Roto VR Picks up $1.86M Investment to Support Roll-out of Rotating VR Chair

Roto VR, the UK-based makers of the eponymous 360-degree VR chair, today announced its completed a £1.5 million (~$1.86 million) funding round. Investors include Consumer Venture Capital Trust, Pembroke VCT, and The TVB Growth Fund.

You may remember Roto VR from the company’s 2015 Kickstarter which was unfortunately cancelled after it fell short of its £85,000 (~$105,000) goal. Although the time was seemingly too early in VR’s consumer life cycle for such a device, its founders, Elliott Myers and Gavin Waxkirsh, pressed on with their mission of bringing the rotating VR chair to market.

Roto VR is touted for its ability to lessen motion sickness with its motorized auto-rotate function, avoid tangled cables with its integrated rotator cuff, and give the user a measure of haptic feedback as well.

“In [CEO Elliott Myers] we have found an entrepreneur who has solved a problem for the VR market with a solution that addresses the physical issues encountered whilst consuming VR content, as well as significantly enhancing the experience,” said Andrew Wolfson, CEO Pembroke Investment Managers LLP. “We see future customers coming from both the B2B and B2C markets, in fields such as experiential attractions, home, cinemas and shopping centres. The company has employed a high calibre of people, and we believe that the business is well placed to take advantage of this fast-growing market.”

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The company is slated to launch the consumer and office version of the Roto VR chair soon. Roto VR, which starts at $1,500 for the chair itself, is compatible with many consumer VR headsets.

Roto VR tells us they’ve since identified a number of market opportunities across a select range of industries in the out-of-home sectors, such as cinemas and arcades, and has begun developing “a range of products” in response.

The post Roto VR Picks up $1.86M Investment to Support Roll-out of Rotating VR Chair appeared first on Road to VR.

Interactive Chair Maker Roto VR Raises £1.5 million, Eyes Consumer Product Launch

Interactivity tends to be key for virtual reality (VR) experiences, from simple hand gestures to full roomscale movement. But the latter isn’t always practical both in the consumer and enterprise fields. Which is where a company like Roto VR comes in, with its motorised chair offering 360-degree rotation as well as other features. Today, the company has announced the completion of a £1.5 million funding round to help drive the business forward.

Roto VR

The round was lead by Pembroke VCT with the TVB Growth Fund also participating, SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP acted as financial advisor to Roto VR.

Roto VR’s chair helps to address problems such as motion sickness because it can auto-rotate to wherever the user is looking, either through player input or by head movements. Other features of the chair include an internal cabling system to remove the cable constraints of PC-based VR headsets and haptics for a more immersive experience.

The base Roto VR chair model can also be enhanced with a range of accessories such as a desktop table, tablettes for Hotas control or the racing pack for mounting steering wheels and pedals.

Roto VR

Explaining why they invested, Andrew Wolfson, CEO Pembroke Investment Managers LLP saif in a statement: “In Elliott we have found an entrepreneur who has solved a problem for the VR market with a solution that addresses the physical issues encountered whilst consuming VR content, as well as significantly enhancing the experience. We see future customers coming from both the B2B and B2C markets, in fields such as experiential attractions, home, cinemas and shopping centres. The company has employed a high calibre of people, and we believe that the business is well placed to take advantage of this fast-growing market.”

Currently, the Roto VR Chair retails for $1,499.00 with everything to get you started, while the Total Roto VR Bundle includes most of the other accessories for $1,899.65 (normally $2,025.00). This is quite a lot of cash to be dropping on a chair for VR so most customers have been enterprise-based. In addition to the investment announcement Roto VR has confirmed it is due to launch the consumer and office version of the chair imminently to help lower the entry cost to the platform. How much this will be and its feature set has yet to be revealed.

Plus, the Roto VR SDK has now been rolled out to developer so they can optimise their titles for use with the chair. For further updates on Roto VR, keep reading VRFocus.

After Many Years Of Delays, The Roto VR Chair Is Now Shipping To Customers

After many years of delays, the Roto VR chair has began shipping to customers. 

The chair provides seated VR users with a way to smoothly and automatically rotate, while avoiding tangling cords around the chair unit itself, alongside a wealth of other features. 

The rotation and movements, managed by an internal rotor in the chair’s base, can be programmed to work automatically with VR experiences with predetermined movements. However, it can also be linked to the user with dynamic movements that smoothly turn to match where the user is looking, providing a much more comfortable experience. The chair uses a custom “Roto VR Headtracker” to track the user’s head position, which is simply a small device that clips onto the strap on the side of any VR headset.

It’s been a long journey from concept to shipment for the Roto Chair. We first wrote about the device back in 2016, when the chair first opened pre-orders. Back then, the unit cost $499, which didn’t include the advanced cable magazine, required to manage PC VR cables, and double rumble pack for vibration, which were add-ons that cost extra at the time.

These are both now included in the standard Roto VR Chair model, however price of this base model has also risen to a whopping $1,499 for consumers. The business edition of the exact same model (with no differences in the package itself, beside its intended purpose) comes with a different warranty for commercial use, which means it also costs more at $1,999. There are some other extras you can add onto the base chair package as well, but they will also cost extra.

Shipping for existing Roto VR Chair orders began this week. You can check out all of the Roto VR Chair options for purchase on their site.

The post After Many Years Of Delays, The Roto VR Chair Is Now Shipping To Customers appeared first on UploadVR.

Roto VR Chair Begins Shipping to Pre-Order Customers This Week

Remember Roto VR, the company building a chair specifically designed for virtual reality (VR)? Well, after an unsuccessful Kickstarter in 2015 pre-orders began in 2016 with shipments expecting to go out in 2017. Some did to developers but then that was halted, with further production announcements and delays following. Finally, there’s some good news as shipments to pre-order customers begin this week.

Roto VR Chair

The company has managed to raise over $1 million USD from pre-order customers which include blue-chip companies, development studios, schools, universities, arcades, museums, internet cafes, and home consumers. Compatible with most VR headsets (except PlayStation VR) has been designed to physically rotate users to match the VR environment, whilst offering additional features like haptic feedback.

A fully motorised chair which can turn either through player input or by head movements, the entire system features built-in cabling so there are no external wires to become entangled or worry about.

A basic Roto VR Chair retails for $1,499.00 containing all the main components, chair, base, head tracker, touch pedals, double rumble and control box. There are a few additional options to enhance the Roto VR experience including tablettes for Hotas control or the racing pack for mounting steering wheels and pedals. Or there is the Total Roto VR Package most of the other accessories for $1,899.65 (normally $2,025.00).

Roto VR chair multi

“It’s certainly not just about gaming, we are fortunate to have a unique insight into a wide range of complementary businesses/concepts,” notes Elliot Myers, founder of Roto VR Chair in a statement. “For example, Blue chip companies are looking to VR to boost their brands as well as productivity, Universities, schools, movie theatres and stadiums are looking to transition towards interactive seating. Game arcades, shopping malls, hotels, airports and internet cafes are starting to adopt VR to boost business. We can’t wait to see how profoundly Roto VR is going to help to shape the landscape of seated interactivity worldwide.”

If you happen to be attending the Family Attraction Expo at the NEC in Birmingham, UK this week, Roto VR Chair will be on hand to test. As shipments ramp up VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest Roto VR news.

Roto VR: Interaktiver Stuhl geht in Produktion

Eigentlich sollte Roto VR schon Anfang letzten Jahres auf den Markt kommen, doch daraus wurde nichts. Nun gibt das Team bekannt, dass erste Entwickler-Kits nun fertig seien und an Kunden verschickt werden. Gleich zwei Vorzüge soll der Stuhl bieten: Der Roto VR unterstützt die Immersion durch passende Bewegungen, was auch die Gefahr von Motion Sickness reduzieren soll.

Roto VR geht an erste Kunden

Während viele VR-Erfahrungen Room Scale und eine stehende Erfahrung bieten, sind auch VR-Ausflüge im Sitzen beliebt – vor allem Cockpit-Erfahrungen wie bei Autorennen und Ausflügen im Weltall. Dafür gibt es sogar einen speziellen Cockpit-Modus bei Foto VR, der beispielsweise bei Elite Dangerous die Bewegungsmöglichkeiten des Stuhls realistisch einschränkt. Nach einer abgebrochenen Kickstarter-Kampagne im Jahr 2015 entwickelte das Team von Roto an seinem aufwendigen Stuhl weiter, der die Immersion in VR steigern und gleichzeitig Schwindelgefühle durch die virtuelle Realität vermindern soll. Dazu folgt der interaktive Stuhl den Bewegungen im Spiel. Auf ein System festgelegt ist der Roto VR nicht, der Stuhl funktioniert beispielsweise mit PC-Brillen, PSVR und der Samsung Gear VR. Dabei benutzt man ein Roto VR HeadTracking-Modul, das man an der VR-Brille befestigt.

Im Einsteigerpack kostet der Roto VR 1000 US-Dollar und enthält neben dem Stuhl die Basis, HeadTracker und Touch Pedals, mit denen man auch im Sitzen laufen kann. Im Angebot für 1500 Dollar ist derzeit das volle Paket, das zusätzlich ein Kabel-Magazin, Roto VR Tabletts und das Double Rumble Toto VR Simulator Pack enthält. Letzteres fügt Audioverstärker und Vibrationen hinzu. Die Teile lassen sich allerdings auch einzeln nachkaufen. Um den Roto VR kommerziell einsetzen zu dürfen, zahlt man regulär 700 Dollar Aufpreis.

Der CEO von RotoElliott Myers – verspricht laut VR Focus, dass die Firma erste Stühle bereits ausliefert und alle Bestellungen von Privatkunden noch früh in diesem Jahr bedienen will. Darüber hinaus kann sich Myers auch einen Einsatz in weiteren Umgebungen vorstellen, beispielsweise in Flughäfen, Arcade Hallen, Schulen, Universitäten, Hotels und Einkaufszentren. Die Webseite von Roto hält weitere Informationen bereit.

(Quelle: VR Focus)

Der Beitrag Roto VR: Interaktiver Stuhl geht in Produktion zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

Roto VR Interactive Chair Finally In Production

Anyone who spends a lot of time sat in front of a PC knows that selecting the right PC chair is important. While the usual depiction of virtual reality (VR) involves people standing up, many VR experiences, such as Elite: Dangerous are best enjoyed sitting. What if your PC chair was also involved in the experience? This is what the Roto VR chair aims to provide.

Though initially expected to begin shipping in early 2017, various production delays have pushed back the release, but now the Roto VR team have announced that development kits for the Roto VR chair are ready to head out to customers.

Similar to how 4D cinema works, the Roto VR is designed to react to the VR experience being played, moving the player along as the action evolves. This is designed to not only enhance immersion, but also to reduce simulation sickness symptoms. Though originally pitched to consumers as an interactive chair for VR videogaming with its Kickstarter campaign in 2015, the chair now supports all PC-based VR, AR and 360-degree hardware and software out-of-the-box.

“The team have been working around the clock to get Roto VR final and shipment ready,” commented Elliott Myers, CEO and creator of Roto VR, “We’ve taken our time to ensure a top quality final product and I’m thrilled to confirm that units are beginning to ship, we will move to full production and all consumer orders will be fulfilled in early 2018. We’re super hyped because we know Roto VR will usher in a new era of unparalleled 360 VR immersion – and it’s affordable.”

Myers also notes that the scope of the project has expanded far beyond its original aims, and now Roto VR is looking into potential markets in areas such as videogame arcades, shopping centres, hotels and airports that are looking to introduce VR, as well as universities, schools and even cinemas and stadiums who wish to introduce interactive seating.

Further information can be found on the Roto VR website. VRFocus will continue to bring you the latest on Roto VR and other VR accessories and enhancements.

Make Real Partners With Roto VR To Deliver Support Platform

By their own admission it has been a particularly busy year for UK virtual reality (VR) studio Make Real. The Brighton team have been zipping all over the UK throughout the year, involved with a multitude of events across the country and further afield in the likes of Luxembourg, Hungary and the USA. From VRFocus‘ side the most ongoing developments have revolved around their videogame title Loco Dojo, the frenetic collection of mini games full of British humour for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. And brought to life by the unmistakable voice of actor Brian Blessed.Now the team move on to their next project however, and they today announced a partnership with the hardware company Roto VR, who are bringing the world’s first 360° interactive VR chair to market, alongside the Roto Arcade Portal which will offer a range of native VR applications and experiences designed specifically for use with the chair. The aim of the partnership is to allow Roto VR to focus on the final stages of manufacturing of the chair, first announced in 2015, with Make Real putting it’s simulation and physical hardware experience, combined with software platform development knowledge, to create the backend systems for soon-to-be-owners, VR Arcade operators and VR developers alike. With an easy-to-use system to build up and maintain their library of supported VR experiences.

Roto VR supports all VR experiences by default with full head-tracking and a special ‘Cockpit Mode’ of operation but Make Real will be packaging up the Roto VR chair APIs into free SDK assets to allow developers to integrate native support and control over the chair motion directly into their VR applications. Not only that, but a Samsung GearVR-based Roto VR 360° movie player will be released alongside the chair, bringing a timeline rotation tool to allow content creators to match movement to film action. VR Arcade operators will be able to track usage and charge per session, allowing Roto VR to invoice and pay developers accordingly.

“We are very excited to be partnering with Make Real, one the most prestigious content developers in the VR space.” Said Elliott Myers, CEO and Founder of Roto VR said of the partnership: “Their software development expertise allows us confidence in being able to deliver a solid launch platform for owners, operators and developers of the Roto VR chair hardware.”

Roto VR Chair to Begin Shipping in Q1 2017

In March 2015 Roto VR launched a Kickstarter crowd-funding campaign for its virtual reality (VR) focused rotating chair, aiming to aid immersion for players. Since then the design has gone through several iterations and in May this year pre-orders opened. At the time a July launch date was announced which subsequently slipped, but today the company has announced that the product will begin shipping to customers worldwide in January 2017.

Roto VR is a fully motorised chair that can spin and move inconjunction with whatever the player is viewing. Designed to work with all the major head-mounted displays (HMDs), such as PlayStation VR, Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Samsung Gear VR, a small device stored in the armrest is removed and clipped onto a headsets strap, enabling the chair to move when users turn their heads. It’ll also spin when required through gameplay input.

Roto VR chair multi

Currently Roto VR is offering a big pre-order discount for consumers with $200 USD knocked off the regular price until 5th, November 2016. This drops the price down from $699.00 to $499.99 on the website. There’s also several accessories to enhance the Roto VR, including the Advanced Cable Magazine for Oculus, PSVR & HTC, currently down from $129.99 to $99.99; Double Rumble Roto VR Simulator Pack  for $149.99 and the Roto VR Table down from $89.99 to $49.99.

This announcement also unveils a new accessory, the Roto Racing Rack at $99.99. This will allow die-hard racing fans who own steering wheel pedals to combine them with the system.

“We’re proud to finally unveil the pre-production model of the Roto VR chair today! Imagine having a VR Simulator Chair or VR Arcade Chair in your own home,” said Elliot Myers, CEO and creator of Roto VR. “It’s been a fantastic journey bringing Roto to life, we’re so excited to find out what developers and gamers think of our pre-production model, we invite all those interested in the VR platform to come down and try it from themselves at the VR/AR event in London on 19th and 20th October.”

Checkout the new trailer from Roto VR, and for all the latest news on the company, keep reading VRFocus.