10 January 2019

Cybershoes Lets You Control VR Games With Your Feet


Photograph of the Cybershoes CES 2019

If you’ve ever felt left down by the lack of real foot movement in VR, a new product unveiled at CES may be just for you. The Cybershoes are a new VR utility that connect to your existing VR setup and allow you to move your player in-game with your feet instead of a controller.

Photograph of Ben Stegner getting set up with Cybershoes

The device plugs into your computer like any other accessory. It’s a set of two roller shoes that easily strap to your feet, with or without shoes. After you successfully put on and calibrate them, you’re ready to start moving your feet to control games.

All you have to do is slide your feet along the ground as if you’re actually walking. The shoes feel like wearing roller skates as you move each foot in front of you and slide it back—or reverse that to move backwards.

Photograph of the Cybershoes in use

A purchase of Cybershoes includes two roller shoes, and also comes with a swivel chair that allows you to easily turn in all directions while playing. To protect you from the buildup of static that could occur while sliding your feet all over the ground, the company also includes an anti-static mat.

The Cybershoes work with any PC VR game that involves player movement. This includes Steam games that normally use a touchpad or motion controller, as well as Microsoft’s Mixed Reality platform.

Photograph of the Cybershoe unit

In our demo of the product, we were impressed by the value this added to the VR experience (after we overcame some learning curves with the game controllers). While full motion in VR games can often cause motion sickness, the act of sitting in a high stool and making a walking-like movement helps your body feel like it’s really moving. We didn’t feel ill after a few minutes of playing the game.

Cybershoes is about to go into production following a successful Kickstarter campaign. Once it releases, the product will cost $400 for the shoes, chair, and anti-static mat. This is a fair investment, but if you’re a VR aficionado who’s desired more real motion in games, it could be just the fix to bump your VR setup to the next level.

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