LA CROSSE (WKBT) — Thomas Nichols saw a problem in the virtual reality world.

“The camera costs $4,000!” Nichols said.

His solution — the Virtara, a VR camera that clips onto your smartphone.

“Here’s a $200 option, you can get the same fidelity as those cameras,” Nichols said.

The device is simple: plug your smartphone in, dock it and connect. The result is 180-degree VR video without any professional equipment. Nichols says the software does the rest.

The La Crosse inventor showcased his creation at CES in Las Vegas last month — one of the biggest tech events in the world.

“It validated that the business was viable, my research was correct, and everything that I’m doing… I’m on the right boulevard,” Nichols said.

The Army veteran and Western Technical College graduate started his company, Visorix, less than a year ago. He says the tech could help local businesses and creators stand out.

“You can bring your customer or your audience into your literal space… gives you a more personalized experience with your audience,” Nichols said.

And it’s fast.

“The money shot is the fact you can do all that in let’s say less than 30 minutes,” Nichols said.

His former instructor says this is exactly what Western’s program aims to create.

“What you see is a convergence of when our institution coupled with technology and community align. That’s an essential experience and it makes us very proud,” said Zak Pearson, Dean of Business at Western Technical College.

At CES, Nichols let visitors experience La Crosse through the headset.

“A lot of people said they’d never been to La Crosse. Every single time I put the headset on they were like wow this is La Crosse? This is nice!” Nichols said.

Nichols is now raising funds to build his first round of test devices — with plans to launch on Kickstarter next year. He’s looking for beta testers. 

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