Since August, VR hardware products have been released one after another. Virtuix, an American VR system hardware developer, announced that its full-body VR gaming system “Omni One” will be officially launched in September, and Roto VR, a British startup, released the Explorer wheeled swivel chair, which brought some freshness and conversation to the long-silent VR market.
“Top Gamer” treadmill finalizes release date
After a four-year wait, Virtuix has announced that its integrated home VR treadmill, the Omni One, will go on sale in the U.S. on September 10th. The product was initially planned for a late 2021 launch, but has repeatedly skipped out. However, the company also gained instant fame for providing VR exercise models for Spielberg’s movie Top Gun.
According to the official website, the Omni One is a large VR device that includes a 360° treadmill, a customized Pico 4 Enterprise VR headset, and accessories such as specialized footwear and trackers.
It’s important to note that while we call this device a treadmill, it’s nothing like the conveyor belt type of treadmill found in gyms. It’s a unique disc-shaped walking platform that doesn’t rely on mechanical drives, but instead allows users to put on special shoes and slide them around in a concave disc to smoothly perform physical walking, running, squatting, and jumping motions in the virtual world. At the same time there is a bracket behind to play the role of limiting, not only to ensure the safety of the player, but also to accurately capture the player’s movements.
In terms of pricing, a full set of Omni One devices are currently shipping only to U.S. customers for $2,595 including shipping.
VR wheeled swivel chair
UK startup Roto VR has released a swivel seat called the Roto VR Explorer that dramatically improves immersion and relieves vertigo by synchronizing the user’s head rotation with the seat’s rotation to combine real-world action with virtual-world images.
The Roto VR Explorer represents a new technology trend in VR immersion, offering enhanced user experience by synchronizing head and seat rotation. Unlike larger devices, it uses built-in motion sensors for more precise tracking. The seat automatically rotates from side to side to match the head rotation of the user wearing the Meta Quest headset. Unlike other products that rely on motion data captured by the Quest, the Roto VR Explorer uses its own motion sensors mounted on the headband for head tracking.
It’s also said to be the first device of its kind to receive “Made for Meta” certification, meaning it’s compatible with Meta’s VR glasses.
As for pricing, the Roto VR Explorer is currently priced at $799 and is expected to ship in October. The company previously released a more sophisticated version in 2020 that cost more than $2,000.
Is it feasible to attach hardware devices to VR hardware?
It is not difficult to see, these two VR hardware technology equipment manufacturers have chosen to add other hardware equipment to solve the pain points of the use of VR glasses, so as to impress more consumers to try the VR experience.
Generally speaking, there are two ways of thinking to do “addition” on hardware products: the first is to significantly increase the configuration and functionality, which may make users feel full of sincerity; the other is to do addition in specific performance and experience, so that the product is a breakthrough in certain dimensions, giving the product a specific label.
But in fact, the pain points of using VR devices are not only the lack of motion experience and easy to feel dizzy as mentioned above, but also the pain points that affect the use of the device include: the price of the device, the comfort of the device, the latency and refresh rate, the diversity of the content, the compatibility of the software, and the way of interaction and so on.
Let’s take the first VR treadmill as an example, the total selling price is $2,595. Simply calculated, according to the official opening price, the PICO 4 Enterprise Edition VR headset is priced at 900 euros, so the rest of the 360 ° treadmill, special footwear and trackers and other accessories cost more than 10,000 yuan. You know, the market price of high-end treadmill is usually in the range of 4,000-5,000 yuan.
So, will you want to “try” these VR hardware devices?
