Christophe De bont 
19/07/2016
Virtuix, the Texas based VR company founded by Ghent born Jan Goetgeluk, has announced a partnership with Hero Entertainment, one of the biggest players of the Chinese games industry. Using the technology of Virtuix Omni, the joint venture will convert China’s most popular mobile first person shooter, Crisis Action, into an active VR experience.
Virtuix Omni aims to make VR even more realistic. While VR goggles are able to simulate environments and atmospheres in great detail, they’re not as effective in imitating movement. In comes Virtuix Omni technology, where you safely walk around on a treadmill while exploring your virtual surroundings. Using special shoes, the device is able to tell where you’re heading. The technology has been showed off using a range of popular titles like Minecraft, Fallout 4 and Grand Theft Auto 5.
https://youtu.be/jmH_NhTW5mg
The Chinese deal has netted Virtuix a contract that doubles the sales they’ve already made during their Kickstarter campaign and on their official website. UNIS, a Chinese supplier of amusement machines, intends to purchase between 5,000 and 10,000 units this year to sell to arcades and entertainment centers across China. That number just scratches the surface of the potential for Virtuix Omni in China, as there are over 140,000 internet cafes in the country.
Goetgeluk expects that VR technology will boom faster and become bigger in China than anywhere else. Seems like he’s not the sole believer either, as Beijing based company Leyard, that sells consumer electronics to entertainment centres, shopping malls and theme parks, has recently made a 500,000$ investment in Virtuix.
