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Ever since reading Ready Player One, I've been struck by the concept of omnidirectional VR treadmills. These shoes are so much cooler than that. Now all we nee

Ever since reading Ready Player One, I've been struck by the concept of omnidirectional VR treadmills. These shoes are so much cooler than that. Now all we need are low-profile haptic gloves and possibly some system for generating wind to help generate the illusion of motion.

dharmab 3y ago
You can buy the gloves today. They work with any software that supports OpenXR Skeletal Input. https://store.diver-x.jp/en-us/products/contactglove-rev-2-magnetra https://store.diver-x.jp/en-us/products/contactglove-rev-2-m...
charcircuit 3y ago
An omnidirectional treadmill does not seem like a pleasant experience. If you actually wanted to be able to move around it would need to be very big so that it could get away with moving slowly, it would be noisy, it would be expensive, you would need to have good balance as the floor moves out from underneath you.
- crooked-v 3y ago
  In particular, in the film they do a bit of trickery with the shots to hide how much smaller the omni-treadmill is than the actual running stride of the actor.
- dharmab 3y ago
  > you would need to have good balance as the floor moves out from underneath you Real omni-treadmills have you attached to an arm or harnessed in.
- bjorglo 3y ago
  [dead]
jncfhnb 3y ago
It won’t work. Ready Player One (as implied by the book or visually shown in the film) is actually immersive in way that is impossible to input with physical controls. Take a step irl. In game your foot goes through a wall. In Ready Player One your foot is stopped by the wall. This contradiction can’t exist. It’s more ok for hands where you can just demand the hand move back before the wall irl. But with feet that’s your whole sense of balance.
- crooked-v 3y ago
  I think an omni-treadmill could fake it a little if you were harnessed in place over it, by way of directionally locking up based on available in-game movement. There would still be a gap in perception there, but it would get closer to, for example, being able to navigate an area blind.
  - jncfhnb 3y ago
    It would be very hard. You would fall. Which would be wrong because you’re not falling in game. You said harness but it would need to by a smart dynamic harness that adapts the tension which would be weird if you moved your leg oddly. Some relevant edge cases: 1) you’re at a ledge and trying to dip your foot down (or conversely as shown in ready player one the film, you’re at a precipice and feel off balance because your VR foot is not fully supported by VR ground) 2) you’re running and a limb or foot hits a small object in a way that should realistically cause you to fall or be obstructed. Extremely tough problem to solve with the harness idea. You can handle different edge cases with reasonable band aids but not comprehensively in a way that will work for general movement.
thomastjeffery 3y ago
The main reason that an omnidirectional treadmill would be better is that you would be physically moved during acceleration and deceleration. I suspect these shoes feel more like walking on ice.
ElFitz 3y ago
Some are convinced sensory stimulation needs to be perfect. But in my own limited experience, including some fun "walk the plank" demo between two abandoned buildings they had at MiddleVR, it doesn’t take much. The goal isn’t to fool the brain. Just to give it enough it can fool itself.

dharmab 3y ago

You can buy the gloves today. They work with any software that supports OpenXR Skeletal Input. https://store.diver-x.jp/en-us/products/contactglove-rev-2-magnetra https://store.diver-x.jp/en-us/products/contactglove-rev-2-m...

charcircuit 3y ago

An omnidirectional treadmill does not seem like a pleasant experience. If you actually wanted to be able to move around it would need to be very big so that it could get away with moving slowly, it would be noisy, it would be expensive, you would need to have good balance as the floor moves out from underneath you.

crooked-v 3y ago
In particular, in the film they do a bit of trickery with the shots to hide how much smaller the omni-treadmill is than the actual running stride of the actor.
dharmab 3y ago
> you would need to have good balance as the floor moves out from underneath you Real omni-treadmills have you attached to an arm or harnessed in.
bjorglo 3y ago
[dead]

jncfhnb 3y ago

It won’t work. Ready Player One (as implied by the book or visually shown in the film) is actually immersive in way that is impossible to input with physical controls. Take a step irl. In game your foot goes through a wall. In Ready Player One your foot is stopped by the wall. This contradiction can’t exist. It’s more ok for hands where you can just demand the hand move back before the wall irl. But with feet that’s your whole sense of balance.

crooked-v 3y ago
I think an omni-treadmill could fake it a little if you were harnessed in place over it, by way of directionally locking up based on available in-game movement. There would still be a gap in perception there, but it would get closer to, for example, being able to navigate an area blind.
- jncfhnb 3y ago
  It would be very hard. You would fall. Which would be wrong because you’re not falling in game. You said harness but it would need to by a smart dynamic harness that adapts the tension which would be weird if you moved your leg oddly. Some relevant edge cases: 1) you’re at a ledge and trying to dip your foot down (or conversely as shown in ready player one the film, you’re at a precipice and feel off balance because your VR foot is not fully supported by VR ground) 2) you’re running and a limb or foot hits a small object in a way that should realistically cause you to fall or be obstructed. Extremely tough problem to solve with the harness idea. You can handle different edge cases with reasonable band aids but not comprehensively in a way that will work for general movement.

thomastjeffery 3y ago

The main reason that an omnidirectional treadmill would be better is that you would be physically moved during acceleration and deceleration. I suspect these shoes feel more like walking on ice.

ElFitz 3y ago

Some are convinced sensory stimulation needs to be perfect. But in my own limited experience, including some fun "walk the plank" demo between two abandoned buildings they had at MiddleVR, it doesn’t take much. The goal isn’t to fool the brain. Just to give it enough it can fool itself.