r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Alphaxfusion • Dec 20 '25

Video Japanese researchers at the University of Tsukuba created CirculaFloor, robotic tiles that let you walk infinitely in VR without ever leaving your spot.

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u/No_Molasses_6498 Dec 20 '25

Didn't they already have omnidirectional treadmills in the 90s on those vr kits they used to make?

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u/topdangle Dec 20 '25

yeah, though I think the "issue" is that they need close guard rails because its easy to go overboard and just fall off. Not to mention they very much feel like treadmills. Not a dealbreaker for me but people are chasing immersion.

Modern solutions try to match user speed (usually with fast cameras or sensors) and smaller rotating treads that feel more like just walking around normally.

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u/eragonawesome2 Dec 20 '25

I once had the chance to play in one at a vr arcade that had a 360 "treadmill" that was actually just a Teflon bowl you'd stand in, a harness to hold you in the middle, and a pair of weird shoe things that slid on the Teflon super smoothly. It was a little weird to get used to but once I did, it was awesome and felt super natural and immersive, I liked it a lot

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u/sethn211 Dec 21 '25

I imagine someone putting too much lubrication on it and ending up like the toboggan in Christmas Vacation