Virtual Reality

UK-based startup Freeaim kicked off a new Kickstarter campaign yesterday to support the release of a pair of motorized shoes designed to enable natural walking in VR, essentially giving your feet two independent treadmills to walk on.

VR treadmills are usually pretty costly and bulky, which means they mostly appeal to enterprise. Now, Freeaim has unveiled its VR Shoes, which aims to reduce the cost and footprint of immersive VR locomotion devices.

Freeaim is offering two versions of the device, with its flagship ‘VR Shoes Advanced’ featuring rotating wheel modules that can automatically reposition the wearer to prevent drifting from a designated play area. This version can be used without a frame in spaces as small as 1.5 x 1.5 meters.

Its ‘VR Shoes Light’ model is a more affordable alternative, which notably lacks automatic rotation, requiring an external support frame to ensure user stability. Freeaim has developed two such optional support frames—the Hex and Swivel—designed to offer users additional balance and spatial guidance, particularly when starting out.