Axl Chen, Parsons Design and Technology '23, Creates Surplex, VR Tracking Shoes that Capture Full Body Motion - The New School News

Surplex allows users afloat scope of question without worrying that they’ll tangle themselves up successful wires and cords, and connects to a assortment of VR headsets

October 13, 2022

When you survey successful the Design and Technology programme astatine Parsons, inspiration for your adjacent task tin travel from anything, and you typically person the accidental and resources to marque it a reality.

For Axl Chen, Design and Technology ‘23, the thought for his caller VR startup, Surplex, started successful a large workplace course, erstwhile helium was studying successful an speech programme astatine Tsinghua University done the Parsons Global Offsite program. As a subordinate of the Tsinghua Snowboard Team, Chen was utilizing wearable exertion successful bid to good tune his performances, but the on-body sensors were excessively cumbersome, which led to his probe and instauration of a afloat assemblage tracking system, elegantly embedded successful a shoe.

As the Founder and CEO of Surplex, Chen is liable for the regular absorption of his team, assorted engineering tasks, specified arsenic textile unit sensor R&D, PCB schematics plan and manufacture, and overmuch more. His squad includes Yuedi Zhang, BFA Fashion Design ‘21, who helped plan the shoe, arsenic good arsenic to researchers, engineers, method advisors, and more.

“Everything has been going great, astatine the aforesaid time, it’s challenging to person tons of attraction from backers, press, and manufacture partners,” shares Chen. “I americium thrilled but besides humbled. I volition decidedly effort my champion to present the champion merchandise signifier to users’ hands!”

Surplex is presently connected Kickstarter, wherever the project’s extremity was $10,000, but has since raised much than $60,000, with a week near to spell during the fundraising campaign. The merchandise that Chen and his squad program to motorboat has 480 unit sensors and 2 IMU embedded, allows users afloat scope of question without worrying that they’ll tangle themselves up successful wires and cords, and connects to a assortment of VR headsets.

“We really started with the thought of extendable pressure-sensitive tiles which tin beryllium assembled unneurotic arsenic a astute level for afloat assemblage tracking, but that attack didn’t enactment retired due to the fact that we recovered retired it’s hard to seizure users’ limb movements with that attack if users lifted their legs,” explains Chen. “We researched assorted sensors to span the spread and discovered IMU to beryllium astir feasible successful our usage case, with much affordable costs and unchangeable performances. Later, we started to cod a batch of quality kinematics information and bid our neural network. We collected astir 500k frames successful bid to execute the algorithm’s performance.”

In summation to a deficiency of cords and wires, Chen and his squad person ensured that Surplex volition enactment with each large FBT VR games, including VRChat, Blade and Sorcery, Beat Saber and Neos VR. They are besides successful speech with crippled studios to merchandise “full assemblage tracking” versions of assorted fan-favorite titles, including VRWorkout, Planet Theta, and Tennis Esports.

“Previous approaches that are disposable to customers are either expensive, requiring cumbersome setup specified arsenic a basal station, oregon requiring predominant calibration owed to drifting,” says Chen. “Our products are the archetypal shoes to person a afloat assemblage tracking feature. Not lone not prone to drifting, Surplex’s shoes are besides overmuch much affordable for VR users.”

Chen’s clip astatine Parsons allowed him to physique a assemblage with smart, ambitious designers, and person generous enactment from professors and faculty. 

“Specifically, the DT programme has a precise unfastened situation wherever everyone gets a accidental to research what they like. That supported maine to commencement this project.”

Like Chen, galore Parsons students and alumni are pursuing unsocial and innovative projects that bespeak the ngo and imaginativeness of the university. Recent graduates from the MFA Textiles and MFA Fashion Design and Society programs showcased their collections during New York Fashion Week, which explored sex and the body, originative reuse and sustainability, and speculative futures and worldmaking. Sofia von Hauske Valtierra, Product Design ’17, Design and Technology ’19, helps make immersive experiences for kids done design, portion MFA Photography grads are highlighting analyzable themes done their thesis collections, which were precocious connected presumption astatine the Kellen Gallery.

As Chen and his squad proceed to enactment connected Surplex and determination guardant with a user launch, they are reasoning astir however the merchandise tin beryllium utilized successful antithetic ways. They person received inquiries to collaborate with aesculapian and wellness companies, arsenic the VR exertion tin beryllium utilized successful aesculapian investigation with regards to ft pressure, among different applications.

“In all, we spot a batch of imaginable with this merchandise and we volition proceed exploring it,” says Chen. “Aside from this product, we besides strive to bring a much immersive acquisition to XR users successful the future, truthful we are besides successful the probe signifier of a wristband that tin seizure users’ manus movements, helping users to power XR interfaces much efficiently and easily.”