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By Jan Goetgeluk (@virtuixomni), Founder and CEO, Virtuix (developer of the Virtuix Omni)

19 January 2014: Virtual reality, or VR, is finally ready to become an integral part of the home entertainment ecosystem.

VR hardware has thus far been limited to military applications, arcades and enthusiasts due to high cost, complexity and limited content. Recent advancements in motion tracking, lightweight head-mounted displays, and integration with existing content will open the doors for the masses to adopt virtual reality into their everyday lives.

Several virtual reality crowd-funding campaigns have been successfully funded within the last 18 months for a host of virtual reality products, including the Oculus Rift head mounted display ($2.4 million), Virtuix Omni omni-directional treadmill ($1.1 million), CastAR head mounted display ($1.0 million), and Sixense STEM tracking system ($600,000). Here’s a video of me talking about the Omni at TEDx Houston if you’re interested.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1niFHFIbD0M[/youtube]

Immersion is key

Any form of entertainment strives to transport the viewer or player to a different world. The new generation of VR hardware is taking this to a level of unprecedented immersion. The Oculus Rift has captured the imagination of the gaming world with its wide field of view and stereoscopic display. More than 40,000 developer’s kits have been sold to date.

The latest Rift prototype shown at CES 2014 has a high definition display (OLED screens) with added positional head tracking. While this device is the most consumer ready VR head mounted display at the moment, other players are entering the market. The CastAR head mounted display uses a projection AR technology to create “cave” environments in the home at a low cost (see video below)

[youtube]http://youtu.be/7mVw7__UZmU[/youtube]

Advancements in hand motion tracking are changing the way we interact with objects and other avatars in the virtual world.

The Sixense STEM system offers magnetic motion tracking to accurately virtualize the user’s hands and handheld weapons. Full virtual reality cannot be experienced sitting down. The Virtuix Omni completes the “Full VR” experience by transporting the player’s walking and running movements to the virtual world.

Great content is required to drive hardware sales

The future of virtual reality depends upon developers taking advantage of the benefits of virtual reality hardware to create “killer applications.” We are starting to see the fruits of labour from developers that are creating content for VR. Major developers such as Valve (Half Life 2 VR, Team Fortress 2 VR) and CCP Games (EVE Valkyrie) have released AAA virtual reality games and demos that are creating buzz around the gaming world. Both AAA and indie developers are gearing up to take advantage of the new possibilities that the VR medium is offering.

Until now, the recent advances in virtual reality hardware have been driven by crowd-funded startups. With last month’s major venture capital funding of OculusVR ($75 million by Marc Andreessen and other VC firms), the established hardware manufacturers are starting to take notice. Sony has announced a new VR head mounted display, and other majors are expected to follow suit.

In 2014 and beyond, virtual reality is set to become the next wave of global technological innovation. Get ready to enter a new world.