Slashdot Mirror
Omnidirectional Treadmill: The Ultimate FPS Input Device?
MojoKid writes "The concept of gaming accessories may have just been taken to a whole new level. A company called Virtuix is developing the Omni, which is essentially a multidirectional treadmill that its creators call 'a natural motion interface for virtual reality applications.' The company posted a video showing someone playing Team Fortress 2 and using the Omni along with the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset. You can see in the video how much running and movement this fellow performs. With something like the Omni in your living room, you'd likely get into pretty good shape in no time. Instead of Doritos and Mountain Dew, folks might have to start slamming back Power Bars and Gatorade for all night gaming sessions."
Just a slippery surface while wearing slippery shoes. The idea has been around since at least the 1990s.
Real omnidirectional treadmills exist, first started as a DoD project. You can walk naturally on them, as demonstrated here and here.
It's still debatable which method is superior or more practical.
The problem is that the guy is carrying a 'gun' but you're still aiming with your head (i.e. the Oculus).
This has been done better before: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQR49JGySTM
It has nothing to do with the uncanny valley. The uncanny value is a non-proven theory about how we perceive humanoids.
What we are talking about here is regular motion sickness. We use a lot of senses to keep track of ourself with regards to the environment. When does thing no longer add up there is a risk of "feeling pukey".
Dumbing down the graphics is not going to help at all, your eyes will still tell you that you move forward when your sense of balance says that you are not. (And jumping will give conflicting inputs. Focal depth will not correlate with distance and so on.)
Some people even get this kind of sickness from 3D-movies.
Dizziness the first couple of times you use it is expected but it should wear off after a couple of times when your brain gets used to it. Otherwise basic motion sickness pills might help.