To those out of the loop, the Kat Walk C treadmill is a VR peripheral that allows users to walk on the spot and have their movement reflected in VR. It works by getting users to stand on a large dish, wear special shoes and strap into a harness, which then allows them to walk on the spot to provide a new locomotion option for VR players. It supports PC VR and PSVR headsets and, according to Kat VR, will work with games that have a free locomotion setting.
By reaching $1.6 million in funding, the campaign also smashed all five of its stretch goals, which add more hardware and software features to the device. You can read details of all the stretch goals over on the Kickstarter page, but the biggest is the $1.5 million goal, which will see a ‘Haptic Feedback Module’ added into the base of the platform. There’s not too many details on how the module might work in practice, but no doubt it will add some kind of vibration or feedback to the experience while players walk around in VR using the treadmill.
Production of the Kat Walk C is to start in September and the first batch of devices anticipates shipping in October of this year. You can read more here or over on the Kickstarter campaign page.
KatVR’s latest Kickstarter for its consumer-focused treadmill for virtual reality (VR) gaming proved to be an instant success. The campaign began in June looking to achieve $100,000 USD – it did that within three minutes! – hitting $1 million within the first day. The Kickstarter has now ended, becoming one of the most successful of any VR peripheral.
Kat Walk C managed to raise a total of $1,667,295 from 1397 backers over the course of a month, as well as managing to hit every stretch goal. The last one was at $1.5m which will add a haptic feedback module into the platform base.
With the campaign complete it’s now time to look towards the end of the year when deliveries are slated to start for backers. Production is expected to start in September with the first batch of Kat Walk C treadmills going out in October. That is of course barring any issues because of the pandemic and its knock-on effect to manufacturing and distribution.
This will be the company’s first consumer-focused treadmill, as its previous models were a lot larger intended for VR arcades and other location-based entertainment (LBE) venues. Hence why the Kat Walk C has a footprint of 0.69m2 and comes in two models (standard/large) to accommodate most players from 5.4ft up to 6.5ft, maxing out at 130kg.
Kat Walk C has been designed to allow for a full range of motion so that players can be fully immersed inside an experience. Dedicated footwear help to provide natural walking and running locomotion whilst the harness provides support to keep users in place. The system also enables other actions such as crouching. The device has a multitude of other features including adjustable settings depending on the VR title as well as support for most VR headsets, from Valve Index to PlayStation VR and Oculus Quest.
The Kickstarter may have ended but KatVR does plan on selling the omni-directional treadmill commercially. It plans on gaining feedback from early adopters before releasing a retail version which will be more expensive than the Kickstarter model.
As production gets underway and more details are released, VRFocus will keep you updated.
Kat Walk C, the latest attempt at bringing a VR treadmill to the living room, is off to a great start with its Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign.
The device launched its campaign last week with a $100,000 funding goal. At the time of writing, the campaign has reached $1.2 million in funding with over a month to go before it closes out on July 31st. The Early Bird special deals that offered the treadmill from anywhere between $699 to $899 have all been claimed, with the price now starting at $999. The company behind the device plans to release more discounted tiers, though.
Kat Walk C is similar to other VR treadmills. The kit is a large peripheral that has users standing in a dish, wearing a special pair of shoes, strapping into a harness and then physically walking in VR games and experiences. The idea is to immerse you even further in a VR experience and combat the ongoing issue of locomotion in VR. The device supports PC VR and PSVR headsets and, according to Kat VR, can be used in any game with a free locomotion setting.
There are other VR treadmill options out there, though they’ve largely failed in their mission to bring the concept to people’s homes. Virtuix was there early with its Omni treadmill, for example, but recently refocused its efforts on VR arcades. Kat VR itself offers a number of other treadmills and solutions for enterprise customers.
Currently, the Kat Walk C is expected to be delivered to Kickstarter backers in October of this year. Would you be interested in having a VR treadmill in your home? Let us know in the comments below!
The goal was to reach $100,000 USD in 40 days, offering the KAT Walk C at a starting price of $699 for early bird backers. There was obviously a lot of interest from the virtual reality (VR) gaming community for a more compact omnidirectional treadmill as the target has been smashed.
That initial goal was hit within seconds claims an update on KAT Walk C’s Kickstarter page, and 24 hours after it went live the funding currently sits at $1,020,489 (£824,849 GBP). The success means that all the early bird tiers have sold out, leaving only the standard (non-limited) Kickstarter Special priced at $999 currently available.
However, if you did want one you may want to hold off ordering at the moment. It seems that such was the influx of orders that there were issues processing payments and trying to get one of the super early bird offers was more of a lottery. To that end, KAT VR issued this statement: “Because of your feedback, and the fact that you all decided to join the campaign regardless of the early-bird rewards selling out so quickly, after an urgent meeting with the team, we finally decided to provide another shot at the early-bird rewards that you deserve!”
An update is expected in the next few days detailing how this will work. Whether it’ll just be open to new customers or could those that bought a higher-priced tier get a discount?
Because the Kickstarter has done so well KAT VR has hit most of the stretch goals, achieving 4 out of 5 of them, the last being a haptic feedback module in the base should the campaign hit $1.5 million.
The KAT Walk C is the smallest omnidirectional treadmill the company has made, designed for those spaces too small for roomscale VR or ideal for those looking for a natural VR locomotion system. As the campaign progresses and more updates released, VRFocus will let you know.
Kat VR, the China-based company behind the original Kat Walk VR treadmill Kickstarter in 2015, has concluded its latest crowdfunding campaign, this time bringing a consumer-focused VR treadmill ‘Kat Walk C’ to market.
Update (August 3rd, 2020): The Kickstarter for KAT Walk C has successfully concluded with a whopping $1.66 million in funding. Less than 24 hours after its launch back in late June, the project successfully broke through the $1 million mark, pushing it well over its initial $100,000 goal.
This astounding result puts Kat Walk C as the platform’s most-funded non-headset peripheral designed explicitly for VR.
In an update, the company says the device is well on its way to be produced, as manufacturing lines are now established. There are still plenty of stretch goals to fulfill, including an overhead cabling pulley system, a dedicated game, haptic feedback modules for the device’s base, and more, which should keep Kat VR busy in the months to come.
The first units are said to arrive in October 2020; considering the company has been producing its VR treadmills for over 5 years now, it’s not an impossible task to reach, although we’ll be following updates closely to see whether Kat VR will be able to make this ambitious shipping schedule.
Original Article (June 19th, 2020): The campaign is slated to begin at 10 AM ET (local time here) on Sunday, and will end on July 30th. Kat VR hopes to reach at least $100,000 with its campaign.
Kat Walk C will be offered via multiple quantity-limited tiers, with the earliest supporters getting a chance to reserve their own at what the company calls “a significant discount.”
It’s not clear what the final MSRP will be after the Kickstarter is said and done, however Kat VR has consistently made their crowdfunded hardware cheaper to backers.
Check out the tiers below:
Super KATer Extra Early Bird: $699 + Delivery (Limited Quantity)
Extra Early-Bird: $799 + Delivery (Limited Quantity)
Early-Bird: $899 + Delivery (Limited Quantity)
Special Kickstarter Offer: $999 + Delivery (Unlimited Quantity)
Additionally, the company says it’s going to offer discounts for backers looking to buy multiple units, which will include discounts on delivery costs.
The first units of Kat Walk C are expected to ship to backers in early October, Kat VR says.
Kat VR says the device acts as an “independent controller”, allowing it to work with any SteamVR game with free locomotion on major VR headsets such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Pimax, and Windows VR. The device is also said to be compatible with Oculus Quest via Link, and with PSVR via an additional adapter.
Like all of the company’s VR treadmills, Kat Walk C incorporates a low-friction parabola and slippy user-worn footwear, giving you a slick surface that simulates walking to some degree.
We’ve had a chance to go hands-on with its bigger brother back at Gamescom 2017. Although VR treadmills have gotten better throughout the years, they still don’t offer a natural walking experience, as the user needs to adapt to the low-friction surface and the demands of pulling themselves opposite to the rear-mounted stabilizer bar.
That said, there’s really no other device class in town that approximates walking in VR—let alone one for consumers—so we’re interested to see how Kat Walk C fares before offering any further opinion.
Roomscale virtual reality (VR) is great for immersion but not everyone has that amount of space to move around it. KAT VR, a specialist in omnidirectional treadmills knows this, revealing plans earlier this month for a crowd-funded consumer-focused device called KAT Walk C. Today the company has announced further details on its Kickstarter campaign.
While KAT VR’s previous devices have been larger units designed more for VR arcades than home use, KAT Walk C will be as compact and price friendly as possible for consumer adoption.
The Kickstarter campaign will begin this Sunday, 21st June at 3pm BST/7am PST/10am EST. It’ll be a 40 day campaign aiming to reach a funding goal of $100,000 USD. As is customary with these sorts of projects, KAT VR will be offering several limited-run early bird tiers which look like this:
Quantity-Limited – Super KATer Extra Early Bird – $699 + Delivery
Quantity-Limited – Extra Early-Bird – $799 + Delivery
Quantity-Limited – Early-Bird – $899 + Delivery
Unlimited – Special Kickstarter Offer – $999 + Delivery
There will also be unit and delivery discounts for multiple quantity purchases.
KAT Walk C is a full-body locomotion system providing players with 0.69m2 of walking space. A harness system keeps you in place and upright whilst still enabling 360-degree movement, from turning around to crouching down. The treadmill can only be used in conjunction with dedicated footwear (included) which allows for a smooth, natural walking gait.
Most importantly, KAT Walk C will support most major headsets such as Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest (via Oculus Link), HTC Vive, Pimax, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR (via an additional adapter). Owners will also gain access to KAT Gateway, KAT Walk C’s control panel. Available through a desktop PC or in VR, the software enables users to adjust the treadmills parameters to suit their requirements.
As KAT VR isn’t new to this field – its first Kickstarter campaign was in 2015 – the project offers a promising step towards a compact motion system thanks to the company’s track record. If the campaign is successful the first KAT Walk C units will begin shipping in early October. For further updates on KAT Walk C once the Kickstarter begins, keep reading VRFocus.
Kat VR, the China-based company known for kickstarting its original Kat Walk VR treadmill in 2015, is once again returning to the crowdfunding platform to launch a new product later this month, this time serving up a VR treadmill called ‘Kat Walk C’ that promises to appeal to at-home consumers.
Kat Walk C appears to be a slimmed-down version of the company’s 2018-era Kat Walk Mini treadmill, offering its signature low-friction parabola and equally slippy footwear, making for a slick surface that simulates walking whilst in VR.
A rear-mounted vertical harness lets you stand and crouch, and keeps you in place while walking, running, or strafing, the company says.
Kat VR says its latest VR treadmill offers what it calls “natural walking posture support,” which if true would be a notable achievement. VR treadmills take time to get used to; the low-friction parabola in conjunction with IMU-based shoe trackers can feel more like pushing yourself through a virtual scene than simply walking normally.
Like its other enterprise-focused VR treadmills, Kat VR says it’s designed Kat Walk C as an “independent controller”, allowing it to work with any SteamVR game with free locomotion on major VR headsets such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Pimax, and Windows VR. The device is also said to be compatible with Oculus Quest via Link, and with PSVR via an additional adapter.
The Kat Walk C campaign is slated to arrive sometime in late June; early-bird prices are set to start at $700 + delivery fees. There’s no word on what price Kat Walk C will hit once the early bird tiers are all gone though, or what the final MSRP will be when all is said and done.
In any case, it’s encouraging to see Kat VR offering up a more reasonable price point that consumers (or rather prosumers) might actually afford. In 2018, Kat Walk Mini was originally supposed to hit what the company called at the time an “affordable” price point, however the device was revealed to cost $1,500 at its cheapest, and that was with the 50% discount for early bird customers. Kat Walk Mini was subsequently pulled from the crowdfunding platform due to the company securing outside funding.
We’ll be putting out a more in-depth article on the upcoming Kat Walk C Kickstarter campaign, so make sure to check back for more soon.
KAT VR has been a specialist in the virtual reality (VR) locomotion space for several years now, launching its first Kickstarter campaign in 2015 for the rather large Kat Walk omnidirectional treadmill. Last year saw the company step into the consumer space with the KAT Loco and soon it’ll start another crowd-funding campaign for a compact treadmill called KAT Walk C.
The new treadmill KAT VR is working on is a more compact adaption of its larger models, providing 360-degrees of natural locomotion without taking up a massive amount of floor space at a price that’s not too OTT.
KAT Walk C offers 0.69m2 of walking space, used in conjunction with specialised shoes and a harness system to keep players safely in one place. The body adaptive harness allows for walking, running, crouching and other motions VR players need to fully immerse themselves in a digital environment without the worry of roomscale space. “We’re equipping the harness with a multi-layer reverse-tightening system that not only helps you get securely fastened but also improves the harness contiguity to your body,” notes the company in a press release.
The surface of the base and the footwear have been designed so that users can walk with a natural gait, the shoes even have multiple levels of friction depending on how experienced someone is using an omnidirectional treadmill.
KAT VR expects to launch a crowd-funding Kickstarter later this month where backers will be able to secure a KAT Walk C for the Early Bird price of $699 USD. The company hasn’t yet revealed how much its planning to raise, what the standard price will be or if successful when it expects to make the product available.
KAT Walk C will support most major headsets such as Oculus Rift S, Oculus Quest (via Oculus Link), HTC Vive, Pimax, Windows Mixed Reality and PlayStation VR (via an additional adapter). When it comes to videogame compatibility KAT Walk C will reportedly support all those with free locomotion on SteamVR and PlayStation Store.
The treadmill will also come supplied with KAT Gateway. This is KAT Walk C’s control panel, accessed either on desktop or in VR, so users can adjust the treadmills parameters to suit their requirements.
As further details on the KAT Walk C Kickstarter are released, VRFocus will let you know.
