Walkers for Kickstar gamers

The new generation of players certainly will not be obese, this was worried by the developers from Virtuix , who launched their Omni project on a kickstarter today. The new controller allows you to move around the game world with your own feet instead of canonical WASD.

Omni's built-in sensors broadcast the user's walking in similar movements of the avatar game. In addition to walking, the controller recognizes running, strafe, jumps and squats - a full gentleman's set.

The principle of operation of the controller is quite simple. Below there is a slippery platform with a supporting belt. For extra slip in the kit, there are special shoes with small pins on the sole, which enter the grooves on the platform and stabilize the foot. In the future, accelerometers and magnetic sensors will also be installed in the shoes to track the position, but for now Microsoft Kinect will replace them.
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For all its deliberate slippery, Omni looks much safer and safer than its rival WizDish , on videos with which the subjects barely stay on their feet and quietly shuffle in place. By the way, WizDish was also going to launch a kickstarter, but now it's not destiny.

For their project, developers collect $ 150,000 and in the first hour have already managed to collect half of the required amount reached their goal three hours after the start. The launch of mass production is scheduled for the end of this year. The device itself can be obtained by investing from 349 dollars, but DIY-enthusiasts can only buy the lower part with shoes and drawings a hundred cheaper to try to assemble Omni on their own. The fastest managed to grab the first two prototypes of the Omni for eight and ten thousand dollars, waiting for their appearance at auctions in a few years.



Omni works with any game that uses a keyboard and mouse, and does not require special actions on the part of developers. All actions of the player are simply translated into pressing the desired buttons. At the moment, PC support is announced, but the developers claim that they will add other platforms in the future. Of the additional chips - accounting for the distance traveled and calories burned.

The controller is quite compact, the bottom diameter is 122 cm, the diameter of the ring above is half a meter, the weight is about 50 kilograms. In addition, it can be disassembled and hidden somewhere, which cannot be said about another competitor - Virtusphere . The height of the restrictive belt is adjusted to the height of the user, the device was tested on children and adults.

Finally, I attach a video with a demonstration of the game in Team Fortress 2. On the official website, you can watch the other videos.



We already have a playful underwear from Durex , a playful top recently launched on a kick starter , you can run on the Omni track , look around with the help of Oculus Rift .

Well, who is brave to take on tastes and smells?

UPD. A note for everyone who does not understand how to squat and jump in this thing:
Squats - tilt the body, you need to bend down.
Jumping - jumping, you need to take your feet off the ground.
Watch the Half-Life 2 video below.