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It Started with the VR Locomotion Problem
Virtual Reality (VR) technology has come a long way recently with amazing display technology and great game engines that can put us into amazing places - both real and imagined. Content for VR has evolved from simple 360 photography to environments rendered dynamically. Users immersed in a VR Head Mounted Display (HMD) have options for changing their perspective. A user can rotate their head to see in a different direction. to turn 180 degrees requires most people to rotate their whole body, which is probably why most VR users stand or sit on a rotating stool. The bigger problem comes when the user wants to move while immersed. It would be great if we could just walk and run in any direction, but walls, furniture, pets, and other people can get in our way unless the content is built specifically for the space the user is in. Teleporting by pointing and clicking seems to be the most common option, but it is tedious and not the way we move in real life. A lot of alternative methods of movement have been conceived and most involve a lot of standing and physical movement. We offer an alternative that we think not only solves the locomotion problem for VR, but creative users are finding it useful for first-person video games and for controlling remote avatars and unmanned vehicles.
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Sit and navigate​


HoboLoco controllers are styled like a “hoverboard” without wheels. The device is placed on the floor in front of a seated user so they can rest one foot on each footplate in its neutral position. The device employs a unique scheme of navigation control that requires little effort to move your avatar in any direction. Haptic feedback is embedded in the footplates. Standard HID protocols (keyboard & mouse or gamepad) enable communication over USB or Bluetooth. Users and developers are able to customize the operation of the device for various games.
Benefits
Hands-free
Seated
Intuitive
​Portable
Simple motions
Non-tiring
Safer than standing


Want to try it for yourself? Contact us at info@hoboloco.com

If you're a game or training developer, we'd love to give your users continuous movement.

Operational Uses
As a continuous locomotion 
controller for VR
  • With standalone HMD (e.g. Quest 2) using OpenXR Input as Bluetooth Gamepad
  • Integrated via SDK into Game (Unity/Unreal) using proprietary JSON data over USB
As a PC Mouse (USB)
  • Movement only
  • Movement and buttons
As a PC Gamepad (Bluetooth)
  • Left and right thumbsticks only (using x360c configuration for configuration)​
​As a combination of Keyboard and Mouse
For example, it has been used with the following first-person PC games:
  • Black Ops 3 Zombies
  • Call of Duty (PlayStation as well)
  • Counter Strike Global Offensive
  • Dark Souls 3
  • Fallout 4
  • Fortnite
  • Forza Horizon 4
  • Halo Reach
  • League of Legends (Map)
  • Minecraft
  • Overwatch
  • Payday 2
  • Postal 2
  • Postal 4 No Regerts
  • PUBG
  • State of Decay 2
  • Team Fortress 2
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the problem

October 2017 - I was trying to figure out a potential Virtual Reality exhibit for Sci-Tech Discovery Center. In the process of educating myself about the latest in VR, I learned about virtual reality's "locomotion problem" - how do you control your movements in a virtual world without running into real walls or breaking immersion. 

the idea

November 2017 - during the previous summer I had seem my nephew gliding around on a hoverboard. It occurred to me that the hoverboard control scheme could be implemented in a device to control a virtual world. Just press your toes down to go forward, heels down to back up, and a simple mix of toe and heel to rotate. With this device you can guide an avatar walking, riding, or driving. Vibrators embedded in the footpads could be used to give the user a sense of movement.

the patents

We currently have 2 U.S. Utility Patents and one each from Japan, Korea, and China. Additional patents and countries are pending.

April 30, 2019 - US
Utility patent 10,275,019 was issued to HoboLoco Inc. for Virtual Reality Locomotion Device in the US.

​Additional patents are in progress.

​Among the anticipated applications for this invention are remote control of robots, therapeutic applications, and video games.
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