Immersive entertainment has come a long way since 1830’s stereoscopic photo viewers and the Sensorama booth of 1956. Today, Somatic VR enhances virtual reality thanks to their full-body, next-level immersion technology, which was created, in part, thanks to support and partnership with the Thurston Economic Development Council and Lacey MakerSpace.
Michael Moore oversees Business Operations alongside product creator and partner Thomas Karl. Moore says their business model is simple. “Somatic VR sells a product: EROS Trackers,” he explains. “These tiny trackers magnetically attach to the user’s joints to provide highly accurate full-body motion capture for VR and CGI applications. Our primary users will be VR enthusiasts looking to achieve the maximum level of immersion while in VR. These trackers can also be used by VTubers to provide real-time motion capture live streams as well as game developers who want life-like animation motion capture without having to pay thousands of dollars for a motion capture studio slot.”
Before starting Somatic VR in February 2023, Moore—an avid gamer himself—worked with regional EDCs in Michigan on other projects and “knows well the services that EDCs can provide for early-stage entrepreneurs working to launch a new business,” he says. Now settled in Washington while his wife starts her fellowship at Seattle Children’s Hospital, “It was a no-brainer to re-engage with this new venture as it really takes a village to start a business.”
Adding the Lacey MakerSpace into the mix was a logical next step, both financially and creatively. “Being that we are a hardware-oriented company, the starting capital requirements to get the equipment needed is honestly insurmountable,” says Moore. “We did our best to cobble some early-stage prototypes on our kitchen tables, but hot glue and a soldering iron will only get you so far.”
The solution proved to be just around the corner. “When we were able to prove out the base tech, we needed access to a more expansive toolset without breaking the bank and taking up multiple rooms,” he continues. “We toured a few maker spaces around Seattle and ultimately settled on the Lacey MakerSpace due to the sheer breadth of resources that they had readily available both for our current needs and our future growth plans. It has saved us months of development time as we could quickly run experimental tests with electronics and plastic components and adjust plans as needed.”
With much of Somatic VR’s R&D phase wrapping up, Moore says they hope to begin working on sales and marketing with the EDC. Their goal is to start selling the first week of December 2023 and release several software updates to expand product functionality so it can work with standalone VR headsets and provide full-body haptic feedback.
When sharing their experience with other start-ups, Moore offers a simple piece of advice. “Starting a business is hard enough as it is. You shouldn’t make it harder on yourself by trying to go it alone when you could tap into the multitude of resources the state makes available to help you get up and running. It is also really important to start building relationships long before you need to ask for favors; otherwise, it will be hard to get the help you need when you need it most.”
The global tech industry is diving wholeheartedly into VR. Moore has been watching the market, and he and Karl are excited for the future. “The benefit of starting a company now is that we can strategically position ourselves for success well in advance as we wait for the wave of mass adoption on the horizon instead of rushing to catch up once the wave is actually here.”
“We targeted full-body tracking as our initial market due to the relatively low barrier of entry and the substantial demand across the VR community that was clearly underserved,” he says. “The only other vendor is back-ordered until next spring, just trying to meet the current demand. This low entry cost and immediate consumer base will allow us to establish a foothold in the market without requiring substantial upfront capital, our goal from day one.” As part of the SlimeVR open-source project, they’re paying it forward by open-sourcing both designs and software to boost community effort. They also strongly favor the consumer’s right to repair and keep technology out of landfills.
Read more about their products at www.SomaticVR.com. From the website, you’ll find links to social media to be able to sign up for their newsletter or track product launches. There’s even a chat option for questions. Don’t stay a red plastic View-Master in today’s 3-D digital world. Get on board now and find yourself exploring our sci-fi future one VR pixel at a time.