggested, the issue is that you have to take a full step forward before you can start moving, whereas with proper tracking your motion can start as soon as you start moving.

[WiredEarp]

Similar things have been suggested, the issue is that you have to take a full step forward before you can start moving, whereas with proper tracking your motion can start as soon as you start moving.

Ah, but in reality, you dont move until your front foot moves backwards (or, in an actual walk where your body moves physically, your body moves forward to catch up with it). Not to mention with 'proper tracking' (which currently is Kinect), there is a delay involved as well. I don't really see the issue here... you lift your foot, move it forward, and as it starts to slide backwards, it registers you as moving forward?

[defactoman]

Doesn't sound any louder then my normal treadmill. Actually probably a little bit less because it doesn't have a huge motor AND me running at the same time heh. No matter what tho, this is definitely going to the garage in my "vr space" - can't see my wife letting me keep this in the living room.

[Mystify]

Ah, but in reality, you dont move until your front foot moves backwards (or, in an actual walk where your body moves physically, your body moves forward to catch up with it).

Not so. Actually pay attention to your walk. When you step forward, you are leaning forward, falling, and catching yourself. Walking, and even more so running, is generally a process of eternally falling forward and catching yourself. Try taking a step forward without letting your body move at all until you do. Its possible, but very unnatural. Your back foot is moving backwards relative to your body before you step forward, but that is a passive side effect of the process, you aren't pushing the foot back. When take the first step forward, you want to be reaching forward with your foot, not sliding your other foot backwards.

[Rickardo69]

Dont forget people the Omni kickstarter launches tomorrow June 4th.
See Virtuix face book page http://www.facebook.com/virtuixomni for the latest winners of the omni competition

[TheHolyChicken]

See Virtuix face book page http://www.facebook.com/virtuixomni for the latest winners of the omni competition

I won day 2!

[3dvison]

See Virtuix face book page http://www.facebook.com/virtuixomni for the latest winners of the omni competition

I won day 2!

I am going to guess, that one of the two words you uttered when you learned you had won, was the word "Holy" but the second word was not "Chicken"....LOL

You better ask the Holy Chicken for forgiveness...HaHa...Congrats on the win.

[usb247]

I hope these guys succeed, I really do. I will try to contribute in some way even though I have no space to store the actual unit in my room.

[blazespinnaker]

Yeah, the dish platform is a pretty cool idea. Hope he's patented that.

[WiredEarp]

Not so. Actually pay attention to your walk. When you step forward, you are leaning forward, falling, and catching yourself. Walking, and even more so running, is generally a process of eternally falling forward and catching yourself. Try taking a step forward without letting your body move at all until you do. Its possible, but very unnatural. Your back foot is moving backwards relative to your body before you step forward, but that is a passive side effect of the process, you aren't pushing the foot back. When take the first step forward, you want to be reaching forward with your foot, not sliding your other foot backwards.

I have to disagree here. What you are referring to can be termed 'body shift'. It is what I referred to when I said 'when actually moving, your body catches up to your foot'.
As you say, its a process of falling forwards. The movement of the front foot, which shifts your weight, is nowhere near as significant as the act of moving your foot backwards / moving your body forwards to match.

In real walking, of course you are not 'pushing the foot back' - this isn't really possible unless you are on a low friction surface - like the dish type treadmills. All existing dish type treadmills I've seen MUST get the motion from the moving of the feet, rather than the body moving forwards to catch up. That's the reason for the harness arrangement, to prevent the users body moving forward (also for safety in the event of falls I assume). The majority of the forward motion is not from the initial forward step, but from the body being moved forward - or in the case of dish motion, from the foot being moved backwards.

If you are using Kinect, for example, and make the user start to move forwards just because they move their foot forward, then you are going to have problems if they just put their foot forward and don't then move it (sit in a stance). Not to mention that the immediate response achievable by using mouse sensors would probably be less laggy than Kinect, even if you are causing a slight move with the initial forward foot movement when using Kinect.

[ChrisJD]

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/194 ... orite-game

Those shipping costs in the FAQ are a killer.

It does look very natural to use at this point, very impressive. Hopefully one day in the future we'll see mass production and an Omni in every house.

[Syko]

already over 20% but yes the shipping costs are just... wow... what the hell

[rwurdig]

I was refreshing the kickstarter site and in a couple of minutes they are alredy in 100 backers o0, i think im 48
Already over 33% i think they wont have trouble to meet the ammount, if not today only a couple days needed
Nice job Jan.