Powered Shoes take virtual reality input to new level of nerdy

We can't say you're going to look like a total stud walking around in your new "Powered Shoes" virtual reality gear, but if you're like us and studliness was never an option, then why not throw all fashion to the wind and strap on a bit of VR gadgetry? The basic premise is the motorized rollerskate wheels, which allow you to stay in place while walking, and track those movements to a simulation or game. Once you get everything up and running you can blaze along at a whole 2 feet per second, which might make virtual world even more boring than this one, but it's the principle of the thing, no?

[Via MAKE]

[Bean @ Jun 30th 2006 11:29AM]

Throw some segway tech in there and you could probably walk at a normal speed.

[delerious @ Jun 30th 2006 11:46AM]

Contact Iwata!

(look at the reference site)

[David @ Jun 30th 2006 12:07PM]

Yeah, put one of those things on and you're NEVER going to meet any girls.

[Drew @ Jun 30th 2006 12:19PM]

The fact that he's wearing socks with sandals is enough to keep girls from talking to him.

[GP @ Jun 30th 2006 12:41PM]

More and more, Neal Stephenson's portentious "Snow Crash" is coming true.

[Lansing @ Jun 30th 2006 1:47PM]

Wow, it seems AquaTeen's eDork came true after all.

[neXus @ Jun 30th 2006 2:09PM]

And I thought nerdiness had peaked out a couple of years ago... guess I was horribly mistaken. My bad :)

[Ferny @ Jun 30th 2006 3:11PM]

is it just me or does this guy anorexic?

[Hannah @ Jun 30th 2006 4:05PM]

@GP

Snow Crash reference for the win! Er...ahem.

Come to think of it, he never explained how people could walk in the Metaverse. It was apparently possible to accomplish while the real-world user was stationary, so I don't think it worked like these VR skates.

[Emceay @ Jun 30th 2006 4:15PM]

"And I thought nerdiness had peaked out a couple of years ago... guess I was horribly mistaken. My bad :)"

F'real? We've still got robophiles to invent and laugh at.

[streetstealth @ Jun 30th 2006 6:48PM]

You can wear these to Techno-Chocolate Land!

[pbase @ Jun 30th 2006 8:31PM]

Walking's fine. What about strafing? Does it have ball bearings, or am I gonna end up into the wall during a heated exchange in F.E.A.R.?

[Sam @ Jun 30th 2006 11:14PM]

Man, screw the video game! I'd use these as an easier method to walk around!
Seriously. Motorized rollerskates, how kickass would that be?