Virtual & Augmented Reality News - Page 4

Tobii announced a partnership with Pimax to put its industry-leading eye-tracking technology in future Pimax headsets. That is the first hint at what's around the corner from Pimax's next generation of VR headsets.

Tobii said that its eye-tracking technology would become a standard feature of future Pimax headsets. Kevin Henderson, COO of Pimax, confirmed that this partnership would make Tobii the exclusive eye-tracking partner for future Pimax headsets and that the company's entire future lineup would include eye-tracking hardware.

"We are excited by the opportunity to, together with Pimax, help push the boundaries for state-of-the-art and truly immersive VR experiences," said Johan Hellqvist, VP of XR at Tobii. "Our first collaboration on premium VR headsets for consumers is an important milestone in our path to mass market adoption, and it confirms Tobii's leadership position for extended-reality (XR) market."

Xbox head Phill Spencer has been reluctant to invest in VR hardware for the Xbox platform for years, and despite the growth in the market, he's still holding back from jumping into the mix.

Microsoft has VR headset technology, and the Xbox Series X has the horsepower to drive a VR device, but Spencer just doesn't see value for the Xbox brand right now.

Spencer sat down this week for a chat with the Wall Street Journal, during which he outlined his thoughts on the subject. Shoutout to Video Games Chronicle for the transcription.

"I think that when we think about immersion, we think about mixed reality, virtual reality, I'll even take it to 'metaverse', which seems to be the buzzword of the day now. We're big believers in that software platform and the devices that will enable that. Absolutely. [But] we're focused a lot more on the software side of that right now. When I think about immersive worlds and I think about the connection of a player and community, that's something that's very high on our investment list."

Not even two weeks ago, Oculus released the last ever Rift-exclusive title. But you may not have even realized it because the marketing campaign was almost non-existent. Contrast Lone Echo 2's launch with today's Resident Evil 4 VR release, and the difference may shock you. It's absolutely obvious where Facebook wants you to focus.

Resident Evil 4 VR just landed on the Oculus Quest, and Oculus sure wants you to know that. The company has been playing around with social media drops and easter eggs for this game for a few weeks now. The Oculus Twitter page is plastered with RE4 content, and if you go to Oculus.com, you'll find a video of RE4 in action right on the front page.

The marketing behind Resident Evil 4 VR is really quite brilliant. Oculus put together an amazing website demonstrating what the game is like and what's possible with modern web design. I would recommend you check it out, even if you don't care about VR. It's just a really cool website experience.

Oculus just released the unlocked OS for the Oculus Go, the company's deprecated 3-DoF standalone VR headset, which will allow anyone who owns one to do anything they want with it. This should keep the Go out of landfills for a while.

Oculus dropped support for the Go nearly a year ago. The last official Go releases landed on the store in early December 2020. Since then, the Go has largely been a dead platform. The only problem with that is there is a lot of life left in these devices, and there's a good number of them out there.

Last month, John Carmack revealed that Facebook had given the go-ahead to open the platform up for people to use how they want now that it's no longer officially supported by the company. Today, Oculus made good on that promise and released the final OS build for the Go, which, as promised, is unlocked.

HP today announced an updated model of its Reverb G2 VR headset. The new device isn't a complete refresh but a revision of the first version with a handful of improvements that address some common complaints and concerns.

HP said the new version of the Reverb G2 would offer better controller tracking thanks to a 30% increase in vertical tracking volume. HP said this should reduce the blind spots above and below the visor that the original G2 suffered.

The updated headset also includes an improved face gasket and a redesigned data cable. The new face gasket includes a spacer, like you get with the Oculus Quest headsets, allowing better eye relief for people wearing glasses.

Varjo announced the Aero headset, a cheaper version of its enterprise-focused VR hardware that doesn't carry an annual licensing fee. The hardware is not really meant for consumers, but you can buy one if you have the money.

Varjo makes some of the most advanced VR headsets available on the market. Its claim to fame is its proprietary bionic display, which incorporates a micro OLED display embedded inside a larger mini LED display panel. Varjo's flagship headset, the $5000 XR-3, includes dual Lidar cameras for lifelike passthrough AR experiences. The Varjo Aero is much cheaper because it doesn't have either of those technologies, but it's still an impressive piece of tech.

"We've heard the demand from leading-edge VR users such as aviators, creators, and racing simulation enthusiasts to bring our highest-fidelity devices to everyone, not just enterprises," said Urho Konttori, founder and CTO of Varjo. "As a result, we are proud to bring to market Varjo Aero, the best VR headset that anyone can get. This device, together with our Reality Cloud platform, continues our mission to make a true-to-life metaverse accessible for all."

Cybershoes on Wednesday announced that its locomotion solution is now integrated into a handful of new titles. The company also revealed that the hardware is now available on Amazon.

Cybershoes is a VR locomotion system that integrates a 360-degree swivel stool and a pair of shoe covers that track your foot movement. The company makes a version for PCVR and a version for Oculus Quest, and now there's a new list of games that support the controller.

Until You Fall from Schell Games, Contractors VR from Caveman Studio, Grapple Tournament from Tomorrow Games, and Death Unchained from Superbright have all recently received updates that enable Cybershoes support.

Facebook is making some dramatic moves these days. The company is preparing to hire 10,000 people to help create the metaverse. It's also reportedly about to change names. Huh?

Facebook's founder, Mark Zuckerberg, has never been coy about is his belief in the future of VR and AR technology. He famously threw down billions of dollars to buy Oculus years before the VR industry was even on its feet. In 2014, Zuckerberg believed that VR would be the "next computing platform."

Since then, his company has invested billions more in developing the hardware, software, and general technology to bring VR to the market and create the foundational tech needed for consumer AR devices. Now, it appears that he's betting the farm on the future of immersive computing technology.

Industry analyst Ming-Chi Kuo believes that Apple is facing production delays around its upcoming enterprise-class VR headset. The headset was thought to be going into production in mid-2022, but apparently, the advanced design of Apple's headset is too challenging to make.

According to 9to5Mac, who claims to have seen Kuo's investor note, the cause of the production delay is not a shortage of components. Kuo said that Apple's design requirements are "much higher than competitor's products," suggesting that manufacturers are not yet prepared to meet those standards.

Earlier leaks about Apple's upcoming XR headset indicate that the company is going after the upper end of the XR market. The headset could cost as much as $3,000 and will almost certainly be an enterprise-class device. If word of the delay is accurate, it would be disappointing to wait longer, but it's also good that Apple is taking hardware manufacturing so seriously.

HTC released the Vive Focus 3 over the summer. It is one of the most advanced standalone headsets on the market today, and it just got even better. HTC has finally enabled native hand tracking and made it available for developers to experiment with the feature.

The Vive Focus 3 is a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR-2-powered standalone VR headset with high-resolution displays and 6-DoF inside-out tracking with motion controllers. The Focus 3 is a lot like the Oculus Quest 2, but more bells and whistles, including an active cooling system, fully adjustable IPD, and a MicroSD slot for memory expansion.

At launch, HTC said the Focus 3 would support hand tracking, but the feature wasn't quite ready yet. The next version of the Focus 3's operating system will have hand tracking enabled and offer full finger tracking support. According to Alvin Graylin, China President HTC Vive, the feature will automatically engage when you put the controllers down.