Welcome to the world of Virtual Reality, Circa 2015. We are at the precipice of the birth of consumer virtual reality, mere months away. As of right now you’re looking at about 3 key players in the VR HMD (Head Mounted Display) field.
HTC + Valve: HTC Vive (To be released this year)
Specifications:
2160x1200 Resolution (1080x1200 per eye)
90Hz Refresh Rate
Includes two “Lighthouse” tracking stations, two wireless SteamVR controllers
Trackable Area: 15ftx15ft
Devkit shown above
Oculus: Oculus Rift (Releasing Q1 2016)
Specifications:
2160x1200 Resolution (1080x1200 per eye)
90Hz Refresh Rate
Includes one desk camera, and one XBONE controller
Trackable Area: View of single camera (room-scale possible with two+ cameras)
Final Consumer version shown above
Sony: Project Morpheus (Releasing Q1-2 2016)
Specifications:
1920x1080 (960x1080 per eye)
120Hz refresh rate
Tracked by Playstation Move camera
Input:
HTC Vive: SteamVR Controllers (Shipping with unit)
Features:
2x Wireless Controllers
Circular track pads (akin to the steam controller)
Tracked independently by Lighthouse system
Bundled with Vive headset
Oculus Rift: Half Moon Prototype (Expected to ship Q2 2016)
Features:
2x wireless controllers
Thumbstick & Buttons
Able to track fingers to some degree
Controllers tracked by desk camera
Sony:
Dualshock 4 & Playstation Move. I don’t have to spell that out for you.
System Requirements
Here’s the biggest caveat of the current VR industry and the biggest barrier to entry: BEEFY GPUs. MINIMUM Specs for the Vive & Oculus: NVidia 970. And I think we’re talking bare minimum for 90fps presence-inducing VR. Because these headsets are 90hz, systems need to reliably pump out 90fps+ experiences. Any less than that, and you’re going to really notice. You might think you won’t notice, but your brain will, and it will ask you to stop doing that by supplying you wth varying degrees of headache and dizzyness. This could be a blessing for Sony, since it’s project Morpheus will have a relatively low cost to entry, especially given the already impressive install base for their PS4. But their limited hardware is going to hurt them just as much as it helps. Experiences will need to be tightly controlled and optimized to be able to run reliably in stereo on a PS4, and given the extra headroom of high-end desktop PCs, along with the improved image quality of Vive and Oculus’s headsets, Morpheus will always be a tier below in the VR market.
Presence
What is Presence? Aside from the 7th studio album from Led Zeppelin, Presence is the word used to describe the ability for an experience to trick your brain into believing that you are not in your room anymore, you’re on the moon, or in a racecar, etc. Presence is Immersion taken to the physical level. Presence happens when the HMD has access to your most basic motor sensors, when it takes hold of your primitive lizard brain and says “I don’t care if you’d on solid ground, if you fall off the roller coaster you’re going to die”
VR is coming, folks. Hope you’re ready for it.
