Jan Goetgeluk talks about creating Virtuix Omni Treadmill, and how he didn’t want to have just a sit-down experience within virtual reality. He talks about participating in the Meant to be Seen forums before the Oculus Rift came about, and how he wanted did a lot of trial and error to solve the problem of locomotion in VR.

He talks about some of the keys to his successful Kickstarter campaign, and what types of games work the best with the Virtuix Omni. He talks about motion sickness, and his favorite VR experience within the game that Virtuix developed called TRAVR. Finally, he talks about future plans after raising a round of $3 million, and his thoughts on the future of VR

Reddit discussion here.

TOPICS

0:00 – Intro – Virtuix Omni Treadmill

0:26 – No moving parts, low-friction surface and shoes

0:51 – Stabilizing the feet w/ different coefficients

1:15 – Integrated tracking solution with capacitive sensors

1:40 – How did the Omni come about?

2:04 – Had you been involved with VR. Being VR enthusiast on MTBS

2:20 – What was the turning point that you had to create the Omni?

2:51 – Key to your successful Kickstarter campaign? 5 months of marketing beforehand and having thousands of people ready to contribute.

3:17 – Where did you market to? MTBS forums.

3:47 – Are you a player of first-person shooters?

3:58 – Which games work the best with Omni?

4:32 – Dealing with motion sickness?

5:36 – Designed for a sit-down experience and not have 360-degree tracking. Not a surprise. Need to first nail the seated experience. He personally does not want to sit down. Provide full VR experience. In real life, we walk around. Walking increases immersion. Rotating body increases immersion. Putting on foot in front of the other increases immersion. Standing and walking provides a bigger sense of presence than sitting down.

7:01 – Favorite VR experience – in the game that they’re developing called TRAVR.

7:27 – How do you optimize a game for the Omni – Speed and pace is important

8:01 – Limited field of view causing a higher walking speed – Need find right pace

8:45 – After raising money, and what will you do with that. Broaden distribution.

9:19 – Where you see VR going?

Theme music: “Fatality” by Tigoolio