Interactive Chair Maker Roto VR Raises £1.5 million, Eyes Consumer Product Launch

Interactivity tends to be key for virtual reality (VR) experiences, from simple hand gestures to full roomscale movement. But the latter isn’t always practical both in the consumer and enterprise fields. Which is where a company like Roto VR comes in, with its motorised chair offering 360-degree rotation as well as other features. Today, the company has announced the completion of a £1.5 million funding round to help drive the business forward.

The round was lead by Pembroke VCT with the TVB Growth Fund also participating, SP Angel Corporate Finance LLP acted as financial advisor to Roto VR.

Roto VR’s chair helps to address problems such as motion sickness because it can auto-rotate to wherever the user is looking, either through player input or by head movements. Other features of the chair include an internal cabling system to remove the cable constraints of PC-based VR headsets and haptics for a more immersive experience.

The base Roto VR chair model can also be enhanced with a range of accessories such as a desktop table, tablettes for Hotas control or the racing pack for mounting steering wheels and pedals.

Explaining why they invested, Andrew Wolfson, CEO Pembroke Investment Managers LLP saif in a statement: “In Elliott we have found an entrepreneur who has solved a problem for the VR market with a solution that addresses the physical issues encountered whilst consuming VR content, as well as significantly enhancing the experience. We see future customers coming from both the B2B and B2C markets, in fields such as experiential attractions, home, cinemas and shopping centres. The company has employed a high calibre of people, and we believe that the business is well placed to take advantage of this fast-growing market.”

Currently, the Roto VR Chair retails for $1,499.00 with everything to get you started, while the Total Roto VR Bundle includes most of the other accessories for $1,899.65 (normally $2,025.00). This is quite a lot of cash to be dropping on a chair for VR so most customers have been enterprise-based. In addition to the investment announcement Roto VR has confirmed it is due to launch the consumer and office version of the chair imminently to help lower the entry cost to the platform. How much this will be and its feature set has yet to be revealed.

Plus, the Roto VR SDK has now been rolled out to developer so they can optimise their titles for use with the chair. For further updates on Roto VR, keep reading VRFocus.

By: Peter Graham
Title: Interactive Chair Maker Roto VR Raises £1.5 million, Eyes Consumer Product Launch
Sourced From: www.vrfocus.com/2020/04/interactive-chair-maker-roto-vr-raises-1-5-million-eyes-consumer-product-launch/
Published Date: Wed, 01 Apr 2020 14:30:09 +0000