Soon You’ll Be Able to Safely Run, Walk, Sneak, and Jump in Virtual Reality
VR technology is a constantly expanding field, but one area which hasn’t seen a lot of development is, well, walking. Hear us out. You can move around in VR, sure, but you always risk bumping into something, or worse, someone. Hurting yourself is always on the table. Multiplayer is an exercise in trying not to hit each other. Why hasn’t someone tried to fix this? The answer is that someone has. Cybershoes are a VR accessory designed to track the movement of your feet, so you can do all kinds of crazy stuff while seated safely in a chair. These shoes might look like a crocs’ more embarrassing little brother, but you can’t argue with results.
Over 3,000 pairs of Cybershoes have been shipped for use with SteamVR wired headsets, and now the team is looking to branch out into making shoes for the Oculus Quest. As of writing, the Kickstarter has raised almost twice the necessary funds, so there’s definitely a demand. The original design was honored earlier this year in the CES Innovation Awards. We’re definitely looking forward to what comes out of this Kickstarter. Cybershoes for Quest will connect wirelessly via the CyQuest Bluetooth receiver. Then you’ll be easily able to move around the digital plane. The plan is to offer native integration in at least six titles, including Onward, Rec Room, VR Chat, though other titles have been tested and found to work well with Cybershoes.
Cybershoes for Quest will feature:
- Untethered Solution – Experience untethered locomotion using the natural movement of your feet.Â
- Usability and Affordability – Most VR movement accessories are extraordinarily expensive, have enormous space and power requirements, and involve professional installation and setup. And if you already own the original Cybershoes, just pick up a CyQuest module to upgrade for Quest.
- Easy Setup – With natively integrated games, like Arizona Sunshine in partnership with Vertigo Games, setup is as easy as strapping on Cybershoes, booting up the headset, and selecting the in-game Cybershoes locomotion option.Â
- Help Fight Motion Sickness with Natural Movement – Cybershoes translates players’ natural feet movement to in-game locomotion addressing the problem of motion sickness while increasing immersion, activity, and enjoyment. This also makes the brain perceive one is standing, and not sitting, when exploring virtual worlds.Â
- Active Gaming and Fitness – Cybershoes provide a low stress, low impact experience with the benefits of exercise while having fun.
- SteamVR Compatibility – While the wireless CyQuest Bluetooth module is required for Quest compatibility, Cybershoes will work with any SteamVR application (via Oculus Link) that supports touchpads, motion controllers, and treadmills.
- More Uses Beyond Gaming – Use Cybershoes for industrial facilities training and planning, physical rehab programs for the elderly, architecture and construction previews, and much more.
- Accurate Directional Tracking – The player’s vision is independent of the walking direction of the Cybershoes, allowing full observation of their surroundings while they walk, duck, or bend to pick up objects thanks to its highly accurate motion trackers. The new wireless version for Quest maintains the same accuracy and stability of the PC version, giving players the best in-game experience.
Well, that sounds pretty great to us! Any VR gamer should give these a shot. Even if they do look a little goofy.
What’s the weirdest problem you’ve encountered in the real world while trying to play VR games? Let us know down in the comments, or hit us up on Twitter or Facebook.