Immersive Fitness innovation combines virtual reality in a treadmill

The VUE VR Treadmill is a first-of-its-kind active virtual reality motion platform in which the participant’s actions in the virtual world are controlled by first-person navigation actions such as walking, running or crouching, creating an unprecedented immersive fitness experience.

Offering 360-degree freedom of movement in which the user can control their avatar without restraints.

VUE VR Treadmill is designed to accommodate a user height ranging from 142cm to 195cm in height and weighing up to 130kg.When fully assembled, VUE VR Treadmill platform is 123cm wide, 220cm long  and 240cm high.

The concept for the Treadmill began in 2012 when entrepreneur Palmer Luckey put together a Kickstarter campaign to bring a VR headset to reality.

Looking to raise US$250,000, the campaign raised US$2.4 million. The Oculus Rift VR headset was born as a result of the funds raised by Palmer, who later went on to sell to Facebook for a US$2 billion.

Thereafter, the Virtuix Omni and later it’s clone the Cyberith Virtualizer treadmills were introduced where users were strapped into what looked like a baby walker for adults, had to wear endless sensors around your legs and wear a specially designed pair of frictionless shoes or booties to cover their shoes. As well as being uncomfortable, the experience was said to lack natural movement.

By contrast, the VUE VR Treadmill is a little different from it predecessors (although the low-friction shoes are still necessary).

As a statement from the company advises “the VUE VR Treadmill allows you to walk, run, sit, crouch and go backwards naturally in virtual reality games and simulations.

“Its concave platform enables a smooth, natural gait and an immersive walking and running motion with two belts providing maximum safety and stability.

“(And) if you’re still struggling with the ‘treadmill’ part of this, I have to say now that there is no ‘belt’ that you normally associate with a treadmill.

“The ‘player’ can walk and run freely with hand and arm moving naturally, with no obstacles in the way when putting on VR Headset and playing in the virtual reality world with a ‘free rotation’ part providing 360-degree freedom of movement allowing you to control your avatar without restraints – no cumbersome straps or sensors on your legs.

“With a decoupled head and body movement, so you can move and look in different locations simultaneously, the VUE VR Treadmill ‘smart speed’ recognises the speed of your movement and changes the pace in the game to reflect it.”

For more information go to www.vuetechnologie.com/product/vue-vr-treadmill

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