Move Naturally in VR! A Progress Update from Freeaim on our VR Shoes

[@Diskun360]

Hip based movement is critical for immersion and for so many games, and I'm glad it's working now. What intrigues me the most now is how the shoes handle different walks such as sneaking in stealth games (i.e. Espire 2) and sudden transitions to running to change position quickly from one place to another. I know this is not a final product and those are probably further away goals, but I'm still impressed at the progress you have made with the Freeaim VR Shoes and these are looking way better than threadmills for so many use cases.

[@FreeaimVR]

Yeah, I only used hip based movement now :D We've recently made it so the VR shoes can handle going fast and slow more seamlessly, as well as transition between walking and turning better. Backwards walking will come in the future.

[@Destractoid]

Do you have a recommended way to use hip based locomotion? ​@@FreeaimVR

[@thesuspensionlover]

cant wait for these, ill look out

[@raeldor]

This is going to be a game changer. Hip based movement is critical, so very happy to see that implemented. Keep up the great work!

[@oliverx65]

this is an amazing idea, i think the best solution to vr movement so far. keep up the great work

[@torq21]

Love that you are making headway with the standalone! Always exciting to see your progress.

[@yiyi9997]

this update was a game changer, can't wait to see more progress

[@eduskywalker1826]

Mate, please. I cant wait to get those VR Shoes!!! . I already soldmy KAT VR.

[@crispycrusader1]

Am curious as to why sold, was it just too noisy, maybe wear and tear is too fast with shoes?

[@IBreakGames]

I had one as well (KAT C2+) and sold it, these were my major issues: - latency between foot movement and game movement was atrocious. It felt like 1-2 full steps behind what my legs were doing - amount of effort required to "pullsh" yourself along made it nearly impossible perform delicate movements in game, it felt like you were dragging something across the ground rather than walking or running - torso tracking frequently would get lost and go off-center, clicking the button to reset while playing was incredibly challenging The price for the hardware and R&D makes sense, but the price for the experience just doesn't feel worth it.

[@crispycrusader1]

@@IBreakGames thank you for the information on how it worked out in your case, unfortunate it has issues like that for the price

[@eduskywalker1826]

@@crispycrusader1 KAT VR slide Millsare a piece of crap. Poor performance, expensive and occupied a lot of space in my playroom.

[@crispycrusader1]

@@eduskywalker1826 Hopefully then something like these shoes then or another better improved mill type will come out to give us a more realistic experience in walking and running

[@Timohtep]

Hell yeah, stoked to have been following this for all these years for it to all finally be coming together.

[@ponny256]

Ooooh yeah, I'm very glad that you released a new video!!! I hope your project will be mega successful in the future

[@bene452]

looks very promising, and exactly like something that i always felt was missing in vr. Hope you all get some really nice investors.

[@DTStudiosMC]

If this is successful, it's going to change everything.

[@AdamsSIMporium]

Indeed, people will get a shock when fat old me tells them I'm going for a "walk" lol.

[@DTStudiosMC]

@@AdamsSIMporium lol

[@onomade_trader]

NICEEEEEEE !! gonna use to walk high AF in night city LOL

[@Kryojenix]

Srsly, you'd think citizens of Night City would legit be using Freeaim-style shoes! 😂 Or even Freeaim-style cyber-feet! 🤣

[@FreeaimVR]

VR in Cyberpunk with full motion controls is my dream game.

[@AniMatrix0101]

Love to see the progress thanks for sharing!

[@PavelMamontov-o9t]

Stoked, immediately subbed ! Thank you for helping VR grow, this is incredible.

[@Vidyadude]

Great improvements all around.

[@firenx437]

This is amazing!! can't wait till these are available

[@tnsquidd]

This just seems like a more elegant solution than the treadmill approach to VR movement. If this was refined and sold as a consumer product at a reasonable price I'd be far, far more likely to buy these than other products

[@shadow-me]

3 questions: (1) can you run in them, and if so is there a limit to how fast, or do you have to run weirdly? (2) Are the shoes loud when you walk or run in them? (3) Will it make a difference if you run faster or slower or is it more of a,”if walk then go certain speed, and if run then go certain speed”, so in other words will it sometimes feel like your sliding forwards in game or going slower than you should? Also a suggestion: maybe make it so in some games if the game makes you slower, like your walking through water or something, then you could make it so that the shoes would resist a bit. Anyways really excited for this!

[@FreeaimVR]

For me this is the max speed: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 You can also hear the real life audio in that video. Note that this is with an older version of the VR shoes and the noise with newer versions has been reduced. More info on noise: freeaim.com/faqs#noise The shoes adjust the speed depending on the speed the user wants to go. We're planning on having features in an SDK that game developers can use to introduce haptics and effects like you suggest (walking through water). However I believe it requires the game developer directly integrating it into their game. SteamVR itself doesn't have a way to notify us of different terrain the user is walking on.

[@shadow-me]

awesome thanks for answering these questions cant wait for them to release@@FreeaimVR

[@SirevixGames]

Omg this is way better than virtuix omny I don't own any king of walking device for vr but I'm interested in the topic and just discovered this. This is really promising, maybe the best solution out there! Also, love that the shoes slowly go back to center, it remains to see if that's a thing that's noticeable for the user (it could be immersion breaking if it is noticeable). You guys managed to make vr walking from a huge device like kat vr in to a device as small as shoes. It's amazing.

[@FreeaimVR]

Thanks. We haven't noticed the position correction while playing. One of the main goals with it is for it to be gradual so that it's not noticeable.

[@ETM2024]

Looking like an excellent product so far. I wish you luck with the investors and hope to see these take off commercially.

[@danielbuckman2727]

Really cool! I can't wait to play with these one day.

[@wooger0111]

Super exciting! I submitted the survey the same day you posted this video. Hoping to hear back soon :)

[@FreeaimVR]

Sorry, it's been a very busy week. We'll get back to you as soon as we can.

[@PhilMartin007]

Good effort folks - quality video and quality improvements. Impressive to see.

[@OliverMillin]

Great to see the progress of these! Well done and good luck for future updates!

[@SkeleTonHammer]

Thanks for pointing out about the residual "slide" after a stop, I was worried that this was a flaw but it's good to hear that this was a choice and can even be disabled if the user prefers.

[@zoide-777]

This is so cool, guys! Congrats, keep it up :)

[@punishedkid]

7:27 I assume people are more concerned about squatting or even half-kneeling. Some people automatically lift their heels when doing this.

[@FreeaimVR]

Okay thanks. We replied to those people who asked about crouching, but I don't think any of them replied back. With the VR shoes as they are now the user can bend their foot, because there is a hinge allowing the shoe to bend. I'm able to easily reach the floor to pick something up. Things like going down on one knee or lower could be supported in the future, but it's not a high priority right now.

[@AdamsSIMporium]

Fantastic! Just filled out your form, I really home I can try them out in London. Your shoes are hands down (perhaps feet down?) the most exciting thing to come to VR since the launch of consumer headsets. One quick question please, how loud are these in terms of the physical use? By that I mean not the motors etc, but just the impact on the floor. I assume the wheels have rubber for grip, but is there also any mini dampening or suspension in place etc? My concern is for people with neighbours below. Thanks.

[@FreeaimVR]

We have some information on noise here: freeaim.com/faqs#noise The wheels are rubbery and we'll recommend using them on a mat, but we'd need to do more testing to say how loud they would be for a downstairs neighbor.

[@SoraBorg]

I imagine the question is how low you can stabily crouch, or perhaps "can you squat"

[@onura2710]

I hope you put an affordible price for this. My fear is, If you decide 800 dollar katvr as your price competition. Cybershoes price range would be great for this. Specially earlier version only support walking rather than running.

[@FreeaimVR]

We'll do our best to make it affordable for as many people as possible.

[@justingirard7476]

OMG what a smart design. It is so obvious.

[@ThePixelatedCoder]

is there any eta on release of price estimate? look great and hopefully arent absurdly exspensive edit - would this work on carpet or only solid floors?

[@FreeaimVR]

For the Pro Developer Edition of the VR shoes (for business), please fill out the business contact form and we will contact you with pricing information. For the consumer version, we have not set price yet. We expect to announce one in 2024. We are targeting a consumer price that is competitive or cheaper than existing consumer VR locomotion solutions. www.freeaim.com/faqs#price-of-vr-shoes They may work on very thin carpet, but we recommend a hard surface. For more details: www.freeaim.com/faqs#compare-to-slidemills

[@ThePixelatedCoder]

@@FreeaimVR i see there will be a floor mat purchasable option which would probally fix my play space having carpet

[@lolous-studio]

Can you run with these?

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement.

[@1Wurst]

Good luck guys! I hope you collect enough money to accomplish the mission!

[@hyakin7818]

maybe use base station like stations on the ground marking edges so it can center better

[@ScottKyu]

I play H3VR and other FPS games, and when I crash in to walls or furniture... I keep thinking of this. Keep on keeping on Freeaim!

[@FreeaimVR]

Well, if you can handle regular roomscale VR with the guardian and without crashing into stuff you should be able to handle the VR shoes...

[@ScottKyu]

@@FreeaimVR Yeah, when you get excited such as getting shot at in VR... in instinct I try to take big steps past guardian then bam. I kick a furniture or smash my head into a wall. With your VR shoes it won't be as likely. Just wanted to say it'd change the 'game' for us FPS players. One thing I was wondering was how do we kneel(crouch), some of FPS gamers do that.

[@KhaziirEverflight]

Looking forward to watchign this develop. Cool stuff for sure.

[@tobydavidson957]

This looks amazing, it's so exciting to see such Innovative inventions in the VR and AR space! I'm curious however with these AR movement technologies, is it possible to run/speedwalk or is that not possible with current hardware? Additionally, does this technology assist with reducing motion sickness experienced by some vr users, if it were this would be a really intereguing solution to such a common problem plaguing the community! Again, love your work, keep it up!

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people the current version should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster speeds. As for motion sickness, several of the people who have tested the VR shoes say that they normally get some motion sickness when playing VR but did not experience any when using the VR shoes. But it's early and we should do more testing before we say how much they help with motion sickness.

[@bobkopf_deez]

wow, this looks really cool

[@Zullian1]

This looks awesome, I wonder if it could be charged wirelessly from the pad u're standing on, like those wireless mouses charging on a mouse pad.

[@FreeaimVR]

Someone else also recently suggested a platform that uses inductive charging. That would probably be prohibitively expensive. The batteries that we have now should last 1.5-2 hours for most people (weight dependent), and can be quickly swapped. We also may pursue the idea of having the batteries on a belt.

[@keterclassentity6716]

For crouching, what happens if you try and take a knee. will it pull you out of a kneel if you wanted to do something akin to a superhero landing

[@TTwk]

many updates! if use together with multidirectional support platform, we can run! can wait to see them

[@Spiriax]

Awesome - thanks for the update! Will you support quicker movement, or running?

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement.

[@CIrAzYIX]

So you can enable/disable the rolling back when you stop? it would be cool if you still would show a clip where they stop instantly. because even though it may be more pleasent it would be cool to see it stop instantly so it doesn't look weird.

[@FreeaimVR]

I'll be making more improvements to the stopping soon, and I can also tweak the configuration to stop quicker for the next video (other than the one coming out on Saturday, we already filmed that).

[@CIrAzYIX]

@@FreeaimVR Thanks! I don't even need a whole video, just a clip where you show that they could if you want stop instantly would be cool to see.

[@Nick72c]

Love it ❤ - keep it coming!

[@unicorn3r]

I would love to try these been wanting some type of omni movement device since I knew they exis

[@ReavoEnd]

You mentioned that the hardware improvements made the shoes quieter. Can we please get a demonstration of this? There isn't a single one of your videos where you have a live audio feed of the room where the shoes are being used.

[@FreeaimVR]

There are some videos with live audio. They're in our user guides playlist. It's also on our FAQs page. freeaim.com/faqs#noise

[@Kana_108_]

Nice! How much decibel do they make?

[@FreeaimVR]

We don't have an exact decibel number. It would depend on how far away the mic is from the shoes. You can see more information here: freeaim.com/faqs#noise

[@Kana_108_]

@@FreeaimVR thank you. How much decibel would they make if 3 feet away?

[@RetroBoxRoom]

Having a small front room, these look great. How well will they work on carpet? I know you showed a small crouch, but can you easily squat? There's a few games that require this, to pick stuff up from the floor/ground. I'd love to try these out. Is there a VR convention coming up in the UK, you're going to show them off at?

[@FreeaimVR]

We talk about carpet here: www.freeaim.com/faqs#compare-to-slidemills Maybe for very thin carpet they'll work, but we don't recommend using them on carpet. A hard/semi-hard (vinyl) flooring material is best. If only carpet is available we recommend using something like a rigid office chair mat. I can crouch down low enough to touch the floor. If we attend any other expos, we'll mention it in future videos and our newsletter.

[@SYNTHONIE]

Question, why don't you do a Kickstarter? So that private people can support you and then get the first batch of VR shoes.

[@FreeaimVR]

You can see our newsletter for further context: www.freeaim.com/so/eeOtMYafz?languageTag=en We want to work with businesses and investors first to raise more funds to better build the company and our ability to produce VR shoes. It's less risky than launching a Kickstarter.

[@cuervos69]

I never thought this tech would go anywhere when it was first unveiled. Now I’m excited!😮 absolute game changer

[@FreeaimVR]

It'll only get better from here!

[@tiagotiagot]

For the self-recentering, do you just move in the fixed line the player is currently pointed at, or do you also do subtle tweaks to the speed of each shoe to induce a rotation over time to better align the axis of motion to facilitate getting even closer to the center?

[@FreeaimVR]

I won't go into details, but we use data like the HMD position and heading to make the shoes go faster or slower or rotate the drive modules.

[@UnfiItered]

I notice that the strap system dont seems like it keeps the shoes tight as you pick up your feet. You can probably improve upon this by using the boa system

[@FreeaimVR]

Hmm they feel tight against my feet.

[@UnfiItered]

@@FreeaimVR it's just from my observation of the video. You can slow down the video and watch as the shoe slap your toes when you step down. But dont mind me, I was just suggesting something that may be able to improve comfort of you product.

[@FreeaimVR]

Thanks for the suggestion. I mentioned we added extra padding to the straps. I am actually going to soon test out different thicknesses of the padding. If the padding is a bit thicker, the straps may be a bit tigher.

[@TemporaryVoid]

Great job ! As a side note, people are different (agility, learning ability, free time...), so choice is king. Hopefully stopping without getting pulled back becomes an option (even if hidden in an advanced user settings category with warnings). I would be annoyed being stuck forever struggling to interact or pick up stuff every I stop knowing that I might handle it.

[@FreeaimVR]

We're working on making stopping better. We have some ideas we're going to try in the next month that may make it better. And like I mentioned in the video, we're working on upgrading the electronics so we can have additional sensors. With those additional sensors I'm pretty sure we'll be able to make stopping better. Our ideal is the shoes respond as perfectly as possible when the user stops. So while right now users find it easier to gradually stop, our ideal is to make it as responsive as possible, but we need to not throw the user off. We will offer options to configure the shoes differently for different users. You're right in that a more experienced user can handle the shoes stopping quicker. And we may offer support options that mean the shoes stopping more quickly isn't as big of a deal. If we have a frame or harness that guarantees the user will stay upright, so they can't be jerked by the VR shoes, the stopping can be quicker.

[@oynamaqe892]

This is amazing, I'm keeping an eye on this. Also, how do you track the hip based movement? I'm assuming there are IMU"s in the shoes and if so, do they drift over time?

[@FreeaimVR]

Using IMUs yes. I've used them for over an hour though and haven't needed to recalibrate, but we'll do more testing.

[@agentlonestar007]

Two things that I'd highly recommend for these shoes: 1. An open-source API or codebase for the shoes. This will mean that for any games that might not have gamepad support or something like that, the community will be able to assist in adding support for the shoes. 2. Inside-out tracking. Now this is less important, but if these shoes could have the bonus of foot tracking for games such as VRChat, they would be much more popular, I guarantee. Another thing that I would love to see, but I'm guessing is less likely, is support for operating systems outside Windows. I know that most companies don't care about supporting Linux, but it would be absolutely great. But I do fully understand why you wouldn't want to support Linux, because it's another obligation for a much smaller group of people. (Although, if you make the drivers open-source, then the community could easily add Linux support for you.)

[@dogwithoutw]

I wonder how the shoes perform on side running. It can be a great replacement for dodging, which basically makes it possible to deliver a full souls-like gameplay in vr.

[@FreeaimVR]

The shoes have omnidirectional capabilities, but don't support continuous side strafing at this time. The drive modules can rotate such that as the user walks forward the user can be gradually transferred sideways. Future versions may support continuous side strafing. We have talked about it more for the consumer version than the current version.

[@staffanstuff]

Looks promising. Keep up the good work.

[@voc007]

Awesome work, keep it up!

[@TrashfoxUwU]

Nothing like some good news, is there any chance we'll get an estimate of how long until it'll take to roll out a consumer version or is it still to early to make any assumptions like this?

[@FreeaimVR]

We're hoping to release more information on availability and pricing for a consumer version sometime this year. We're raising funds to help make that happen. The more funds we raise and the more quickly it happens, the faster we can pursue a consumer version. I'll quote this part from our newsletter we just sent out - We have not forgotten about releasing the VR shoes for anyone to buy and at a price that's affordable to as many as possible. The fact that we are working with businesses right now, means that we can raise funds to build the company and its ability to produce enough VR shoes. It also means we can test and validate the performance, reliability and safety aspects. We appreciate that many of you have been waiting a while and we thank you for being patient. Many products never make it to consumers, but that is our ultimate goal and we're working super hard on it. You will be the first to know... Newsletter link, for full context: www.freeaim.com/so/eeOtMYafz?languageTag=en

[@MistaFloppa19]

Does this mean that the shoes can have Full Body Tracking (FBT) in them? These would be great to use in games like Blade and sorcery and VR Chat!

[@FreeaimVR]

We're planning on adding feet tracking in the future.

[@zerochain3176]

so would there also be haptic feedback so wee can also feel the game floor if its it possible that its

[@FreeaimVR]

The haptic feedback will use haptic vibration motors.

[@npz1838]

Can you walk backward with these? Apologies if the videos show it but im usually listening to audio without video

[@FreeaimVR]

We don't have walking backwards implemented yet but it will be implemented well before we release a consumer product.

[@mdsf01]

Some amazing tech you're creating here. Looking forward to using them. Will you set up a Kickstarter?

[@FreeaimVR]

We're looking into that, other crowdfunding platforms or launching a preorder ourselves and we will you all know. While KS is a well known platform they charge about 10%, which means the price would have to include that, and if the campaign is underfunded, then the risk of failure is higher. If we are backed with investment and robust business model, this is good for all future backers. Thanks

[@GotchaVR]

Now these look very interesting! Forget testing! Let's go now! lol

[@KadargoGaming]

Way much better than then treadmills!

[@pixelfairy]

If you use a harness or support rig, could you go back to passive motors? And would that allow for faster movement, jumping etc?

[@FreeaimVR]

It would depend on the harness or frame. For passive solutions to work you need a rigid harness that holds you in the center. So something like a 360 hand rail or a safety harness with a rope to the ceiling/frame overhead wouldn't work with passive setups, but would with motorized setups. My (FinallyFunctional) passive shoes did support faster movement and I did do some jumping, but didn't test jumping that much. We're going to try to make the consumer version of the Freeaim VR shoes support faster movement and things like jumping.

[@thesuspensionlover]

this will be very fun to mess with in vr

[@tiagotiagot]

Is it something you just get used to, or are the acceleration and deceleration profiles calibrated to approximate that effect of slowing down on a car at just the right rate that you don't noticed you're being accelerated/decelerated?

[@FreeaimVR]

The shoes try to match the rate the user is walking. Yes it's something you get used to, similar to walking on a gym treadmill.

[@jimmygoodlove1139]

Can you sit down with the shoes on? I play games that allow you to sit in real life to sit in game, and I was wondering if it'd be hard to get to a chair or even sit in place with the freeaim shoes, since they might move you around while you're trying to sit or get to a seat. It'd be nice to have a feature to temporarily disable them quickly and reenable them quickly as well by maybe taping the shoes a couple times or something.

[@FreeaimVR]

We plan to experiment with those chairs that can strap to your legs. And we've made some support frames/harnesses where sitting could possibly be integrated. As far as grabbing a chair, the motors in the shoes can be quickly disabled. Simply open the SteamVR menu, go to our overlay, and there is a checkbox to enable/disable the motors.

[@IBreakGames]

So far, what is the plan for top-speed of the user looking like? Is the eventual plan to allow users to run in game as well, or is the hardware available just not quite capable of something so ambitious yet?

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement. It's not as important for the commercial version.

[@tom_pom2107]

I wonder if omniwheels could be use on the shoes to get better freedom of mouvment 🤔

[@FreeaimVR]

We have looked at omni wheels and mecanum wheels. The main reason we don't use them is that they can't handle a high load /weight, without the wheels becoming large and heavy (with bearings etc.), and don't have enough traction. Small mecanum wheels work for robots weighing up to 15-20kg, but to cope with a human, say 100kg would require a rather large and expensive wheel design. And each mecanum wheel needs its own motor drive and so trying to fit all that into a compact and lightweight shoe, that's reliable is just not practical and we have tried that. We designed our own omnidirectional drive unit that's simpler and more reliable.

[@arielaw4]

This is a significantly better solution than a treadmill. I hope you get a lot of investment so you can run in these, have support equipment like a soft floor mat in case you fall, and so they can become super comfortable. Eventually they should be redesigned to look sleek as well. I hope you get to that point

[@FreeaimVR]

Thanks. We're planning on making the consumer version and future commercial versions look more sleek and comfortable, which is part of the reason we're looking for more funding. As far as a soft floor mat, the VR shoes currently don't work well on soft surfaces. As explained in the video we have been looking into support options, which will most likely take the form of harnesses or frames.

[@laurencetrippen6804]

Wow, this is a really great idea!

[@Hakeem597]

what about kneeling for tactical shooters?

[@FreeaimVR]

Kneeling isn't something we've pursued very much and I can't say that we officially support it, but it is definitely something we could implement in the future.

[@cl5ne]

Do you guys have a potential release date/year in sight yet? I would love to get my hands on these as soon as possible, ever since I got my headset I wished that I could just walk around infinitely in game as if Im actually there but the KatVR and other slide mill solutions never suited my interest but these look absolutely perfect and I am very excited for their release and would love to know roughly when I will be able to purchase them. :)

[@FreeaimVR]

We're hoping to make an announcement on price and release dates for a consumer version sometime this year. We're working on a ton of things to try to make that happen.

[@cl5ne]

@@FreeaimVRVery exciting, looking forward to it

[@ponny256]

​@@FreeaimVRit would be great if it happens this year 🎉🎉🎉

[@tiagotiagot]

I wasn't the one that asked, but I would guess the "crouch" question was about the kind of more extreme crouching like to hide behind barriers in shooters, or going thru ground-level vents and stuff like that; not just hunching down a little like demonstrated in this vid.

[@FreeaimVR]

Okay, next time I can show squatting down.

[@I_was_a_Bullfrog]

You may have mentioned it previously, but is there a weight limit for these at all?

[@FreeaimVR]

We need to do more testing but are targeting 120kg. www.freeaim.com/faqs#weight-limit-comfort

[@busyswizzler]

the shoes and that floor tile thing disney have been making look awsome

[@FreeaimVR]

The Disney floor tiles are cool, but we hope to offer something more affordable, eventually available to consumers, and more portable.

[@Vortechtral]

The Disney floor tiles are a whole room setup. It isn't just a mat on the floor, its the bars around, there are sensors around that "mat" and the "mat" also goes well below the floor, and every roller or sets of rollers have motors and sensors on them as well. This will not be cheap, and probably never even be available to the general public. At least not that current model, they may try to shrink it down and shrink the price some, but it will still be very expensive.

[@Noredia_Yuki]

Awesome device but can you walk backwards in these shoes tho?

[@FreeaimVR]

We don't have walking backwards implemented yet but it will be implemented well before we release a consumer product.

[@frostics.]

I have a question, would a more bend-able form be possible? are the insides too intricate or large to allow segment/bending or no. Reasoning is that i can see that instead of the user walking like normal and ending their step with just the front of the foot+toes with the heel raised up isnt possible and its more like wearing plastic shoes on your feet (which obviously cant bend) are there looks to change or improve upon this in the future?

[@FreeaimVR]

Maybe it's not clear from the way I walk, but the shoes do have a hinge that allows the foot to bend. When I walk I do slightly lift my heel, but not by much.

[@rorymorrissey4970]

Neat, I'm skeptical AF of course but any attempts in the area are hugely welcomed and seem to be the only way to make progress in VR since the big players refuse to do anything except for reiterate on indie developed hardware.

[@MrBagel111]

could you set up a Kickstarter to make it easier to donate to this amazing product

[@FreeaimVR]

You can see this newsletter for further context: www.freeaim.com/so/eeOtMYafz?languageTag=en We want to work with businesses and investors first to raise more funds to better build the company and our ability to produce VR shoes. It's less risky than launching a Kickstarter.

[@D3ADLOLO]

this look cool for explorations games, but how does it perform for running ?

[@FreeaimVR]

It does fine in other games too. See our gameplay playlist. For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement.

[@aydenburgess905]

Man I wish my vr-ready rig wasn't out of commission right now 😭 this looks amazing

[@KayoMichiels]

I was wondering... does the shoes take into account your way of walking? My feet point out a bit when i'm walking in a straight line, does the shoes compensate for that?

[@FreeaimVR]

The shoes have many settings that can be configured. Yes the shoes can have an angle offset applied to them so you can walk with your toes pointing outward.

[@albertb4460]

Do you have any grip with those on? Worried what happens if you stumble

[@FreeaimVR]

You can walk around with the motors powered off. It takes some force to backdrive the motors. No one has ever fallen over. For new users it does take 5-10mins to get used to the feeling and slight change in balance while in VR, and so there is higher risk when using the VR Shoes for the first time, however we will have video tutorials and hopefully a tutorial in VR too. We're also considering support frames/harnesses to prevent falls and once people get used to the VR shoes. We do take the safety aspects very seriously.

[@pandamusart]

Is the limit for sprinting in game more equivalent to speed walking?

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement. In the game you can configure the movement speed. So a slow jog can equate to a sprint in-game.

[@mermaskte]

Im really curious about running with these. How fast can you go?

[@FreeaimVR]

For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement.

[@samac4750]

Will it be possible to run?

[@doomersnek3878]

Have you demoed the shoes while running?

[@FreeaimVR]

We've shown faster movement. For most people they should support a slow jog/fast walk. It will depend on the user's weight. You can see this here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hqCso2N4lpWtprMfeature=shared&t=96 Future versions may support faster movement. You can see the slow jog in some of our videos in the gameplay playlist.

[@Dug77]

how big of a space would you need for these do i need a big play space or would a 5 foot by 5 foot space work?

[@FreeaimVR]

We still recommend a 2m by 2m (6.5ft by 6.5ft) space, but with the improvements to position correction I normally stayed within 750mm (2.5ft) of the center. Going beyond that was normally me leaning my head past 750mm or taking multiple sidesteps in a row. So while not ideal your playspace would probably be okay. Plus we may introduce support frames or similar that could help define a smaller boundary.

[@raiman944]

would walking / sliding also charge the batteries?

[@FreeaimVR]

It's not really easy to backdrive the motors, but doing so might provide a little recharge. However we don't really recommend doing that. The current batteries should last 1.5-2 hours for most people when walking most of the time. And they can be swapped quickly. For slower games, such as Red Matter like I was playing, where you might stand around a lot, they will last longer. For example, I played Red Matter for 1.25 hours from a full charge and the batteries only went down to 70%. My weight is about 170 pounds.

[@bunbun8131]

this is insane. wish i was rich so i could invest in this

[@Saint-Jimmy]

What about more movement heavy games? Like, Into The Radius or The Walking Dead SAS where the sprint function isnt always pressed but needs to be used in certain "tense" situations? Also, what does a typical investment look like for your company? Is it more akin to crowd funding or are you looking for a large investment from fewer people/businesses?

[@FreeaimVR]

We're actually planning on making videos of Into the Radius and WDSAS. So subscribe if you want to see those. For now, you can take a look at our gameplay playlist, where we have played movement heavy games like After the Fall, Compound, and others. kzbin.info/aero/PLX00GpnyJg7bE48qBtUZ-uowYBP-fB6yB For investment, the latter. Larger investment from fewer people/businesses, although we haven't ruled out crowdfunding in the future.

[@kingBigfootia]

How does this compare to the Kat Walk C? I've been using mine for about two years and while it is definitely more immersive, it's not the same as normal walking, it feels more like you're skating and dragging something behind you. Do these shoes feel more natural or is there still some friction?

[@FreeaimVR]

I've tried the Virtuix Omni, and my coworker has tried the Kat Walk C. Of course we're biased, but we find the VR shoes to be the closest thing to natural walking that is available. It's much more natural feeling than slidemills. As you said, slidemills are more like skating and dragging your feet. I've personally also make passive (no motors) VR shoes in the past, and while those feel better than slidemills, they don't feel nearly as good as the Freeaim VR shoes. The Freeaim VR shoes do have some noise, but it's better than slidemills in our opinion.

[@pixelfairy]

The c2 is a better experience than the original c. The shoes are wearable mice, so it tracks your slide. Still sliding though. And still quite loud. I've come to appreciate the extra effort required as it makes even walking in game more of a workout than irl. And, I like to sprint in game. But slower than that, these shoes seem like they have potential for a better or more natural feel.

[@TheAzuritePerson]

how well will these work with full body tracking? what if i still wanna sit down or lay down how easy will that be with the extra height?

[@FreeaimVR]

The shoes only raise you up a few inches. We haven't tested them with full body tracking but I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work. In the future we want to add feet tracking.

[@TheAzuritePerson]

hmmm, i mean if yous do product testing id love to review and give feedback on improvements ^^ + ive got full body so i can let you know how that works!@@FreeaimVR

[@scm74realtavirtuale90]

I'm extremely interested in the standalone version, I'm not an investor but just a player, who would love to move this way in some VR games! I really hope to see videos and progress soon! The only thing that would lower my interest is if the shoes need a WiFi line to work, then that would be a bit of a problem.

[@FreeaimVR]

Thanks. The VR shoes use wireless Bluetooth to communicate.

[@scm74realtavirtuale90]

@@FreeaimVR then it's ok! 🤩

[@scm74realtavirtuale90]

@@FreeaimVR if a prototype doesn't cost much, I'd like to test a prototype on the standalone Quest 3, I live in Italy! it's ok for bluetooth!🙂

[@FreeaimVR]

Sounds good. You can find a link to a tester form in the video description.

[@scm74realtavirtuale90]

@@FreeaimVR from a description I had read I seemed to have understood that only if I lived in England could I act as a Beta tester, so if you tell me that from Italy it is not a problem and that I could have access to the stand alone version, I might be interested in more serious and thorough way then!🙂

[@LoganDark4357]

It looks like the shoes only work for people who can walk completely flat footed? if so, that's a major accessibility issue.

[@FreeaimVR]

The shoes have a hinge for bending the foot, and as I walk I'm lifting my heel first, not just lifting my foot straight up.

[@LoganDark4357]

@@FreeaimVR and what about people who can't touch their heels to the ground at all? significant percentage of the autistic population is that way

[@snihyper]

Only if I was in the UK/US right now to fully test this things out..

[@FreeaimVR]

In the future we may mail units for people to try on their own.

[@snihyper]

Sounds great! can't wait to already check it out!!@@FreeaimVR

[@Reonu]

A question I forgot to ask - will this adapt to bigger than normal shoe sizes? My shoe size is an European 47 (apparently equals to US size 14?), which is way bigger than normal. I hope I don't get left out because of that!

[@FreeaimVR]

For the current version US mens 7-11 would be the best, but with an insert it could go down to a 4, and the foot binding can be moved back a bit to possibly go up to US mens size 12. With a different version where the battery is on the waist, we could go up to 15, but there is also the weight limit to consider. When we make a consumer version, we're going to try to modify the design to support the widest range of foot sizes possible, or just have different sizes of shoes.

[@Reonu]

@@FreeaimVR I don't go over the weight limit (not even close). I'm just a reasonably fit 1.83m tall guy who happens to have size 14 feet. Huge feet doesn't mean going over the weight limit, so I really hope you can support bigger sizes :)

[@FreeaimVR]

@@Reonu With size 14 feet, it should work if the battery pack is worn on the waist, allowing more length for the feet, although we still need to do more testing. This would be similar to the apple vision pro's battery pack, we're looking into proving this as an option, but wouldn't be an expensive add-on, just to cover the cost of extra cables and a waist worn battery holder.

[@Reonu]

@@FreeaimVRAny solution is welcome, I just hope I don't get completely left out :) talking about the commercial version of course, I'm not expecting the prototypes to accommodate everyone. I'm really excited to follow this project!!