Freeaim's Easy-to-Use VR Shoes

Over the past couple of decades, we’ve witnessed the widespread commercialization of VR. First coming to light during the 1800s, the tech immensely improved after centuries, with demand rising quite consistently after the release of the Oculus Rift and Facebook’s purchase of it back in 2014.

While VR and mixed reality are already widely available to the general public now, typically through devices such as glasses, headsets, and treadmills, there are still certain limitations to the tech. Though certainly exciting, with applications often seen in the gaming and medical industry, the tech tends to be costly, have the potential of causing danger and sickness, and limit users in terms of vision and movement, constrained by the size of the user’s space.

Freeaim Technologies, a London-based tech company founded by CEO and lead engineer Ashley Foxcroft, aims to break free from all these limitations with its versatile and easy-to-use VR shoes, created to provide users with affordable VR gear void of space-related restraints.

Endless Environment

Generally found in gaming, modern VR is used to explore the endless virtual environments users can encounter, like in open world games such as Skyrim or Fallout 4. With the implied need for VR users to move as they play, manufacturers of VR gadgets warn users that while the virtual world they witness seems boundless, they will blind to the physical world around them.

This warrants users to play with supervision, avoid playing in crowded spaces, and ensure that they actually have enough space to move with no obstacles. It is not rare to see VR users accidentally trip over tables or hit their head on ceiling fans when unaware of their surroundings. These risks prevent the feeling of immersion as users cannot move in the real world the way they move virtually.

Attempting to alleviate this, manufacturers have created VR omni-directional treadmills, a physical platform with a moving belt that allows users to move anywhere without much constraints. Large-scale exploration can be done pretty well using VR treadmills as they provide more immersive locomotion. However, they come in sizes that take up significant space, costing several thousand of dollars while still limiting body contortions.

VR treadmills may also feel unnatural to beginners, as instead of the familiar feeling of walking, some say they give out more of a sliding, ice skating feel. While users may need some time to get used to VR treadmills, Freeaim claims that most who have tried out the company’s shoes are able to walk with them within 20 minutes due to the shoe’s instinctive nature.

The shoes open up users to unlimited exploration on account of their powerful omnidirectional motors while keeping users in safe and small spaces.

Immersive and Instinctive

No matter how advanced a VR device may be, users will always need to stay mindful of their safety. In designing its VR shoes, Freeaim makes safety a top priority. Using sensor technology and data analytics, Freeaim’s shoes can detect user movement and walking patterns to instinctively correct a user’s position.

If a user were to stray too far from their space, for example, which the company recommends to be 2m by 2m in size, the shoes will autonomously move their feet without them even realizing, without at all stopping their movement in the virtual world.

Still in its early development stage and undergoing testing, Freeaim has made its VR shoes support movements like walking, turning, slow jogging or fast walking, side stepping, and crouching, with walking backwards, sprinting, jumping, and strafing aimed to be possible in the future.

Freeaim states that it aims to make its shoes wearable for users up to 120kg or approximately up to 264 pounds, giving out a boots or leather shoes feel with unrestricted bends or movements.

Use Cases

Aware of the VR market mainly dominated by players in the gaming industry, Freeaim strives to support all VR gaming platforms in the future, especially the substantial entities that are Meta Quest and PSVR. For the time being, Freeaim only supports SteamVR games.

The completely wireless shoes are battery powered, lasting for about one and a half to two hours, varying depending on a user’s playstyle and duration. For full immersion, the shoes will be also equipped with several haptics, providing high definition sensations most gamers have become familiar with thanks to modern gaming controllers. The shoes are equipped with a haptic that indicates a low battery, as well.

Though only able to provide simple haptic feedbacks such as different patterns when touching the ground for now, Freeaim has plans to release a Software Development Kit (SDK) that will allow game developers to create more haptic sensations, examples being distinct feelings of walking on lava, water, grass, snow, etc.

Though focusing on the gaming industry at the moment, Freeaim will also release what it calls the Freeaim VR Shoes Pro, shoes tailored specifically for businesses and professional applications. According to Freeaim, their use cases include medical rehabilitation and fitness, industrial training simulators, academic research requiring movement, and any commercial, location-based needs whether they be for entertainment or retail purposes.

Freeaim’s VR shoes are designed to be used on hard floor surfaces, with floor mats available for purchase in the future. Though the company is not able to release its shoes’ prices just yet, it may do so soon in 2024. Freeaim has also stated that the price will be more competitive than existing VR locomotion devices. Businesses interested in Pro can fill out a business contact form, with pricing provided directly through communications with Freeaim Technologies.

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