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Comment by Roritharr | Hacker News Reader

So, from looking at the video, it looks like these are wheels that can be angled so they make contact with whatever is on top of them more than the wheels next to them, applying a tiny bit of momentum in the desired direction to then angle out of the way while another wheel takes over. This is a really cool solution, but I can't imagine it not feeling very weird while walking since it's not you being moved with your entire contact surface area instead of some parts of your shoe getting dragged somewhere. In general the unexpected inertia must also feel really weird.

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I wonder how that interacts with being visually immersed in a VR environment. The walker will have no momentum, but still go through the motions of walking -- the visual feedback won't align with that of the inner ear.

Maybe the next step is to put the rolly floor on a platform that can be dynamically angled away from horizontal, effectively creating a pitch that makes the person feel like they're leaning (well, they would be leaning) and that might be enough to fool the inner ear? Gravity and acceleration are pretty interchangeable after all.

Also what if you walk into a virtual wall? Is there some collision detection and can it force you to stop somehow

Full-body haptic? Ha, we're yet to see that. Maybe with really powerful, quick-acting fans?

If you actually read the article you will see it works in an entirely different manner.

The same is true for a treadmill, and that doesn’t feel really weird to walk on. Though omni-directional treadmills for VR have been tested before, and IIRC it’s the starting and stopping that feels weird.

> and that doesn’t feel really weird.

Seeing people step on a treadmill for the first time I'd say it definitely does. You get used to it but the feeling is very different from regular walking/running.

If it’s running at a constant speed, it shouldn’t be any different according to Newtonian mechanics. Perhaps seeing the environment stand still is weird, but in VR (which I understand would be the main application here) that’s a non-issue.

It also needs to be sufficiently low-latency in its reactions to your change in speed. That’s not an issue when you’re walking or running outside. I think the need to maintain a very consistent speed is one of the difficulties in using a treadmill for the first time.

My issues with a treadmill is that there’s this wall right in front of me I run into if I run too fast, so it’s hard to run fast (even if I don’t run into the wall); the tread is narrow so I can’t move too far to the side (which makes it harder to run even if I don’t move to the side, I also find it a bit harder to run on a narrow sidewalk than a wide one); and of course I can’t run too slow or I’ll fall off. Seeing everything around me completely still as I run makes me nauseous, but that’s much less of an issue. The main issue, having to consciously constrain how I run (even if I actually run at a constant speed in a very straight line outside, so in theory it wouldn’t be necessary), makes running outside significantly easier and faster.

VR should stick to bike trainers. Making an immersive bike that can simulate hills and turns and feel natural seems achievable today and is relatively a piece of cake.

It's weird, but it's not "learning a bike" weird

> IIRC it’s the starting and stopping that feels weird.

Well sure. You can't feel absolute velocity, you only feel acceleration.

Oh, right. Feeling no force feedback when you stop. Yikes. Must feel like trying to walk on ice.

Just reverse the inertial dampers to simulate the sensation.

oddly it’s vibration and tilting rather than wheels, it reduces the friction using this method so it might be more like walking in place on ice

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