Protective system for a rotatable virtual reality apparatus

Abstract

A rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprising: a shaft for supporting a user support of the virtual reality apparatus; a base arranged to support the shaft; a bearing arrangement arranged to allow the shaft to rotate relative to the base; a motor arranged to cause rotation of the shaft relative to the base; two or more legs for supporting the base on a ground surface, the legs extending outwardly away from the base; and a protective cover arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus between the legs and the user support such that the user's feet or legs cannot be trapped between a space between the legs during rotation of the shaft; and a controller, the controller being arranged to prevent activation of the motor if the protective cover is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

Description

[0001] Protective System for Rotatable Virtual Reality Apparatus

[0002] This invention relates to a rotatable virtual reality apparatus. In particular, this invention relates to a protective system for a rotatable virtual reality transmission apparatus.

[0003] Background of the Invention

[0004] In order to create a more immersive virtual reality experience, it is desirable for a virtual reality apparatus to be able to rotate a user in real space. For example, it is desirable for a user to be able to sit on a virtual reality apparatus which is arranged to rotate the user clockwise or anticlockwise about an axis of rotation. The virtual reality apparatus may be arranged to rotate the user in dependence upon movement of a character, vehicle or other entity in a virtual reality environment, such as a game or film world. For instance, if the user’s character turns 45° to the left in a game world, the virtual reality apparatus may be arranged to cause the user to turn 45° to the left in real space by rotating the part of the virtual reality apparatus on which the user sits.

[0005] The base of a virtual reality apparatus typically comprises legs. Adjacent legs define a space between the legs and a portion of the base proximate to the legs which user’s feet or legs can occupy. As a virtual reality apparatus is arranged to rotate a user in real space, the user may damage their feet or legs as the virtual reality apparatus rotates if they inadvertently place their feet or legs within this space.

[0006] Further, in order to allow adequate rotational speeds, a virtual reality apparatus requires a stable base upon which to rotate. This is typically provided by having a large base and / or long legs integrally attached thereto. However, having such a large base and / or legs drastically increases the cost of the virtual reality apparatus because the apparatus is large in size when being shipped to a user. To be commercially viable, the rotational speeds of the virtual reality apparatus must therefore be limited. Further, the virtual reality apparatus occupies a large area, which is undesirable when wanting to store the apparatus when not in use.

[0007] The present invention aims to overcome or at least ameliorate one or more of the problems set out above.

[0008] Summary of the Invention

[0009] In the present invention, there is provided a rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprising: a shaft for supporting a user support of the virtual reality apparatus; a base arranged to support the shaft; a bearing arrangement arranged to allow the shaft to rotate relative to the base; a motor arranged to cause rotation of the shaft relative to the base; two or more legs for supporting the base on a ground surface, the legs extending outwardly away from the base; and a protective cover arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus between the legs and the user support such that the user’s feet cannot be trapped between a space between the legs during rotation of the shaft; and a controller, the controller being arranged to prevent activation of the motor if the protective cover is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

[0010] In this way, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus prevents the user from damaging their feet or legs as the virtual reality apparatus rotates if they inadvertently place their feet or legs within the space between the legs of the apparatus. This is achieved by providing a protective cover between the legs of the apparatus, which prevents the user from reaching a space between the legs of the apparatus. And arranging the controller to prevent activation of the motor if the protective cover is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus, which ensures the user’s feet or legs cannot be trapped between the legs of the apparatus during rotation of the shaft, which may inadvertently occur if the protective cover is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus. Preferably, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus further comprises a footrest for receiving a user’s feet, the footrest extending outwardly from the shaft or from the user support, such that the footrest rotates with the shaft. The footrest provides comfort for the user, providing a place for the user to rest their feet. Otherwise, the user’s feet would drag against the protective cover, which is undesirable. Preventing a user’s feet or legs from being trapped between the legs of the apparatus is even more vital when the apparatus comprises a footrest, as the user’s legs can now be trapped between the legs of the apparatus and the footrest, which is even more dangerous - the change of this occurring increase, the user’s legs are less likely to slip free.

[0011] Preferably, the protective cover comprises two or more parts, and the controller is arranged to prevent activation of the motor if all parts of the protective cover are not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus. In this way, rotation of the shaft does not occur unless all parts of the protective cover are attached to the apparatus. This ensures all parts of the protective cover are attaching, providing protection across the entire 360 degree space below the user’s feet / legs.

[0012] Preferably, the parts of the protective cover are removably attachable to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus. In some embodiments, The protective cover being formed from smaller, separate removably attachable parts allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus to adopt an extremely compact configuration which is advantageous, both for storage purposes and when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus is packaged for sale to a user.

[0013] Preferably, each part of the protective cover is removably attachable to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus such that the part locates in a space between a pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to the legs.

[0014] Preferably, each part of the protective cover is removably attachable to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus via at least one of: a pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to the legs. Preferably, the controller is arranged to detect whether a part of the protective cover is attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus via a respective sensor arrangement, the sensor arrangement being provided in a leg or a portion of the base proximate to the leg. When the sensor arrangement is provided in a leg, the sensor arrangement is arranged to detect the attachment of a part of the protective cover on one side of the leg and the attachment of another part of the protective cover on a different side of the leg. In a most preferable arrangement, the sensor arrangement comprises two separate sensors, one sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of a part of the protective cover on one side of the leg, and the other sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of another part of the protective cover on a different side of the leg. Preferably, the sensor is a microswitch.

[0015] In a preferrable arrangement, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprises six legs and the protective cover comprises three parts. In some embodiments, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus may comprise more or less than six legs, and / or the protective cover may comprise more or less than three parts.

[0016] Preferably, the protective cover has a generally circular shape, a diameter of the protective cover generally corresponding to a diameter of the legs defined by distal edges of the legs. This further allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus to adopt an extremely compact configuration which is advantageous, both for storage purposes and when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus is packaged for sale to a user.

[0017] In a most preferrable arrangement, the legs are removably attached to the base. This allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to adopt an extremely compact configuration which is advantageous, both for storage purposes and when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 is packaged for sale to a user, whilst allowing the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to have a good stable base (i.e., via legs 6 of adequate length) when in an ‘in use’ configuration. This therefore allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus to have higher rotational speeds than conventional arrangements.

[0018] Further, preventing the motor from activating unless the protective cover is attached is more vital when the legs are removably attachable, as there is more room for human error in attaching the legs correctly, and all of the parts of the protective cover correctly.

[0019] Preferably, an output of the motor is coupled to the shaft via a rotational coupling. The rotational coupling may comprise a worm screw and a threaded ring.

[0020] Preferably, the user support comprises at least one of: a chair, a stool, and a platform.

[0021] In a preferrable arrangement, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus further comprises a slip ring arrangement having a stationary part and a rotating part, the arrangement providing for transfer of electrical signals between the controller associated with the virtual reality apparatus and a rotatable user input and / or output associated with the virtual reality apparatus via the stationary part and the rotating part, the shaft being arranged to accommodate at least a portion of the rotating part of the slip ring arrangement within the shaft, the bearing arrangement arranged to allow the shaft and the rotating part of the slip ring arrangement to rotate relative to the base. In this way, a rotatable user input and / or output associated with the virtual reality apparatus can be connector to the controller.

[0022] Brief Description of the Drawings

[0023] Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the drawings in which:-

[0024] Figure 1 is a perspective view illustrating a rotatable virtual reality apparatus having a protective cover. Figure 2 is a side view illustrating a rotatable virtual reality apparatus having a protective cover.

[0025] Figure 3 is a perspective view of the protective cover of the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

[0026] Figure 4 is a perspective view of a leg attached to the base of the rotatable virtual reality apparatus, the leg being a cut-away view.

[0027] Detailed

[0028] With reference to Figures 1 and 2, in this embodiment, a rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 comprises a slip ring (not illustrated) that is housed within a shaft 9. The slip ring has a stationary part and a rotating part (not illustrated). The slip ring provides for transfer of electrical signals between a stationary controller (not illustrated) associated with the virtual reality apparatus and a rotatable user input or user output (not illustrated) associated with the virtual reality apparatus. In other embodiments, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 does not have a slip ring.

[0029] A top end of the shaft 9 supports a user support 2 of the virtual reality apparatus 1 . In this embodiment, the user support 2 is a chair. In other embodiments, the user support 2 may be for example, a stool or a platform, on which the user can sit during use of the virtual reality apparatus. There may be a number of intervening components between the shaft 9 and the user support 2, though in some examples the shaft may support the user support directly. The shaft 9 may be made of metal or any other material of adequate strength for supporting a user support.

[0030] The shaft 9 is sized and shaped to house the rotating part of the slip ring within the shaft 9. In this embodiment, the shaft is hollow. In embodiments with no slip ring, the shaft may not be hollow. In particular, the hollow shaft 9 has a sufficiently wide bore and a sufficient length that it can accept at least a portion of the rotating part of the slip ring. In the illustrated example, the shaft 9 is arranged to accommodate all of the rotating part of the slip ring. In this embodiment, the shaft 9 also accommodates a portion of the stationary part of the slip ring, though this may not be the case in other examples. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 also comprises a base 4 arranged to support the shaft 9. The base may include or be formed of one or more parts. In this embodiment, the base includes a metal base plate and a metal top cover, though in other examples different components and different materials may be used. The base plate and the top cover may be affixed to one another, e.g. using screws or other fixing means.

[0031] In the illustrated example, the base 4 houses a bottom end of the shaft 9 and a number of other components. One of the other components housed by the base is a bearing arrangement (not illustrated). The bearing arrangement includes a pair of bearing rings and a bearing bracket. The bearing arrangement is arranged to allow the shaft and the rotating part of the slip ring to rotate relative to the base 4. In embodiments with no slip ring, the bearing arrangement is arranged to allow the shaft to rotate relative to the base 4. The components of the bearing arrangement may be made of any suitable materials. In the illustrated example, the bearing rings are made of metal and the bearing bracket is made of plastic.

[0032] The rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 also comprises a footrest 8 for receiving a user’s feet at a distal end of the footrest 8 (via transverse member 1 1 ). The footrest 8 comprises an elongate member attached at one end to the shaft 9 with the transverse member 1 1 at its other, distal end. In this embodiment, the elgonate member of the footrest 8 is attached to, and extends in a generally horizontal direction from, the shaft 9. In this way, the footrest 8 rotates with the shaft 9. A user sitting on the user support 2 of the virtual reality apparatus 1 may be able to rest his or her feet on the footrest 8. The provides to comfort to the user, as the user’s feet would otherwise drag along during rotation.

[0033] In some embodiments, the footrest 8 may be equipped with user input or user output devices, such as pedals or vibration feedback outputs. In this embodiment, the footrest 8 is attached to the shaft 9 (either rigidly or removably). In other embodiments, the footrest 8 may form part of the user support 2, or, in less preferred embodiments, there may be no footrest 8 at all.

[0034] The base 4 also comprises legs for supporting the base 4 on a ground surface. Each leg is denoted generally as numeral 6. Each leg 6 extends from the base 4 horizontally and contacts a ground surface at a distal end of the leg when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 is in an upright (or ‘in use’) position. In this embodiment, distal ends of each leg 6 comprise wheels, which contact the ground. In other embodiments, there may be no wheels at distal ends of each leg, but instead each leg 6 contacts the ground directly. In preferred embodiments, the legs 6 extend away from the base 4 towards a ground surface at angle between 0 and 90 degrees. The legs provide structural stability to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 whilst reducing the cost of manufacture, as otherwise, a much larger base 4 would be required to provide similar stability, which is heavy and expensive, as much more material is required.

[0035] In this embodiment, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprises six legs 6, but it may be more or less than this in other embodiments. In preferred embodiments, the legs extend generally horizontally beyond an edge of the user support 2, which facilitates the stability of the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 .

[0036] As illustrated in Figure 4, each leg 6 is attached (at one of the ends of the leg) to the base 4. This attachment is such that a user can readily attach or detach the leg from the base, such as via a reversable latching type arrangement or screws etc. In this regard, the base 4 comprises several apertures (one for each leg 6) for receiving an end of the leg 6, where the leg attaches to the base 4. In this way, the legs 6 are removably attached to the base (i.e. , each leg can be easily attached or detached from the base 4 by a user). This allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to adopt an extremely compact configuration which is advantageous, both for storage purposes and when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 is packaged for sale to a user, whilst allowing the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to have a good stable base (i.e., via legs 6 of adequate length) when in an ‘in use’ configuration. This therefore allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to have higher rotational speeds than conventional arrangements.

[0037] In this document, ‘removably attached’ means that a user can readily attach the elements together or detach the elements from one another (or it is actually intended for the user to do this). In other words, a removeable attachment is not a permanent fixture done during manufacture of the apparatus. The elements that are attached are thus not integral. A leg that is either integrally attached to a base, or a separate leg element that is permanently fixed to a base (i.e., during manufacture and / or is not intended for a user to detach them) would not be ‘removably attached’ as defined / understood by the term in this document.

[0038] As illustrated in Figures 1 and 2, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 also comprises a protective cover 10 that is arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 between the legs 6 and the user support 2. In embodiments having the footrest 8, the protective cover 10 is arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 between the legs 6 and the footrest 8. The structure and function of the protective cover 10 will be explained in more detail later on.

[0039] The rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 also comprises a motor (not illustrated) arranged to cause rotation of the shaft 9 relative to the base 4. The motor is mounted within the base 4, and an output of the motor (such as a spindle) is coupled to the shaft 9 via a rotational coupling. In this embodiment, the rotational coupling comprises a worm screw and a threaded ring / worm gear (not illustrated) which mesh with each other. The worm screw is rotated by the motor output (spindle), which in turn causes rotation of the worm gear and thus rotation of the shaft 9, which the worm gear is rigidly attached to. Rotation of the motor spindle and / or the worm screw is facilitated by one or more additional bearing arrangements. In embodiments having the slip ring, the stationary part 5 of the slip ring is substantially fixed to the base 4. More specifically, the stationary part 5 is substantially fixed to the base plate of the base 4 using a base slip ring holder. The base slip ring holder fits around a portion of the stationary part of the slip ring and holds the stationary part substantially fixed in a groove or channel of the base plate. The base slip ring holder substantially fixes the orientation of the stationary part of the slip ring relative to the base 4. In other embodiments, there may be no slip ring holder.

[0040] Similarly, the rotating part of the slip ring is substantially fixed to the shaft 9 using a shaft slip ring holder. The shaft slip ring holder fits inside the shaft 9 and is arranged to substantially fix the orientation of the rotating part 7 of the slip ring relative to the shaft 9.

[0041] The slip ring includes connectors (not illustrated) for connecting the stationary controller associated with the virtual reality apparatus and the rotatable user input or user output associated with the virtual reality apparatus. In particular, the stationary part includes a connector arranged to connect to the stationary processor associated with the virtual reality apparatus, and the rotating part includes a separate connector arranged to connect to the rotatable user input or user output associated with the virtual reality apparatus.

[0042] These connectors may be sockets or plugs which are suitable for connection to specific devices. For example, the stationary part connector may be a socket suitable for connecting to a specific games console, and the rotating part connector may be a socket suitable for connecting to a specific virtual reality headset.

[0043] In embodiments having the slip ring, the shaft 9 also comprises a connector aperture (not shown) that is arranged to allow the rotatable user input or user output associated with the virtual reality apparatus to be connected to rotating part connector of the slip ring. As explained above, the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 comprises a generally circular shaped protective cover 10. In this embodiment, the protective cover is a generally circular shaped, but could be other shapes in other embodiments.

[0044] Figure 3 illustrates the protective cover 10 separately from the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1. In this embodiment, the protective cover comprises three separate parts 10a, 10b, 10c, which when attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 form the protective cover 10. Each part is identical in shape and size. In other embodiments, there may be more or less than three cover parts.

[0045] In this embodiment, each cover part is generally arcuate shaped, but they could be other shapes in other embodiments.

[0046] Each protective cover part comprises a removable attaching means (not illustrated) at a first end 13a of the part and a removable attaching means at a second end 13b of the part (illustrated in Figure 3). These attaching means allow the protective cover parts to be attached the legs. In some embodiments, the protective cover parts are not attached to the legs, but instead attach to the base 4 proximate to the legs.

[0047] Each cover part attaches at its first end 13a to one leg and at its second end 13b to a different leg. In this regard, the legs 6 are suitably spaced such that a distance between a pair of legs corresponds to the distance between the ends of the cover parts. In this way, a pair of legs can suitably receive the ends 13a, 13b of a cover part.

[0048] Each leg comprises a pair of receiving means (not illustrated) for receiving the attaching means of the protective cover part - one for each attaching means of the protective cover part. In this way, two protective cover parts can be attached to each leg. For example, the attaching means of the protective cover part may be male connection points, and each leg may comprise two female connection points, each female point arranged for receiving a male connection point of the protective cover part. The male connection point may latch onto the female connection point, or these may be attached together via a screw. The protective cover 10 being formed from smaller, separate parts allows the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to adopt an extremely compact configuration which is advantageous, both for storage purposes and when the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 is packaged for sale to a user, whilst allowing the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 to have a good stable base (i.e., via legs 6 of adequate length) when in an ‘in use’ configuration. In a less preferred embodiment, the protective cover 10 is not formed from parts, but instead an integral piece.

[0049] In this embodiment, the protective cover 10 is generally flush with a top surface of the legs 6. Further, a diameter of the protective cover 10 generally corresponds to a diameter of the legs 6 defined by distal edges of the legs.

[0050] When the protective cover part 10a is attached to a pair of legs (or instead to the base 4 proximate to the legs), the part 10a locates in a space between the pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to these legs. Preferably, the part locates in entire space between the pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to these legs. This maximises the coverage of the protective cover part for blocking the user’s feet from entering this space, where they can could get trapped against the legs and footrest 8.

[0051] In this way, the protective cover 10 is arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus between the legs 6 and the footrest 8 such that the user’s feet cannot be trapped between the legs 6 and the footrest 8 during rotation of the shaft 9. This is because the protective cover occupies the space between the legs 6 and the base 4 proximate to the legs 6, thereby blocking a user’s feet from reaching this space.

[0052] Returning to Figure 4, as explained above, each leg 6 comprises a pair of receiving means (not illustrated), each for receiving an attaching means of a protective cover part. Each leg 6 also comprises a sensor (also not shown) associated with each receiving means. The sensor is arranged to detect whether a protective cover part is attached to the leg (i.e., via the receiving means the sensor is associated with). Each leg therefore comprises two sensors, one sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of a part of the protective cover on one side of the leg, and the other sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of another part of the protective cover on a different side of the leg.

[0053] In the embodiment where the protective cover parts attach to the base proximate to the legs, the sensors are instead provided in the base proximate to the legs.

[0054] The outputs of these sensors are monitored by the controller (not illustrated). In this way, the controller can determine whether all of the protective cover parts 10a, 10b, 10c are attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 . The controller is arranged to prevent activation (or ‘switching on’ or ‘actuation’) of the motor if all of the protective cover parts are not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 . In other words, if the protective cover 10 (or all of the protective cover parts 10a, 10b, 10c) are not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 , the controller is arranged to prevent rotation of the shaft 9. In this way, rotation of the shaft (and thus the user support 2 upon which a user sits) is not possible without the entire (i.e., all parts of the) protective cover 10 being attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 . This ensures the user’s feet cannot be trapped between the legs 6 and the footrest 8 during rotation of the shaft 9, which may inadvertently occur if the protective cover 10 (or one of the parts of the protective cover) is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus 1 .

[0055] In this embodiment, the sensor is a microswitch. In other embodiments, the sensor may be any other such suitable means for detecting attachment of the protective cover to the leg. For example, attachment of the cover part to the leg causes the microswitch to be actuated which generates an electrical signal that is detected by the controller. Once all of the microswitches have been actuated, the controller is arranged to allow activation of the motor, which allows rotation of the shaft 9.

Claims

CLAIMS1 . A rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprising: a shaft for supporting a user support of the virtual reality apparatus; a base arranged to support the shaft; a bearing arrangement arranged to allow the shaft to rotate relative to the base; a motor arranged to cause rotation of the shaft relative to the base; two or more legs for supporting the base on a ground surface, the legs extending outwardly away from the base; and a protective cover arranged to be attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus between the legs and the user support such that the user’s feet or legs cannot be trapped between a space between the legs during rotation of the shaft; and a controller, the controller being arranged to prevent activation of the motor if the protective cover is not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

2. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a footrest for receiving a user’s feet, the footrest extending outwardly from the shaft or from the user support, such that the footrest rotates with the shaft.

3. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the protective cover comprises two or more parts, and the controller is arranged to prevent activation of the motor if all parts of the protective cover are not attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

4. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the parts of the protective cover are removably attachable to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus.

5. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each part of the protective cover is removably attachable to the rotatable virtual realityapparatus such that the part locates in a space between a pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to the legs.

6. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 5, wherein each part of the protective cover is removably attachable to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus via at least one of: a pair of legs and a portion of the base proximate to the legs.

7. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 6, wherein the controller is arranged to detect whether a part of the protective cover is attached to the rotatable virtual reality apparatus via a respective sensor arrangement, the sensor arrangement being provided in a leg or a portion of the base proximate to the leg.

8. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 7, wherein, when the sensor arrangement is provided in a leg, the sensor arrangement is arranged to detect the attachment of a part of the protective cover on one side of the leg and the attachment of another part of the protective cover on a different side of the leg.

9. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the sensor arrangement comprises two separate sensors, one sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of a part of the protective cover on one side of the leg, and the other sensor being arranged to detect the attachment of another part of the protective cover on a different side of the leg.

10. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any of claims 7 to 9, wherein the sensor is a microswitch.

11. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any of claims 3 to 10, wherein the rotatable virtual reality apparatus comprises six legs and the protective cover comprises three parts.

12. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the protective cover has a generally circular shape, a diameter of the protective cover generally corresponding to a diameter of the legs defined by distal edges of the legs.

13. The rotatable virtual reality apparatus according to any preceding claim, wherein the legs are removably attached to the base.

14. A rotation transmission arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein an output of the motor is coupled to the shaft via a rotational coupling.

15. A rotation transmission arrangement as claimed in claim 14, wherein the rotational coupling comprises a worm screw and a threaded ring.

16. A rotation transmission arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the user support comprises at least one of: a chair, a stool, and a platform.

17. A rotation transmission arrangement as claimed in any preceding claim, further comprising a slip ring arrangement having a stationary part and a rotating part, the arrangement providing for transfer of electrical signals between the controller associated with the virtual reality apparatus and a rotatable user input and / or output associated with the virtual reality apparatus via the stationary part and the rotating part, the shaft being arranged to accommodate at least a portion of the rotating part of the slip ring arrangement within the shaft, the bearing arrangement arranged to allow the shaft and the rotating part of the slip ring arrangement to rotate relative to the base.

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