Why 360 Treadmills May Never Work The Way You Expect

Marques Brownlee's first-hand experience with Disney's Holotile 360 treadmill reminded me of my time on the Infinadeck, the treadmill seen in Ready Player One. The Achilles heel for this tech remains the same 8 years later.
PATREON: / jasonhowell
#disney #holotile #vr
_____________________
SUBSCRIBE: / @techsploder
PATREON: / jasonhowell
BUY ME A COFFEE: www.buymeacoffee.com/jasonhowell
_____________________
JASON’S PODCASTS·
TECHSPLODER PODCAST: www.techsploder.com
AI INSIDE: www.aiinside.show
ANDROID FAITHFUL: www.androidfaithful.com
_____________________
·CONTACT·
BUSINESS AND SPONSORSHIP INQUIRIES: jason(at)yellowgoldstudios(dot)com

[@Techsploder]

What do you think? Will this technology ever overcome the major hurdle? Will we ever fully adjust to walking in this way as naturally as our normal every day life?

[@johnkuehne6454]

Solid points. I don't think your brain will ever be able to ignore the fact that the ground is actually moving beneath you while you stay stationary. It is an unnatural feeling.

[@Techsploder]

Exactly. I mena, some people will be able to figure it out. But with such a steep learning curve, it won't take the world by storm!

[@owlandriver]

So cool to see the comparison between older and newer VR technologies. Thanks for sharing your perspective!

[@Techsploder]

Thanks Cory!!

[@jeffhale1189]

Thanks for sharing. I’m a hopeful cynic when it comes to technology. I’m glad I discovered your channel. Blessings on your day.

[@Techsploder]

I'm hopeful too! And I could be completely wrong!

[@ignaciomarin3727]

Look how far we've come in fooling our sense of sight, from the early cinema inventions in the 1890s up to today's mind-blowing VR experiences. But it took many big brains to iterate on it, and over a century. Omnidirectional treadmills have tangible applications, and VR is slowly creeping into the mainstream, so I do believe we'll get a more realistic walking simulation... eventually

[@Techsploder]

No doubt, more realistic walking simulations are likely. Everything gets improved over time. I just have no clue how they ever really solve the fact that the ground is moving underneath your feet and how disconcerting that really is.

[@digital_dylan]

I’d love to see you try out different types of VR threadmill like the Kat Walk. The infinadeck feels like the absolute ultimate omnidirectional threadmill so you having tried it, i’d be curious what you would think about the other cheaper devices like the Kat Walk I mentionned and also the Omnideck! You’re right, probably nothing will feel like natural walking. But I do think that some of them will feel close enough that once you get used to it and that you play a game, you will feel that extra immersion and you wont be able to go back

[@Techsploder]

I would love to have that kind of access!!

[@Mambo56783]

Seeing behind the actual technology was interesting. I expected the tiles to be more complex. It's quite an ingenious solution to moving objects in a warehouse or even at home if all the floor was covered. For VR it does however seem like it's not enough on its own. Maybe when you can cover a Holodeck sized room with this it could work better since it could counter act your walking more gradually and allow you to keep actually accelerating a bit?

[@Techsploder]

No question there are some amazing applications for this tech. I think we want to jump to VR but it's going to be an uphill battle making it FEEL safe and real.

[@Toadsith]

@@Techsploder I often use an incline to make a treadmill comfortable - having gravity pull me away from the front of the machine makes it easier for me to settle into a normal gait. I wonder if these systems could use a variable and directional incline for the same solution?

[@Techsploder]

@@Toadsith Huh, interesting. Adding an incline to these tiles, that's something! But you could be onto something.

[@gurukast]

I have always been interested in this tech. I think the Disney way might be the better way that the infinieck, or the "sliding bowl" of Omni by Virtuix due to the fact that is this gets better, and the "tiles" get smaller, it will be more precise. We can already "wak/ run naturally" on a treadmill, but that's us matching the speed of the treadmill. not the treadmill just have to match our speed. I think as the AI fullbody tracking improves and the floor refinement gets better, we will get there. Of course arguably it's not the final destination for VR, because full dive VR would mean us not moving at all, and just intercepting signals from the brain to "move" a la the matrix or SAO - which is why you need an external person/factor to "disconnect" you - you can't lift your helmet /unplug in real life, you'd just be waving your hands around in the VR world lol

[@Techsploder]

Yeah,good point re the Treadmill moving and us adapting to the speed. It's very disconcerting walking on systems like this. I'll be curious to see if it ever gets solved.

[@ZacDonald]

Personally I've wanted to see more of the software lying and adapting to the player in a large open area to convince them it's an open world- nudging the player away from walls, or have them walk in a curve instead of a straight line unconsciously, over/under rotating the players own rotations in the digital world. In the early VR days I saw some research into this, I wish I could find the paper, but researchers were surprised by how much they could fudge things without the player noticing. I wonder with some of these 360 treadmills with there being a hex grid, if you'd want to nudge players on/off the grid to make it less noticeable.

[@Techsploder]

Yeah I've heard of the whole off-axis pathway on systems like these too. I think that's a great way to keep someone walking indefinitely on a smaller pad, no question. But it doesn't really tackle the ground moving underneath you effect that I think is the achilles heel to this sort of solution. I could be wrong!

[@LiveWire937]

I feel like I'd take to it like a fish to water, but I understand where you're coming from. In my case, I've already done *a lot* of getting used to "unusual motion" in my life, so much so in fact that just walking normally feels a little weird and unnatural with how repetitive, boring, and frankly inefficient the motion is. I avoid it whenever possible around the home by sliding and pivoting instead, and this just looks like an environment perfectly suited to my preferred way of moving, and not so much to "walking"

[@Techsploder]

I'm so curious to know more details about your unusual motion!

[@TayQuartermain]

This reminds me of the virtuality system from 1987

[@Techsploder]

Ahhh yes a major moment in VR!

[@xNekomander]

Idk it will probably take a neuralink or something like that to feel walking as something completely natural.

[@Techsploder]

At the point of a Neuralink solution, I doubt we'd need a treadmill at all!

[@Hypoksi]

It dont look very natural the walking for either of them. Its a thing i can imagine is fun for a few times until you just dont bother any more because its more hassle than its worth.

[@Techsploder]

Definitely not natural walking on this. People need to feel safe and I don't think we are there yet.

[@Zejoant]

If this ever gets commonplace then children will get used to it at a young age like all things gaming.

[@Techsploder]

Oh that's a good point, hadn't thought of the kids angle.

[@kkiimm009]

The solution is obvious. Be rich enough to buy a gigantic warehouse and make the VR tech slightly adjust your direction so it keeps you away from the walls without you ever noticing. Just like we can move in large circles while feeling we walk in a straight line. Probably not Treadmill anymore though.

[@Techsploder]

See, EVERYONE can have one then!

[@webgenius937]

The reality is you are walking gingerly because the ground is moving under your feet, millions of years of evolution have taught us to walk carefully on that sort of of surface, it's going to be hard undo that.

[@Techsploder]

Exactly!

[@ignaciomarin3727]

Yes, it's a natural reaction. On the other hand, people enjoy sports that imply balancing over slippery/unstable ground like ice skating or surfing, and overcome their initial fear. Walking simulations should allow for more natural strides though, and not force you to learn a new and risky "sport"