Tom's Hardware Tries The Virtuix Omni VR Treadmill

By Seth Colaner
published

I distinctly recall that when I first heard of the Virtuix Omni VR Treadmill, I was mightily skeptical. It just seemed so bizarre -- and it came to the fore at a time when HDMs like the Oculus Rift were miles away from being consumer-ready, finished products. Fast forward a couple of years, and there the thing is, in a wild, loud and fun booth on the show floor at CES.

Yes, it really was that much fun. No apologies for our unbridled enthusiasm.

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Seth Colaner
7 Comments Comment from the forums
  • Proxify
    Good article, one typo. HMD instead of HDM.
    Reply
  • dsdsds
    in the video, I think he said "aim with your head.. wherever you look". why? why not aim with the gun?
    Reply
  • kcarbotte
    in the video, I think he said "aim with your head.. wherever you look". why? why not aim with the gun?

    The gun were were using is an off the shelf xbox light gun. its not attached to the game in any way in the setting we were in.
    The CEO of the company told us that lighthouse trackers can be used (Virtuix is a Vive partner) to track guns but the CES show floor has too much going on for the tracking to work properly.
    Aiming with your head works fine, but its not the only way it can be done.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    Thanks for posting the vid. Something like this is much better to see in use.
    Reply
  • kcarbotte
    17285881 said:
    Thanks for posting the vid. Something like this is much better to see in use.

    We definitely had fun recording the video content at CES this year.
    The Omni, while fun to see, is something you need to experience to really appreciate. I wanted one before trying it. Now I'm trying to rationalize the cost of a Rift and Omni.... fitness equipment is usually expesive right?
    Reply
  • Nossy
    Uh...wow. Just go play some paintball already geezus.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    17300165 said:
    Uh...wow. Just go play some paintball already geezus.
    Who's to say this can only be used in first-person shooters? A lot of people play fantasy and adventure games who would never LARP.

    And consider that you could even use this for non-gaming applications, such as telepresence.

    I think this holds fascinating potential for Battletech-style games, where instead of controlling a person-sized character, you could use it to control a giant mech.
    Reply