Following the original Yaw motion simulator chair in 2018, which garnered Yaw VR over $200,000 on Kickstarter funding, Yaw VR returned to the crowdfunding platform to bring Yaw2 to life, a less compact, but decidedly more advanced motion simulator chair. The startup’s latest campaign is now over, and it’s garnered over $2.7 million backers eagerly awaiting the consumer-focused motion chair.
Update (June 8th, 2021): In the week since we last reported, Yaw2 has seen a substantial surge in backers, bringing its overall funds to over $2.7 million. Surprisingly, over $200,000 was pledged in the last few hours of that campaign, or around the total amount attracted in the entirety of its 2018 campaign.
Yaw VR has yet to announce direct pre-orders, which will be available at some point via its website.
Update (June 1st, 2021): Yaw2 just got over the $2 million mark today, which unlocks the campaign’s highest-projected stretch goal. Now, backers will get side support rails with their Yaw2 chairs, which will allow users to mount handbrakes, gear shifters or other accessories.
Two weeks ago the project was at $1.5 million, so there’s no telling how much higher it can go in the remaining time. The campaign comes to an official close on June 7th, so we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for further stretch goals.
Original Article (May 5th, 2021): Yaw2 is being billed as a ‘consumer-grade’ motion simulator, and that isn’t such a big stretch on the lower end of the cheapest remaining funding tier, which costs $1,090. That tier doesn’t include the actual chair bit, or modular ‘yaw platform’ which lets you swivel 360 degrees though. Still, the hardware platform seems to have struck a chord with simulator diehards, prosumers and arcades alike when it launched late last month on Kickstarter. At that time, that model was offered as cheap as $790.
Now Yaw2 has already exploded past the initial funding goal of $100,000, having broken the $1 million mark in the first week since its April 23rd launch. It’s not showing any signs of stopping either. Yaw2 has garnered nearly $1,150,000 with a little over a month left to go before the campaign’s close.
In comparison to the original 2018 version, which features 3DOF motion and a pretty compact seat that fits snuggly inside a spherical dome, Yaw2 seems to be a much more conventional motion platform thanks to its larger footprint, adjustable desk, and ability to integrate your own chair.
If you want the most basic version of Yaw2 with 3DOF movement, which includes a modular ‘yaw platform’ for 360-degree swiveling, you’ll need to pony up $2,020 $1,470, which decidedly puts it right on the edge of the consumer category. That too doesn’t come with the seat portion itself, which you can either add yourself, or buy direct from Yaw VR for an additional $75 – $100 depending on how quick you are with your wallet.
Image courtesy Yaw VR
The company says Yaw2 is compatible with all major VR headsets, including Oculus Quest, PSVR, and SteamVR-compatible headsets. Although many game engines offer motion simulator support, the game itself should have support baked in. Yaw VR is boasting many games with native motion simulator support, some of which include Elite Dangerous, Dirt Rally 2.0, Project Cars 2, MS Flight Simulator, and Fly Inside to name a few.
All versions are slated to ship in September 2021, which also includes both pro and arcade versions with higher wattage output and stronger motors. Check out the Yaw2 Kickstarter for the full technical specs.
ICAROS is a Munich-based VR health startup that produces a unique motion platform which simulates flying in the prone position, something the makers say can provide a real workout. The company recently announced it’s completed a funding round in the “mid-seven figures” from Austrian private venture company Segnalita.
The system is composed of the Icaros motion platform and integrated controller, and includes dedicated apps supporting Samsung Gear VR, HTC Vive, and Oculus Rift. The company’s apps include VR experiences such as flying, diving, free falling or competing with other Icaros pilots all over the world in the company’s own ICARACE, a multiplayer online race.
The company’s latest financing round will allow them to “tap into new markets and, above all, to advance our research and development work in the health segment,” says Icaros co-founder and CEO Michael Schmidt. Financing is also earmarked to help productize the Icaros consumer version (Icaros Home) for its Summer 2018 launch, and continue development of its online platform.
While it sounds like fun and games, the company says its ultimate vision is to “provide the most motivating and health promoting training experiences to combat our society’s sedentary lifestyle,” saying that the system is already is use in the health sector in areas such as physiotherapy.
“ICAROS provides completely unique, promising products that brilliantly combine sports, fitness and gaming, which is very much in line with the times. We are now enabling the company to keep growing within the existing segment and make the products accessible in the medicine sector,” said Bernhard Letzner, managing director of Segnalita.
The company’s enterprise-focused device, Icaros Pro, starts at €8,400 (~$9,800) before taxes and shipping. There’s currently no public pricing available on the upcoming consumer version Icaros Home, although we’re hoping to learn more when it releases this summer.
One of the many problems when trying virtual reality (VR) is motion sickness, this is mostly due to your brain realising it’s physically moving in a space but your body is not. One of the ways to combat this horrible feeling is by being in a motion simulator. The price of high-end VR is already expensive, but if you really want to take yourself to the next level and avoid motion sickness getting a Yaw VR might be the solution. VRFocus recently spoke to Founder Zslot Szigetlaki about Yaw VR.
When VRFocusspoke to Szigetlaki it was at the CES 2018, and they were busy with their Kickstarter. Since the video, they have secured $219,281 having added a $200,000 stretch goal to its campaign, giving the standard edition a custom colour and the Yaw VR Pro back and headrest support. The Yaw VR motion simulator is a compact device designed to make virtual reality (VR) videogames even more immersive by twisting and rotating players. Supporting headsets like Samsung Gear VR, Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Yaw VR is perfect for those situations where space is at a premium, with the entire device folding away into a neat storage solution – as the GIF above demonstrates – with a diameter of 29 inches and a height of 15 inches when folded, weighting in at just 33 lbs.
There are two different occasions you may want to purchase a Yaw VR for. The first is for hardcore VR enthusiasts who might have some extra cash to spend $900 on a 15kg lightweight Yaw VR for at home. The second more professional Yaw VR is meant for out-of-home entertainment use cases such as VR arcades, for $2,000-$3,000. Szigetlaki explains that he started Yaw VR due to the lack of affordable motion simulators. “We like virtual reality and just realised there is no solution for simulation of motion in VR, or you have to spend a lot of money and cannot use at home because they’re huge and really heavy. There’s nothing on the market.”
When trying out the Yaw VR it felt very similar to the 4D rides you would go on when at an amusement park. The VR experience would have to be perfectly suited to the VR experience, so you would need to be inside a car, cockpit or spaceship in order for it to make sense to be physically sitting down during the experience. This would be a great, portable and affordable way to introduce VR to consumers at events or out-of-home locations such as arcades. Especially if they’re prone to being nauseous. However it can be a great way of travelling through space or racing on a track rather than buying a really expensive racing chair.
Szigetlaki will start delivering in August, for professional users a little bit sooner. To find out more watch the video below.
Shown as part of the Emerging Technologies installations at SIGGRAPH 2017 this week, the GVS RIDE experience demonstrates the effects of four-pole galvanic vestibular stimulation combined with a VR headset. The technology is pitched as a potential alternative to a motion platform, with its ability to “induce tri-directional acceleration” and “enhance virtual acceleration”.
GVS RIDE is the result of years of studies into galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) from researchers at Osaka University in Japan. The demonstration, as described on the Emerging Technologies page of the SIGGRAPH 2017 website, is presented in two parts: firstly, the user has a typical VR experience by watching a conventional VR video without GVS, followed by watching it again with the GVS circuit enabled, which is said to induce a “higher sensation of presence”.
GVS technology has cropped up regularly in VR discussions over the years, and is generally approached with a healthy dose of trepidation and skepticism. Passing electric current through the head is, in itself, a rather alarming concept, which is then compounded by its ability to manipulate our precious bodily sensors. When controlled precisely however, it has the potential to enhance motion sensations, and assist in resolving certain nausea-inducing VR effects. The basic concept is surprisingly simple – electrodes placed behind the ear (on the ‘mastoids’) pass current through the vestibular system (parts of the inner ear), affecting balance. By controlling the current paths, it is possible to induce different balance and acceleration sensations.
Image courtesy Dr. Aoyama et al, Nature
A two-pole GVS setup, with an electrode behind each ear, is able to induce lateral movement or ‘roll’, and a three-pole GVS, which fits an additional electrode to the forehead, can induce anteroposterior movement or ‘pitch’. The four-pole GVS system developed by the Osaka University team lead by Dr. Kazuma Aoyama, places two electrodes on the mastoids, and another two on the temples. This is able to induce directional virtual head motion around three perpendicular axes. In other words, they’ve managed to evoke roll, pitch, and yaw sensations.
Dr. Aoyama’s work detailing four-pole GVS was detailed in a report published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature in 2014. I asked him what had changed since that initial publication, and he explained that they now have six-pole GVS, which can induce four directions: “lateral, front-back, yaw-rotation, and up-down”. This advanced system uses six electrodes (two extra on the neck, “5 or 6cm below the mastoids”), used to enhance the vertical acceleration sensation, but for GVS RIDE as shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 they are just using the four-pole system to manipulate three directions.
Dr. Aoyama avoids describing the ‘lateral’ and ‘front-back’ directions as ‘roll’ and ‘pitch’, as it is difficult for a human to differentiate between an actual roll rotational head motion and a linear lateral movement through vestibular stimulation alone. However, this is apparently advantageous, as the interpretation of both movements can be “easily controlled by visual flow”. As such, Dr. Aoyama believes that GVS can suitably align with both rotational and positional tracking in VR.
It’s unclear when or how GVS might be incorporated into a consumer device (although there have been promising GVS experiments with headphones), but the Osaka team believes their lightweight solution can be “easily adapted to conventional VR systems.” The biggest concern is surely the consumer acceptance of such ‘intrusive’ technology and the variability in its effectiveness across a wide range of people. (For example, there are many reports of GVS tests causing discomfort as a result of variable skin sensitivity.)
Bandai Namco announced last month that the company would be opening its first VR ZONE arcade in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Promising branded VR content playing on HTC Vive, the now publicly open arcade features some big names like Nintendo’s Mario Kart Arcade GP VR, Dragon Ball VR, and Gundam VR—most of which uses special motion platforms and other ‘4D’ sense-fooling gadgetry to beguile would-be VR first-timers. Here, we take a look at all 12 demos available—including trailers—in the company’s 2-story facility.
Mario Kart Arcade GP VR
4 players: The globally popular Mario Kart Arcade GP has been reborn at the VR ZONE with the kind of thrill-packed action that could only come from a VR activity! Enter the Mario Kart universe you know and love and race to the finish line. The course is filled with the well-known Mario Kart traps and tricks. Dodge giant Piranha Plants and Thwomps, leap over huge ravines, and watch out for Koopa as he tries to get in your way.
Dragon Ball VR
2-4 players: An unprecedented Kamehameha experience! Enter the world of Dragonball with our innovative new VR technology and equipment, and experience firsthand what its really like to generate a Kamehameha. Feel your body shake from the intensity! Train with Goku himself and learn to generate your own Kamehameha! Test your Kamehameha in battle with friends! Generate more power than the others and blow them all away!
4 players: A plane has crash-landed in a forbidden jungle where dinosaurs are said to be still alive. You have been sent to make your way through the darkness and search for survivors. You speed through the jungle, riding on a standing scooter. Shadows lurk everywhere and all around, you can hear your companions screaming. Your battery is running low.
Can you retain your sanity in an abyss of despair and make it back to base in one piece?
Hanechari (Winged Bicycle)
1-4 players: Pedal with your legs and experience the thrill and exhilaration of free-flying through magnificent natural scenery on a winged bicycle! With our specially developed sensory machine, you’ll feel the wind and experience the true thrill of flight. Feel the excitement and tension as you fly over mountain surfaces and plunge through waterfalls, dodging rocky cliffs along the way.
Evangelion VR
1-3 players: Pilot an EVA for the first time in VR history. The future is in your hands. The wonders of VR technology have fully recreated the cockpit, aka “Throne of Souls”, inside the EVA Entry Plug. Board a specialized sensory machine and pilot your EVA in a VR world of massive scale. The 10th Angel is attacking Tokyo-3! Defeat it with the help of two other companions on EVAs, before your operational time limit runs out!
Experience firsthand the thrill of the EVA activation sequence, including LCL immersion, A10 nerve synchronization, and sync ratio measurement, as you prepare for an intense battle with the 10th Angel.
Fishing VR
2 players: Go lure fishing in the wild with this VR activity! There’s wild fish to your right, to your left, some even jumping and wriggling in the air. You’ll feel like you’re really there! Don’t lose concentration, even for a second, until they’re in your net. How many can you catch? Compete with your friends and enjoy a head-to-head battle of skill with fish in the wild.
VR-AT Simulator
2 players: You too can be the lowest of the low (Votoms)! The world’s first VR-AT simulator allows you to ride the scopedog and experience a real one-on-one battle. Experience the realism of the cockpit where reckless ‘iron troopers’ commit their bodies.
Argyle Shift
1 player: Enter the cockpit of a giant robot with your android. Take the attacking conspiracy head on! Our specialized sensory machine creates a shockingly realistic sensation allowing you to live out the ambition of riding in a giant robot to fight in battle!
Gundam VR
1 player: Grab hold of Gundam’s hand, and experience the impact of the life-sized mobile suit in battle. You will feel the utter powerlessness of humans. The threat of Zeon attacks the life-sized Gundam in Odaiba! Feel the impact of the two giants colliding, the intense rumblings of the earth, the heat gushing before your eyes! Experience the realness as if you are right there, through multiple sensations created by the specialized sensory machine!
The Big Fear of Heights Experience
2 players: People can’t help turning back midway! It’s an extreme test of courage 200 meters above the ground! Even if you are unable to take even one step out of fear a refund will not be issued.Please be aware that the experience will end as soon as your foot steps off the plank.
Hospital Escape Terror
4 players: In this haunted house, you really get attacked! It’s a horrifying experience unlike ever before pioneered by VR! Escape from this cursed abandoned hospital with your friend! Two to four people can take part at the same time. However, participants may not always be able to take part together. Please be warned there are violent scenes and grotesque expressions included in the experience.
Ski Rodeo
1 player: Ski down the sharp slopes of the vast snowy mountain with its sheer drops at tremendous speed! Fight for control of the wild skis! The specialized sensory machine creates a shockingly real experience with the response of the skis and intense vibrations. There are several different routes that will take you to the goal. Aim to reach it as fast as you can.
Ghost in the Shell: Arise Stealth Hounds
image courtesy Bandai Namco
An 8-person VR experience is said to launch sometime in August featuring the Ghost in the Shell IP. The experience is a 4 vs 4 team battle in a room-scale space measuring 20m X 12m featuring a “highly sophisticated multi-person full body tracking system.”
We’ll have our eye on VR ZONE Shinjuku in the coming month’s to see how one of the biggest VR arcades fares.
What do you do when you want to push VR racing simulation to the limit of immersion? This.
Played with just a headset and a controller, Dirt Rally in VR is a pretty awesome experience. But if you veer off of down the path of Sim Racing at the corner where it intersects with VR, you’ll end up being able to push the envelope significantly further with the help of some accessories. And while a racing wheel is a great starting point for immersion, if money is no object, there’s plenty to spend it on.
YouTube user machkun1 posted a video this week (heading this article) showing what it looks like to race Dirt Rally VR with a top notch system consisting of the following:
You can find the same user with a similar rig playing Eve: Valkyrie (2016). In this video you can hear how load the motion simulator actually is, in which case we’d definitely recommend the use of the noise-blocking Oculus Rift earphones.
Continuing his regular column for VRFocus – leading exponent of the out-of-home entertainment sector, Kevin Williams, in this two-part feature, undertakes to cover the major VR developments launched at the world’s largest theme park, attraction and amusement exhibition last month.
Taking place in Orlando, Florida during November, the largest theme park and amusement entertainment convention proved a valuable Launchpad for the establishment of virtual reality (VR) technology in the commercial entertainment sector. The 98th International Association of Amusement Parks & Attractions (IAAPA) Expo 2016, covering over 550,000 square feet of show-space populated with inflatables, the latest arcade releases and the most advance roller coaster platforms.
But also spread throughout the event were the latest VR attraction technology.
Image via parkworld-online.com
The first aspect of VR’s application in the amusement scene was seen via the ‘VR Arcade’ platforms, using the current consumer VR applications in a commercial application. The big presentation was given by Taiwanese amusement giant Universal Space (UNIS), who has undertaken a partnership with Virtuix Omni, employing their omni-directional platform as part of a dedicated gaming stage called the ‘Omni Arena VR’ – the system having players done their special shoes and HTC headset, and navigate the virtual world in a e-Sport style competitive experience.
Another interface that was originally focused on consumer VR application that now has turned its gaze to Out-of-Home entertainment. Also, represented by an Asian amusement operations (InJoy Motion), was the FutureTown Totalmotion technology. A universal movement interface that represents body movement into the virtual experience; the system was shown as a technology demonstrator looking towards being turned into a deliverable system next year.
The entertainment sector has been working to utilize the consumer VR systems in deliverable Out-of-Home application, offering a simple turn-key ‘VR Enclosure’ solution. On display at IAAPA was the VRsenal Holocube VR system with six playing areas running HTC Vive BE systems – the platform also including a new gun interface and sonic vest to offer tactile feedback to selected games. The company working closely with consumer game publishers to include their games on the system.
Another company offering a pop-up enclosure to play specially configured VR games were Virsix showed their VR Cube, also using the HTC system and offering a selection of games in a individual enclosure approach. The Chinese amusement trade also represented their offering of a VR standalone experience; Betop Multimedia presented their WEWOD – space-time squad, using a motion platform to simulate traversing through a space-station blasting aliens using a large laser-rifle.
The VRsenal, VR Cube and WEWOD systems all use the HTC VIVE BE and are all using specialized cable management systems allowing for an unimpeded Room Scale experience. Another Chinese exhibitor, MediaFront, exhibited a VR experience that used a caged VR experience that also had the player walk an improvised gangplank.
Another aspect of the development seen in VR’s application in this sector were VR Game Platform, dedicated stand-alone amusement style offerings of VR technology. Eastern Europe has lead the charge of development of this kind of approach and IAAPA saw leading examples, Virtual Reality Park represented the Star Blade VR 360 degree motion simulator VR system manufactured by Total Interactive Technologies, and one of a handful of virtual reality systems at the show that used a bespoke HMD. Another similar 360’ motion platform was presented from Korean Motion Devices and their two-seater Top Vulcan offering a virtual Space Invaders-style experience. Eastern European manufacturer Stereolife showed their standing VR experience Stereolife eMotion, offering a selection of passive VR film experiences. The company also offers a two-seat motion ride version called the Stereolife Rifter, fellow countryman Xtrematic, also presented their Extreme-Machine, another standing VR experience machine – all systems including physical effects such as wind and vibration.
Another Eastern European exhibitor was Yotto Group, who demonstrated their ExoPlane – a paraglider shooting experience that has the player suspended while steering their craft round a desert island course. Aimed at the shopping mall and leisure entertainment venue market Brazilian manufacturer RILIX showed their convention Rilix Coaster, a simple VR roller coaster ride simulator built to be a standalone experience.
Those exhibitors that used Oculus Rift CV1 headsets for their system demonstrations, were keen to confirm that they were mainly head-set agnostic able to run their system with any of the best available head mounted displays that can be used for commercial application. While many other exhibitors offered VR entertainment systems that favoured the use of Mobile VR (smartphone based) headset experiences, due to its simplicity of utilisation.
Leading Korean 4D theatre and simulator manufacturer Simuline, (part of the CJ cinema empire) presented their VR X Rider eight-seater motion theatre experience. This was also next to the two-seat cinema motion chair platform, the 4DX VR. Both systems offer an effects theater approach to VR, running special 360 degree style VR films – running on the Samsung Gear VR. Chinese exhibitor 9D Electronic Technology (NINED) also showed their 9DVR Cinema eggshell shaped VR system, as well as the VR Eyeshot Theater– a tank-themed six-seater VR motion theatre experience.
On the Korean Pavilion (KGames) at the theme park and attraction exhibition, organized by the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA), exhibition Inno Tech Media showed their VR Shooting Rider, another two-rider motion chair systems, but in this case running a mystical interactive shooting game experience. Both the 9D Electronic’s and the Inno Tech VR systems running bespoke HMD’s developed in China.
Several of the IAAPA VR systems promoted extreme motion platforms offering a strong experience linked to the immersive visuals. Turkish based DOF Robotics, are specialist in large motion theatre attractions, and the company has promoted their Hurricane VR – the three-rider system using Gear VR headsets includes a 360’ rotational element to the suspended motion ride. A cockpit based 360’ axis motion simulator (the two-seater ‘S3000’) developed by Maxflight, was another example of the extreme motion experience married to visuals from a VR headset.
The development of VR in attractions to offer a replacement to the screens used in driving and flying simulators was evident on many booths. Cesys, the European developer of simulator based entertainment attractions showed their brand-new concept; the Cesys Motorbike Simulator has riders astride a simulated motorcycle on a two-degrees of freedom (2-DOF) motion platform, able to race round a circuit wearing a CV1 head-mount – the final version of the concept will use a headset mounted into a motorcycle helmet.
Motor sports simulation was also on display from CXC Simulations – developer of a specialist motion driving cockpit for the Pro-Sumer sector has invested in developing special Race Room installations using networked ‘Motion Pro II’ systems. The company had on their booth six of these networked systems, players donning the popular disposable masks (‘Ninja Mask’) before wearing Oculus ‘Rift’ headsets to take place in competition. A more compact motion seat system was on display from Talon Simulation showing their Atomic A3 Virtual Reality Simulator, the company having already sold the system to the CaddyShanks Interactive Sports Pub chain.
Offering a compelling immersive motion driving systems was on display on many booths, UK based Motion Simulation showed their T3 capsule, with a unique immersive projection screen, complimenting their unique variable driving position cockpit, riding on a motion system by D-BOX. The company also showed their versatility running a cockpit with a VR headset. D-BOX is a popular motion platform provider in the commercial sector. A private demonstration at a hotel close to the conventions center, was arranged by The Third Floor of their The Martian VR experience, which also uses the D-BOX platform. This concludes the first part of Kevin’s coverage from the Orlando show floor, the next and final part of will follow later this month. On Christmas Day in fact, so come back then to find out what else went on at IAAPA Expo 2016.
