#HTE

Yet Another Design Approach to Walking in VR: Wheeled Boots

While we’ve successfully solved the problem of how to make VR users look like idiots, one solution we haven’t settled on is how to provide a realistic sensation of walking. Proposed solutions differ widely. The Infinadeck is an omnidirectional treadmill:

Cybershoes are a wearable solution, but they require you to sit-stand:

A company called Ekto VR is the latest to enter the fray, with their Ekto One Simulator Boots.

Incredibly, it appears that the way they work is, there are wheels in the boots that attempt to return you to your original position as you stride:

As you can see, the boots are so chunky that they affect a good portion of the testers’ gaits. I can’t see this being an effective solution until they get slimmed down, and I do wonder about losing your balance while walking around on rollerskates designed to counter your natural locomotion.

To solve the walking-in-VR problem, my suggestion was to use a grid of ball-transfer-style outfeed rollers hooked up to sensors:

The only problem is that I don’t have any financial backing, technological acumen, proof-of-concept, ambition, etc.

What are your predictions for the VR future, will the solution be treadmill-style or wearable? Or a third thing no one’s thought of yet?