One firm, Ekto VR, has brought a new twist in the field of VR. It has launched its new “EKTO ONE” boots which will allow users to walk on the spot to traverse a virtual space.
The boots comprise an array of motorized wheels on their soles that spin in the opposite direction to the wearer’s forward motion. These allow the user to walk on the spot as if on a treadmill, giving them the feeling that they are moving forward. The boots are used with a VR headset. The whole experience will give a realistic feel to the virtual setting.
If Ekto VR could make the technology reduce the resemblance to chunky cyberpunk platform shoes just a little bit, that would likely go a long way to improving things. The device has the potential to help change people’s limited interaction with VR, which is currently mostly reliant on joystick controllers that are held in the wearer’s hand.
The “infinite walking” problem — a more technical term used to refer to the issue of VR users face planting — has been around since the advent of virtual reality in the 80s. Another company, Virtuix, is building an omnidirectional treadmill for VR users, like the ones seen in the Steven Spielberg movie, ‘Ready Player One.’
If these projects kick off in the right direction, they will tremendously help metaverse projects. Other projects aimed at improving the immersion of these virtual spaces include VR gloves with haptic feedback from a company called Teslasuit. The technology is designed to allow users to “feel” their surroundings via vibrations, using haptic feedback technology used in videogames, which has also recently been adapted to help the visually impaired be aware of their surroundings using the vibrations. VR is evolving with time and it is good news for companies like metaverse, especially.