Cyberith Virtualizer – The Omnidirectional Treadmill that Aims to Take Virtual Reality to the Next Level
With the Oculus Rift and Sony's Prject Morpheus set to launch at some point in the next year or so, techies worldwide are just starting to realize how major VR could be for gaming, social networking, exploration, education, and a variety of other real-world applications.
While considering the possibilities, a student at the Technical University of Vienna by the name of Tuncay Cakmak posed the question, “what if we could actually move around in the upcoming virtual worlds, rather than simply observing them.”
That question sparked an idea that has become the Cyberith Virtualizer – an omnidirectional treadmill that is designed to let the user run, walk, crouch, jump and move around in virtual worlds, all while remaining stable and stationary within a comfortable harness.
A year after conceptualizing the device (in 2013), Mr. Cakmak formed a team and began to develop a prototype, which was then successfully demonstrated at various exhibitions in Europe and on the Cyberith Youtube channel. On July 23rd 2014 Cyberith launched a crowdfunding fundraiser on Kickstarter, and within 24 hours the team had already surpassed 50% of their goal of $250,000.
The Cyberith Virtualizer utilizes the principle of low friction to allow the user to easily slide across the surface of the platform in all directions. The users is positioned in the center of a low-friction platform and is fixed in place by wearing a harness that is attached to a rotatable ring, which is secured by three poles in tripod-like fashion. The ring can move up and down to allow the wearer to crouch, jump, kneel, or sit.
The Cyberith Virtualizer itself is not a VR device; it is only a VR accessory (albeit a major one), so the user has to wear a separate VR headset. The maker's of the Virtualizer have been using the developer's version of the Oculus Rift, which can be ordered online for $350.
At a glance the Virtualizer appears to be a hassle to use and seems as though it could be a bit buggy if you're not wearing the right footwear, or if your steps are too long.
However, the developers of the Virtualizer have taken all this into account and have incorporated a specially calibrated system of counterbalanced weights in conjunction with 3 sturdily positioned support columns to minimize resistance and help the user maintain their balance at all times.
In addition, the Virtualizer also simulates the player's hand and body movements in the game, so when you point your gun or wave your hand on the Virtualizer you'll see your character performing the same corresponding actions within the game.
A good example of this can be seen in the video below, which shows the Cyberith Virtualizer in action in combination with the Oculus Rift (playing Skyrim) and the WiiMote:
There's also this teaser put together by the Cyberith team for their Kickstarter page:
