Infinadeck is an active omnidirectional VR treadmill which has been in development since at least 2014. A new video shows the treadmill now using Vive Trackers for enhanced tracking, which appears to have increased the responsiveness of the device. The Infinadeck is set to launch this week.
Infinadeck is fairly unique among VR treadmills that we’ve seen in the past as it’s an active VR treadmill, which uses moving parts, rather than a passive VR treadmill, which relies on low friction surfaces, like the Virtuix Omni.
Infinadeck’s interesting design effectively works like a tank track (which can roll in one direction) where each tread is its own tiny treadmill (which can move perpendicular to the tank track direction). With the two movements combined, the treadmill can move users in arbitrary directions, which means it can be used to counteract a user’s movement in any direction.
We’ve tried prototypes of the Infinadeck over the years, and have seen it get more compact and responsive over time. Despite offering a more natural gait thanks to a surface that actually moves under your feet, one sticky point has always been the tracking—which was previously achieved with a hanging harness—which was slow to respond to your movements and made it hard to change directions.
A new video has emerged from the company showing that the harness-based tracking has been scraped in favor of tracking data coming directly from the headset and Vive Trackers mounted on the waist and feet:
The video appears to show significantly more responsive tracking than previous versions of the treadmill, as can be seen at 1:48 where the user makes several 90 degree turns in just a few steps. While it’s almost certain that the waist-mounted sensor is feeding data into the treadmill for counter-movement, it isn’t clear if the foot and head Trackers are being used as part of the calculation, or if they’re simply facilitating the view of the virtual body to illustrate the video. We’ve reached out to the company for clarity.
This week Infinadeck is hosting a launch party at the SVVR office in Silicon Valley where the latest treadmill prototype will be on hand for demos. Ostensibly the device will be available for sale thereafter, though pricing details have yet to be announced.
