Fool me, this is real good shit ! [the VR thread]

[Little stoned kiwi]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_retinal_display

[Deckard]

Now if I had more cash how much would I spend at this year's CES - This would def be on my list

The Avegant Glyph is, and is not, virtual reality.

At a CES that's full of attempts at making VR work, the recently announced prototype is one of the most interesting headsets. Instead of an LCD screen, it uses a virtual retinal display that projects images on your eyes. Instead of attempting immersion, it limits the display to a square with a roughly 45-degree field of view, leaving your peripheral vision free. And Avegant, the company behind it, is doing its best to fool casual observers into thinking it's a pair of high-end headphones with a pair of weird bumps on top. Because let's be honest, wearing a pair of VR goggles in public still feels kind of dumb.

In fact, the creators don't actually describe it as VR. The Glyph can handle head tracking for games or virtual movies, but Avegant CSO Edward Tang describes it as a replacement for a mobile screen — instead of squinting at your iPhone on a plane, you can plug in the Glyph with an HDMI cable and watch movies on the equivalent of an 80-inch TV. It shares some DNA with the personal 3D theaters that Sony and others produced in years past, but the technology and hardware are fundamentally different. Even the highest-definition screen-based virtual reality displays, like the Gear VR, have visible pixels that mar the experience. When you look through the eyepieces of the Glyph engineering prototype, by contrast, you'll see a perfectly clear, brilliantly colored image, floating in front of you with virtually no lag.

[Misfit]

Looks very nice. A little pricey...

The Glyph prototype is making its first appearance at CES, where the company will be showing it off later this week. It will also launch pre-orders, selling the Glyph for $499 through January 15th and $599 thereafter.

But there is a lot to like there if the image quality is as it suggests.

[gumboot]

I could swear that's just a set of headphones that have fallen down.

[Darkflame]

roughly 45-degree field of view, leaving your peripheral vision free.

umm...doesn't look very free.

[Misfit]

I could swear that's just a set of headphones that have fallen down.

I think that is the point...

[gumboot]

roughly 45-degree field of view, leaving your peripheral vision free.

umm...doesn't look very free.

Free to spot pennies on the ground. Not not free to spot lorries.

I think that is the point...

Yeah, I think looking like you're playing Geordi with your headphones does not make you look more cool, or even more normal, than wearing something nobody's seen before.

[snaff]

I could swear that's just a set of headphones that have fallen down.

I think that is the point...

If people already get sick using VR at home what's it going to do to them using it in the back seat of a car?

[Darkflame]

Yeah, I think looking like you're playing Geordi with your headphones does not make you look more cool, or even more normal, than wearing something nobody's seen before.

Worse I think.
If your using something that makes you look abnormal but its clear your using it correctly its mentally just "hay, that thing makes that person look odd"
If it looks like a normal thing that your merely using weird it makes you yourself seem weird. "hay, that person is odd"

That said, normal is subjective and relatively to what your used too. Sufficiently attractive use-cases will make people acclimatise.
If you are not used too a bluetooth headset, maybe it seems like someone is talking to themselves. etc.

In either case I think the "out and about" market for VR is non-existant. Unless your doing a 8 hour trip or something, its going to all be home use where people genuinely dont give a shit what they look like.

[snaff]

People using any sufficiently advanced technology are indistinguishable from nutters.

[Darkflame]

On the subject of normal-looking-things-used-abnormally, remember NGages SideTalking?

https://www.google.nl/search?q=sidetalk ... 0&bih=1011

[pogo]

Via qz, what Back to the Future II thought we’d be doing in 2015

Agrees what I’ve been thinking, they make much more sense as phones, i.e. as an alternative form factor for them. Clearly they have no idea of the technology but the designs are interesting. Sort of retro-futuristic, not only because the film’s 26 years old but these hark back to an earlier age.

It highlights another thing which I think will be key: personal wearables have to be heavily customisable. Nike gets this, selling a ridiculous number of variants on their shoes. In tech Apple gets this. A little with the phone but they also support cases as a way of customisation. But they’re really embraced it with their watches: it’s very unlikely two different Apple Watches will be alike.

VR devices need to be the same. Not just with different colours but different materials, different textures, different designs. Some will be sleek and futuristic, some understated and functional, some distinct and stylish, some loud and garish as above. Like headphones, or traditional watches.

[gilesgoat]

From the Glyph site :

Is this a Virtual Reality device?

Not specifically – but it can be. The high resolution, lack of screen-door effect and low latency of our technology all make the Glyph great for VR.

The content is endless. The Glyph is completely media agnostic, meaning it can display content from any smartphone, TV, gaming console, tablet, etc. It also supports stereoscopic 3D.

What is the price of a Glyph?

$499

Will I need to wear my glasses with the Glyph?

Most people will not. You’ll be able to adjust the diopters in the Glyph from +2 to -6 to accommodate a wide variety of prescriptions as well as pupillary distances. At this point we cannot account for astigmatic eyesight.

Will this field of view get bigger? ( it's only 45 deg )

It can. And we are looking into developing it. Right now though we want to focus on bringing a broad spectrum of already-existing content to the broad user base and this particular screen size and aspect ratio are ideal for that.

So ... to me I think "sorry I'll pass for now" .. seems to me more a thing "to watch videos on the go" rather than a VR system, well actually is NOT a VR system at all, it's more like a
"portable cinema/display" if I get it correct.

Looking forward to DK3 and the next version of Morpheus and don't want anything else in the middle that is nor this nor that

[Darkflame]

Anyone used a Rift with a Leapmotion?

There seems to be quite a bit of games/demos using the combination

This one sounds interesting;

You come round with a hazy memory and a voice crackling down your intercom, "Alice… Alice can you hear me". You recognise the voice… you just can't remember, who, or where. Panic rises, but the voice is calming, reassuring. You have a mission. You're part of a rescue team. Yes, it all makes sense.

Peering through your left hand you see another world, or time. The past.

Your right hand holds the future.

Looking round, you see a screen, hissing and fractured. "This must have once opened the door", you think. Once. In the past. Raising your left hand, a working screen slides into view. You press it in the past. The door murmurs, then pops open in the present.

https://apps.leapmotion.com/apps/aboard ... ss/windows

[rowan]

I showed a mate last night a clip of Elite & explained what the Rift did & how much VR had come along lately.

He seemed pretty unconvinced, he said he'd be interested if you can drink the [Lavian] brandy - that WOULD be VR