Disney Made a Treadmill That Does Not Look Like a Treadmill At All

Metaverse, a concept that promises users an alternate digital world correlating to the physical world, may come to life, but how will the users explore it? Using a virtual reality (VR) controller is not always an option. So the entertainment company conceived an interesting solution. They laid down a path (literally) that allows a user to walk in a digital space.

The Concept May Go Beyond the Metaverse

An omni-directional treadmill that allows multiple users to walk while donning a head-mounted display (HMD) without the risk of smashing into each other – first reported by technology news publication ZDNET, Disney’s research arm Imagineer and research fellow Lanny Smoot has developed the technology dubbed HoloTile.

Omni treadmills are not new and different companies have been working on similar concepts since the virtual worlds began gaining popularity. Virtuix, a company that creates such treadmills, made a couple for Warner Bros’ movie Ready Player One. The movie is specifically focused on the metaverse and showcases technologies that may come handy should the metaverse come into existence.

Smoot, who recently became second person after Walt Disney to become a part of National Inventors Hall of Fame, said that, “With all of the inventing greats, however, I caught a true lump in my throat when I realized that I was only the second person at The Walt Disney Company being presented with this honor, and the first person was Walt Disney himself.”

But HoloTile is not just an omni-directional walking floor, it is much more than that. It allows things to be moved within its area while a user will control the movement. It “can be used for theatrical stages and filmmaking,” ZDNET notes. “Such an invention could revolutionize stage design and bring new possibilities for performance dynamics.”

Chairman of Disney Experiences Josh D’Amaro said, “At Disney Experiences, we’re committed to world-class storytelling, creativity, and innovation in everything we do, and Lanny Smoot embodies every one of those ideals. As Disney’s most prolific inventor, Lanny continues to amaze all of us with his artistic ingenuity, technical expertise, and endless imagination.”

Although this initiative connects with the metaverse experience it is interesting to note that the company wound down its metaverse division during March 2023 as a part of broader restructuring according to technology news publication TechCrunch. The decision was a part of mass layoffs which saw Disney announcing a cut of 7,000 headcounts.

Disney’s latest product has the capability to revolutionize the metaverse but the entertainment giant has not yet talked about it being used in the metaverse. Moreover, it is possible they are, in fact, working on similar experiences. For instance, during the WorldWide Developer Conference 2023 (WWDC) when tech giant Apple revealed Vision Pro, Disney CEO Bob Iger announced the company’s partnership to bring its streaming service on the mixed reality (MR) initiative.

Andrew is a blockchain developer who developed his interest in cryptocurrencies while pursuing his post-graduation major in blockchain development. He is a keen observer of details and shares his passion for writing, along with coding. His backend knowledge about blockchain helps him give a unique perspective to his writing skills, and a reliable craft at explaining the concepts such as blockchain programming, languages ​​and token minting. He also frequently shares technical details and performance indicators of ICOs and IDOs.