A visit to the Abaton - more than just VR Cinema - Part 3

In the past two weeks you have learned more about the VR Cinema and the two "normal" Vive stations at the Abaton. Today you can read about the Virtuix Omni stations.

Finally, we were allowed to test the Virtuix Omni stations. I was particularly excited about this, as it was a complete novelty for me. The first thing I had to do was take off my shoes and put them on. When I stepped onto the platform, I almost slipped. "Oops, sorry I didn't tell you." Well luckily nothing happened!

To prevent this from happening again, I held on to the edge and of course the set reminiscent of a "Klettergstälti" was then strapped around me. I was told to lean forward, hold on and start walking. After I had successfully passed the test, I had to do the whole thing without holding on. This also seemed to go without a hitch.

Here, too, I was equipped with the Vive trackers and, of course, the headset. In the game, I had to run through various corridors and shoot various targets. From time to time I should also have taken cover from wildly firing machine guns, but that was almost impossible. Because you can only dodge sideways by turning and running straight ahead. This movement pattern is definitely too illogical for me and I also felt a bit sick. That's why I stopped trying after a few minutes. My colleague didn't play much longer either: the controls took a bit of getting used to. He would rather play longer with the normal Vive Station.

Fabian Häfliger, project manager at Swisscom, also said: "We noticed that the "normal" game stations, which are each equipped with an HTC VIVE, are very popular with customers. For many, it's their first VR experience ever. The Virtuix Omni is definitely an eye-catcher. Due to the fact that you first have to get used to how you move on the gaming device, not everyone enjoys it immediately."

In the teaser video you can see the thing in "real" action:

If you would like to try out the VR experiences for yourself, it is best to reserve online or simply ask on the spot if something is free at the moment.