Treadmills and video games are two things that the world never really expected to come together into one device. However, Virtuix has made it work with the Omni, which together with the Oculus Rift provides the perfect virtual reality gaming experience.
For the most part, the Omni is simply a multi-directional treadmill which gamers can hook themselves into and the run, walk, or turn around in order to interact with the game. So instead of playing a game with a regular controller, you can control your in-game character as though you were actually them.
This opens up tons of possibilities for video game developers and while it will get picked up by fitness games first, implementing this technology into regular games like Call of Duty could completely change the face of gaming as we know it.
Right now, the Virtuix Omni is set to be released in March 2014 and preorders have just begun at $499 for the single version and $1,019 for the dual version. The single version of the Omni comes with just one device, harness, and one pair of shoes. For those of you that are both gamers and rich, the dual version comes with a second Omni treadmill, three pairs of shoes, and another harness.
If you plan on having friends over–and also have a lot of open space–then the dual makes sense. Shipping is also fairly expensive and starts at $60 for the single version when shipping within the US, prices increase for international customers.
The harness included with the Omni is primarily meant to keep people standing upright whenever they are in a situation that calls for both of their hands to be active. For example, walking through a forest would not require both hands, whereas holding a gun in CoD would.
Once combined with the $300 Oculus Rift , gamers have reportedly had great experiences with the system during test runs.
