Virtuix targets Omni One VR treadmills at home consumers

Virtuix said it is shipping Omni One virtual reality treadmills to its investor community in preparation for a wider launch for consumers later this year. It is also raising more money via a crowdfunding campaign.

The company said that it is launching the consumer version of the Omni One later this year. It will be an omni-directional treadmill that enables players to walk or run in any direction through video games and other virtual environments.

Austin, Texas-based Virtuix said it has a waitlist for Omni One of more than 35,000 subscribers who have signed up online.

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Omni One is a VR entertainment system that currently ships with a Pico Neo 3 Pro headset and works straight out of the box without needing a PC or other peripherals, providing a seamless user experience.

Virtuix has worked closely with Pico to customize the headset system for Omni One. The Neo 3 Pro headset, which has the same processor and resolution as Meta’s popular Quest 2 but offers a wider field of view, comes with Omni One’s operating software, including social features and a proprietary game store targeting 30 titles at launch.

Inspired by the popular Omni Pro, a commercial version of the Omni available at more than 500 entertainment venues in 45 countries, Omni One is designed to fit inside a living room or other place in your home. Compared to Omni Pro, Omni One is lighter, more compact (4-foot diameter), easy to fold up or move around, and allows players unmatched freedom of movement, including crouching, kneeling, and jumping.

“We’re thrilled about Omni One,” said Jan Goetgeluk, founder and CEO of Virtuix. “After a long and challenging development process, spanning Covid-19 and supply chain shortages, Omni One has turned out to be an awesome product that delivers on our company’s original vision of an active VR entertainment system for the home. Our commercial products have hosted over 3 million plays at entertainment venues worldwide, and we’ve built a fanatical player community of over 300,000 registered players. We can’t wait to bring our popular gaming experience to the homes of our many players and fans.”

Omni One’s introductory price is $2,595 plus shipping. Omni One’s pricing includes both the treadmill and the high-end Pico headset (market value $699).

Omni One lets you walk or run in video games or other virtual worlds, in any direction and at any
speed, while occupying only a small amount of floor space. It allows unrestricted, full-body movements including crouching, kneeling, and jumping.

It has safety features keep you from falling or hitting walls or other people.

“Omni One isn’t just a next-level gaming device,” Goetgeluk added. “It also keeps you in shape by burning calories while gaming! Think of Omni One as an exercise bike for gamers, or for parents who want to get their kids off the couch.”

The complete system with all accessories weighs about 150 pounds (70 kg). It accommodates users from 4 feet, 4 inches to 6 feet, 4 inches in height (132 to 192 cm), and up to 250 pounds (113 kg).

Goetgeluk said the pent-up demand from fans is what prompted the company to launch a home product in addition to the commercial product.

“Given our success in the out-of-home market, we’re uniquely positioned to bring our popular full-body VR experience to millions of homes around the world,” Goetgeluk said.

Virtuix’s first Omni One customer, Dale Western, described what drives consumers like him to
buy Omni One.

“I decided to purchase Omni One because I was looking for a more immersive VR experience as opposed to sitting on a couch and pretending to be in virtual reality,” Western said in a statement. “I wanted to physically feel it. It’s everything I hoped it would be. The ability to move around really makes you feel like you’re in the game. And I’m going to lose some weight with Omni One. That’s awesome.”

Investors also share this enthusiasm for Omni One. Goetgeluk said more than 900 of Virtuix’s equity crowdfunding investors have applied to buy beta units, and the company is extending the beta program until late 2023. Goetgeluk added that quantities available to beta customers will start small and gradually increase as the program proceeds.

Backed by major investors, Virtuix has raised $35 million to date and has shipped over $16 million worth of products, including over 4,000 Omni Pro systems in 45 countries and more than 70 Omni Arena systems (selling price of $174,000) to U.S. entertainment venues such as Dave & Buster’s. Virtuix’s commercial content platform, Omniverse, has hosted more than 3 million plays.

Before bringing Omni One to the mass market, Virtuix will expand awareness of Omni One among consumers, gamers, and the investment community by running a Reg CF campaign as part of its Series B funding round (https://invest.virtuix.com). Investors get to skip the line to order Omni One ahead of the general public, and they get a discount on Omni One of 30% (worth $780) or more.

In 2013, after two years spent researching, experimenting, and prototyping, Goetgeluk left his finance job and founded Virtuix to bring his “Omni” concept to market. Today, led by a management team and advisory board with more than 100 combined years of gaming and hardware industry experience, Virtuix has built an IP portfolio of 19 issued patents and eight pending patents covering Omni’s mechanical design, motion tracking, and game integration.

Virtuix has an expanding and devoted player base of more than 300,000 registered Omni players at commercial venues. This large player community, together with an install base of thousands of commercial Omni Pro systems globally, provides a direct and low-cost sales channel for Omni One.