I Tried THE Ready Player One VR Treadmill!

if you thought the movie Ready Player 1 was pure science fiction think again because so far I had the opportunity to try things such as haptic gloves haptic suits motion simulators small form headsets and even the Oasis are technically already here it may come as no surprise that in the film most of this stack were just fake props but what's interesting is that one device was in fact real and that's the treadmill that you see in some of the beginning scenes of the movie yeah that moment when Wade hops into the van and calibrates his treadmill getting ready to jump into the oasis is not CGI or done by practical effects nope it was a fully operational prototype crazy upon discovering this my curiosity overwhelmed me because I I just had this sudden desire to literally step into the future just as way did and finding out if this treadmill indeed is the true gateway to the Oasis like the movie portrays the only issue is that it had been ages ago since it hit theaters and many props used on set were either destroyed sold off or given away after filming reped at first I I couldn't really find any solid information regarding the treadmills fate so I had to ironically backtrack its steps after a few days of intense research I came to an unexpected conclusion it wasn't built by Warner Brothers or II in this case but was borrowed from a small company specialized in tre Mills called infinitec a name I am funny enough no stranger to you may remember that I once did a Ready Player one photo shoot for the Guinness Book of World Records and I don't think I ever told you this but at some point we considered renting infinex treadmill to use on location in the end we changed our plans because things were super chaotic and we went for a DeLorean instead which was freaking awesome too of course but all of this had been a funny coincidence cuz back then I wasn't aware that their treadmill got featured in the movie as it was heavily modified to fit inside the van with only its top part showing the company and threadmill shared the same name and was developed long before there were even plans for a movie so I decided to email infinitec expressing my enthusiasm as a big fan of Ready Player one and asked if I could maybe come by to check out their famous treadmill and um to my surprise they said yes they agreed and at first I couldn't believe my eyes because I was like these guys are way too busy for someone like me but no they were like totally down and just a few weeks later I purchased the plane ticket and flew all the way from the Holland land to the states for a demo their office located in California had a modest appearance the entrance displayed a handful of accomplishments in their treadmill manufacturing work and a large Warehouse extended to the back next to know demo room hung a movie poster of Ready Player one and alongside that had a still frame of that legendary scene getting me of course extremely pumped for what I was about to experience so this was it the Moment of Truth had arrived yeah they opened the door and there it was the infin deck a treadmill that I and millions of others had once seen on the big screen was now in front of me in this small room one that had most likely been in the same space as Steven Spielberg when he directed the movie while I was completely Star Struck and geeking out over this device I got to meet Benjamin Freeman and Phil Martin part of the nine member infinitec team both super passionate guys by the way who are willing to answer all of my questions they told me that the infinitec is the world's first commercially viable omnidirectional treadmill that allows you to naturally walk in any direction creating this personal Hol de experience which let you take a stroll through any virtual environment currently over 70 infinex are being used to crossmilitary research facilities universities and digital Innovation centers thanks to this treadmill soldiers can be trained in hyperrealistic scenarios it provides educational opportunities for First Responders a in medical Rehabilitation and as we have seen being utilized for entertainment what will blow your mind even more is how this treadmill works but uh before we dive deeper down that rabbit hole note that the version I got to try weighs a whopping 700 lb with a length of 69 in a width of about 58 and the height sitting at 19 in it supports unity and unreal and is open XR compatible you probably also want to know it's insane price stack but more on that later stay tuned so uh instead of the Safeguard being mounted to the ceiling like in the first scenes of the movie here it was attached to the treadmill worth a mentioning is that this Guardian system is available in various structures making it suitable for different use cases in the movie there's even a moment where we see the treadmill being used without one at all since this was my first time on the infin deck they obviously didn't let me try that initially Wade uses a mobile VR headset that that he later upgrades to an even more advanced unit with a pass through buildin sounds familiar right because uh in reality we're slowly getting there too with devices like the Apple Vision meta Quest and more to come the infinitec does in fact work with the Standalone headsets but as of right now to ensure the most optimal VR experience they still recommend sticking with the tethered ones it just still runs best on software relies on external steam VR tracking that's being used to control the machine and optimizing the data outflow to guarantee minimal latency that's why around my waist they let me wear a Tracker that helps the treadmill know your physical location so it can adjust to your steps accordingly what I'm trying to say is that the infinitec can't feel or or see where you are on its own so it relies on assistance from an external Source although as we speak there there is already another treadmill in the making called the infinitec portal which will have a markerless treking system but uh sh that's all I can say for now hooked up to a Smart bully system was my headset in this case a big screen was nice enough to provide me with one of their headsets on location I absolutely L the big screen Beyond especially for pcvr stuff its size and being custom built to the shape of my face were the perfect choice for this occasion so a huge shout out to big screen for making this experience so much more immersive what's cool is that they let me choose what I wanted to play on their treadmill of course I had to go for half lellex I mean what else and oh yes VR chat but first I would have to warm up to their in-house experiences simple but effective demos that introduce you to its mechanics starting at a moderate speed spe I had to walk through a maze trying to find a treasure chest the feeling of using the infinitec for the very first time felt like nothing I had ever experienced being able to move in multiple directions is truly magical interestingly this is done by two Motors and a bit of engineering Magic One motor moves the black belt into an almost a straight line like a regular treadmill and the otter can move it vertically so from afar it may sometimes look like a moon walking but when we zoom in you can clearly see how this belt moves in two directions combined this mechanical witchcraft let you walk forward backward sideways and diagonally oh and the fun fact what looks like a number of black belts is just one single piece of rubber longer than an actual soccer field or an American football pitch as you start to move the infinite tries to respond precisely in the opposite direction at the exact same speed and acceleration it makes you feel like you are ready to take on the whole virtual world like Wade when he steps out of the lobby of the Oasis well the belt offers enough grip for walking and jogging mastering turn still requires some practice in this case the guardian system surrounding you helps tremendously during this learning process once I successfully found the treasure chest I was booted into the next demo transporting me to Stonehenge for a bit of free roaming this is where they bumped up the speed a little and yeah then you can see that the infinite can actually go from 0 to 4 mph allowing you to switch between walking and jogging they have plans to get it to 6 mph in the future having tried a way cheaper Trad Mills like the Cat VR and Omni One it felt freeing to for once not have to wear special shoes like your an ice thanks to the flat service you don't have to slide around you kind of just move like a human being shoot which felt very refreshing when you're in motion on the infinitec it's quite accurate but uh when you decide to make a delicate or hard stop you do notice that the treadmill isn't always fully capable of anticipating and simulating the exact same causing a subtle latency effect that makes you not end up in the position you started in this is another reason why you see me holding the safety guard in most of the footage as mentioned earlier uh this is something they may be able to solve with the infin deck portal and while we head into the next part of this video should also make less noise Phil told me that the current decibel level is that of a vacuum cleaner slair conditioner here's a clip of what that sounds like it was then time for the real deal I got to dive into halflife Alex and oh man uh playing the game on a treadmill like this was a dream come true absolutely next level at certain points during my playthrough it really felt like I was moving through the streets of City 17 playing it at a total different pace is like rediscovering everything from A New Perspective your physical body starts to somewhat blend with the virtual world the infinitec team calls this Dynamic presence and I can see where they're coming from it's so freeing to go from a passive standing to an active moving VR experience that clicks in your brain it's not only a nice workout but you can adapt far better to the game it becomes more realistic and challenging in a good way despite the latency during stops walking climbing crouching or kneeling worked just fine you have enough room to move and use your controllers without hitting the safety guard the only thing that does break the immersion a little is when you have to Traverse a staircase or move over a slanted roof they told me that they are looking into using actuators that could sit on each corner of the treadmill to enable a physical rise of a couple of inches to help simulate going up or down sounds genius and I can't wait to see where they're going to take that all that's missing now is a Deployable seat that you can use at any time for those moments you want to rest or have to drive a car for example anyways there was still one experience left for me to try which was VR chat and my imagination of being in Ready Player One suddenly became more real than ever I mean getting to casually walk through portal reminded me a lot of how it's being done in the movie ending up in all these magnificent places and interacting with various people had never felt as special just like halflife Alex the the moment you are fully immersed this treadmill really starts to blur the lines between science fiction and reality now at full body tracking a heptic suit and glovs to the mix and you never want to return to your human life ever again I can definitely see why some would not mind completely digitalizing themselves and become official citizens of VR chat almost everyone I am met on the game was super kind but they were almost all standing or seated players and many not yet realizing that when VR becomes more mainstream this device could or maybe will be their future Gateway of course I'm aware that it will be before a treadmill like this will be in reach for the average household But as time goes on they will only become smaller and cheaper right now if you wanted to own one it will set you back just under $50,000 I know that's an insane insane amount of money and the guys at infinitec told me that they know this keeps the product focused on Enterprises and a handful of exceptionally wealthy Gamers for them the end goal is to bring the prize over the coming years down to around the cost of a monodirectional treadmill making that gateway to the o is accessible to most of us not only infinitec but also companies like Disney want to make this possible with the letter recently showing off a Next Level holot floor but that's something I'll have to cover another time so there you go that's a glimpse into the future what do you think of a treadmill like this would you be interested in trying the infinitec and what game or experience would you go for let me know in the comments below and that's it for me thank you so much for making this possible because without you guys I would have never been able to show this off in the first place until next time and bye-bye for now

Channel: Nathie

Views: 558,085

Keywords: VR Treadmill, Ready Player One Movie, VR Omnidirectional Treadmill, Infinadeck VR Treadmill, Infinadeck Portal, Omni One Treadmill, Kat VR Treadmill, Ready Player One Treadmill, VR Treadmill Apple Vision Pro, VR Treadmill Meta Quest 3

Id: Ty0s3yiouV0

Length: 15min 15sec (915 seconds)

Published: Tue Jan 23 2024