Rolling Virtual Reality Shoes

US start-up Ekto VR has developed virtual reality (VR) shoes that allow users to move around in virtual space by rolling backwards.

"It's about continuity of experience," says Brad Factor, the founder and CEO of a company called Ekto VR. "It's about maintaining immersion. It's about the ease of use and the learning curve: that's what we focus on." Factor wants everyone to be able to easily and completely intuitively put on a VR headset and experience the virtual world in a natural way.

Ekto VR has developed a pair of chunky cyberpunk-looking moonwalking boots for use in virtual reality environments.

VR Shoes on Wheels

Ekto VR's boots work with a series of motorised wheels on the bottom that rotate against the speed at which the user is walking. To avoid motion sickness, the boots first make the wearer take a few steps forward. This is done to create the necessary vestibular signals in the inner ear that tell the body to accelerate. After a few steps, however, the boots automatically slide back to the centre of the room, making it seem as if the wearer is running in place, like on a treadmill. In the meantime, the user believes he is progressing - and he is, judging by the VR scene he is experiencing.

At the same time, it also prevents an accident or a collision with the wall. The shoes are to ensure that one always moves back to the place in the middle of the room.

Immersion that works

The extent to which the immersion works would be proven by the statements of various test persons. "The comments we receive during the demos show that people are completely convinced that they have left the room," says Factor.

There are already various projects with shoes for VR, like our Reports show. They all try to fool the brain into thinking that users are travelling a great distance. If Ekto VR manages to solve this problem on a commercial level, they would be the first to succeed.

Source: digitaltrends