Real, honest-to-goodness mainstream consumer virtual reality is just around the corner, thanks to the work of companies like Oculus. One of the the big hurdles for the technology thus far, however, has been locomotion. How do you actually move around the exciting new virtual world?
While a number of companies are offering a big, bulky treadmill solution, 3DRudder's got something a lot simpler in mind.
The device is a $175 board with a rounded bottom that makes it possible to move around a virtual reality environment by simply tilting your feet forward or back. It removes the need for a giant machine, and better yet for many gamers, you can pretty much sit still for the process.
I tried the peripheral out along with an Oculus Rift gaming demo, and I have to say, I was pretty impressed. I got the hang of it in about 30 seconds — tilt forward for forward, back for back, shift the board to turn around and apply pressure with opposite sides of the feet to change elevation.
It was a solid experience that really added to the reality of the virtual world — and I mananged to navigate around just fine without breaking a sweat.
