The Virtuix Omni Kickstarter is now live. The Omni is an omnidirectional treadmill for virtual reality which promises to let you walk, run, and jump inside of your favorite games. Prices start at $249 for a DIY kit and go up from there — quite a bit cheaper than we had previously expected.
Virtuix Omni Kickstarter
“The Omni takes virtual reality to the next level— allowing anyone to stand up and traverse virtual worlds with the natural use of their own feet. The Omni is the first virtual reality interface for moving freely and naturally in your favorite game. Moving naturally in virtual reality creates an unprecedented sense of immersion that cannot be experienced sitting down. That’s why we developed the Omni,” reads the Kickstarter page.
The Omni is being offered starting at $249 for the DIY kit, which requires that you construct your own support bar (the arms and ring that hold up the user). “We will provide you with drawings and guidance, you do the rest,” says the ‘DIY Omni Early Bird’ tier. There are 50 such units available, then the price goes up to $299 for the standard DIY Omni.
The complete Virtuix Omni (fully put together and ready to play) starts at $349, followed by $399 after that tier sells out. Here’s a guide to the Virtuix Omni Kickstarter price to keep things straight:
| Price – Tier | Reward | # Available |
|---|---|---|
| $249 – DIY Omni Early Bird | Get the Omni base and shoes, and build the upper support structure yourself. We will provide you with drawings and guidance, you do the rest. Tracking hardware and software included. | 50 |
| $299 – DIY Omni | Get the Omni base and shoes, and build the upper support structure yourself. We will provide you with drawings and guidance, you do the rest. Tracking hardware and software included. | 50 |
| $349 – Omni Early Bird | Get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software. | 150 |
| $399 – Omni Ready Player One | Receive a copy of Ready Player One signed by Ernest Cline! Take a peak into the future. And get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software. | 50 |
| $399 – Omni Early Enthusiast | Get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software, AND receive the exclusive Omni T-shirt, signed Omni artwork poster set, and mini Omni. | 50 |
| $399 – Omni Natural Motion Interface | Get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software. | 500 |
| $459 – Omni + T-shirt / signed poster set / mini Omni | Get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software, plus our exclusive t-shirt, signed poster set and mini Omni. | 500 |
| $479 – Omni + Omni Rack | Get the full Omni natural motion interface, including platform, shoes, belt, and tracking hardware and software, plus the Omni Rack (see project description) | 500 |
| $539 – Omni All-in | Get the Omni plus Omni Rack, and add our exclusive T-shirt, signed poster set and mini Omni. | 500 |
There are some lower and higher tiers than what we have listed here, but this is the core of the Virtuix Omni Kickstarter. The company says that these prices are “significantly” lower than what the unit will cost at retail. Most Omni tiers have an expected delivery of January 2014 (about 6 and a half months from when the Kickstarter ends). A few of the high end tiers are offering custom or ptotoype Omnis which are expected earlier.
The Virtuix Omni Kickstarter goal is $150,000. If tiers were backed starting from the top of our list, Virtuix would need to sell 427 Omni’s to fund their campaign. That doesn’t include any of the lower or higher tiers.
Some new details from the Virtuix Omni Kickstarter not heard previously:
- Base is 48-inch (1.21 meter) in diameter
- Weight is 110 pounds (50kg)
- Support ring can be adjusted to support users from 4’8″ to 6’5″ (142cm – 195cm)
- The safety ring supports up to 285lbs (130kg)
- Shoe sizes are available up to men’s 15
- Support arms are detachable to allow for low-profile storage
How Well Does the Virtuix Omni Work?
A new video released in the Kickstarter shows Virtuix CEO Jan Goetgeluk strolling around the world of Skyrim:
Virtuix says that the Omni will work with any game that uses keyboard input. The company is including software to map your motions on the Omni into input for your favorite games — it’ll even calculate calories burned. Battlefield 3, Half-Life 2, and Team Fortress 2 were among the games shown in the Virtuix Omni Kickstarter video.
According to Virtuix, the Omni will come with its own tracking hardware — a combination of accelerometers and magnetic tracking — which will be attached to each shoe. The Kinect is also supported by the Omni’s software, though it is optional.
While we haven’t tested the Virtuix Omni ourselves, Linus Tech Tips has a great overview of the device and share their thoughts after using the prototype Omni for the first time:
To learn more about how the Omni works, see this article.