Google's motorised VR shoe aims to prevent collisions

Moving around in virtual reality is currently still limited in most cases by the available space and the objects within it - including the risk of collision. Google has been awarded a patent that could solve this problem in an elegant way: with the help of motorised shoes.

Google has a Patent which could solve the problem of restricted movement in a virtual reality environment, such as, among others, the Ars Technica writes. Motorised shoes are designed to help ensure that users wearing a VR headset always move within a safe area and do not run into walls or other objects.

Normally, users of VR headsets are limited to a small range of motion. There are already solutions such as omnidirectional treadmills or shoes with very smooth soles on which users can walk on the spot. But a treadmill needs quite a lot of space and smooth shoes don't feel very realistic.

Shoes push users automatically

Google's idea consists of shoes, at least one of which has motorised wheels and whose position is tracked by a tracking system. When the user reaches the edge of a defined action area, the shoes are supposed to automatically drive him back to the centre of the area.

In this way, users could move quasi infinitely in the VR area and would no longer run the risk of running into a wall or other obstacle. Regarding the wheels, Google has presented various options in the patent application, including omnidirectional wheels that could also enable lateral movements.

The backward movement of such a system would probably have to be triggered quite early so that the user is slowly brought back into the play area. Too fast and jerky movements are likely to cause the user to lose balance. The question is how well such a system could respond to rapid movements by the player without causing them to fall.

A patent is not yet a product

When and whether Google will offer motorised shoes for VR users is still completely unclear. A granted patent application does not mean that the product described in it will also come onto the market.

Source: Golem