Category: Other Worlds and Tech

HTC: Vive pre-orders open Feb 29; company split denied

Posted on by Inara Pey
The HTC Vive Pre (image: HTC)
The HTC Vive Pre (image: HTC)

Following the end of the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) earlier in January, HTC announced that their Vive VR system will be available for pre-order from February 29th, with shipping to commence in April.

The Vive demonstrated at CES was the “2nd generation” Vive Pre, which boasted significant improvements over the first development unit in terms of headset sized, general ergonomics, fit, comfort and capabilities. In particular the unit boasts a front-mounted pass through camera, (which HTC has sometimes referred to as the “chaperone system”), and a correction tool to present a clearer view of the VR environment on the headset screens.

The Vive Pre features a central, front mounted pass through camera system (image: HTC)
The Vive Pre features a central, front mounted pass through camera system (image: HTC)

The pass through camera allows the user to see an overlay of the room around them projected into their virtual view. This fades in if they approach a physical object (e.g. a wall or desk, etc.), or can be manually triggered via the hand controllers. While some have critiqued it as “breaking” the VR experience, others have seen it as a useful means for a Vive user to re-orient themselves within their physical space.

“Mura correction” (“mura” being a Japanese term meaning “unevenness” or “lack of uniformity”) removes the inconsistent brightness levels between one pixel and the next on earlier Vive headsets, giving rise to what HTC called a “linen like quality” to VR scenes. The result is a far more uniform and cleaner image, as shown in the exaggerated image below, courtesy of Road to VR.

"Mura correction" improves the VR image seen on the Vive's headset lenses, as illutrated by this exaggerated representation, courtesy of Road to VR - click to enlarge
“Mura correction” improves the VR image seen on the Vive’s headset lenses, as illustrated by this exaggerated representation, courtesy of Road to VR – click to enlarge

The pre-order price for the Vive has yet to be confirmed, but it is anticipated it will be somewhat more that the Oculus Rift. Even allowing for the  fact the price will include hand controllers and room sensors, this leaves HTC with a potentially awkward situation.

While the US $599 (+ tax and shipping) for the Rift took many by surprise, the take-up among early adopters has been positive; so much so that orders are now being backdated to July 2016. That’s good for Oculus VR – but it also means HTC could find the market for early adopters considerably smaller given so many have pre-ordered the Rift; and if the Vive does come in at a significantly higher price, they could find those who have held by from placing an order with Oculus VR to see what HTC do offer, swinging back towards it in favour of the Vive. Nor do the problems necessarily end there.

As I recently noted, tethered VR systems could face an uphill battle in trying to reach a more general market among the populace at large when compared to the cheaper, more accessible opportunities available through mobile VR.

Nvidia plan a "GeForce GTX VR Ready" logo for computer systems capable of meeting tethered VR requirements, and will be offering Nvidia has set out specific minimum requirements that must be met in order for consumer PCs to be able to cope with virtual reality graphics
Nvidia will offer a “GeForce GTX VR Ready” label for consumer PCs capable of meeting tethered VR requirements, and is working on a new range of GPUs specifically to meet the needs of VR (image: Nvidia)

While the latter may limited in capability and scope in comparison to tethered rigs, they are far more affordable and accessible, dampening any interest people have in paying for the tethered rig and the necessary hardware on which to run it. Particularly given that Nvidia estimate less than 1% of computers in household use will be capable of running tethered VR systems. Thus, HTC could find themselves right out in the cold if the Vive is significantly more expensive that the Rift among the wider public who might have a system capable of supporting VR headsets and are willing to give it a go as units hit retail outlets.

HTC was also the subject of intense, if brief, speculation on Sunday, January 18th and Monday, January 19th 2016. It started when the Chinese language Commercial Times, Taiwan’s largest financial newspaper ran a story claiming HTC’s Chairwoman, Cher Wang, was considering spinning-off the fledgling VR business into a separate company.

HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang: enthusiastic about VR, but not planning to split it into a separate entity.
HTC Chairwoman Cher Wang: enthusiastic about VR, but not planning to split it into a separate entity.

The report was picked-up through other news outlets, and gained widespread reporting in the VR media, and saw HTC’s share price rise by 5.23%. However, on Monday, January 19th, the company issued a statement to investors, labelling the media claims as incorrect, and stating the company has no plans to split the VR business into a separate entity.

Space Sunday: Dream Chasers Falcons, and spacewalks

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Dream chaser alongside NASA's space shuttle Atlantis
The Dream Chaser flight test article alongside NASA’s space shuttle Atlantis in 2010 (image: NASA / SNC)

NASA has announced a renewal to the current US private sector contracts to provide uncrewed resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) – and it came with something of a surprise.

SpaceX and Orbital ATK are the two US companies currently flying cargo resupply missions to the ISS, operating alongside Russian Progress vehicles and the Japanese H-II “Kounotori” Transfer Vehicle. Europe, which previously operated the largest cargo vehicle, the Automated Transfer Vehicle, ended ISS resupply missions in February 2015, and is now focused on supplying NASA with the Orion Service Module.

Both SpaceX, who can both launch and return up to 3.3 tonnes of cargo and trash to / from the space station using their Dragon cargo vehicle, and Orbital ATK,who can transport up to 3.5 tonnes of cargo / trash aboard their Cygnus vehicle (which burns-up on re-entering Earth’s atmosphere) have their resupply contracts renewed from 2019 through 2024, matching the extended lifetime of ISS operations. While this had been expected, the inclusion of a third vehicle, the Dream Chaser vehicle being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation SNC surprised some.

Dream Chaser was unique among the commercial crew transportation proposals as it was based on a "lifting body" design , allowing to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and glide to a landing on a conventional runway - aspects which still make it a very flexible vehicle
Dream Chaser was unique among the commercial crew transportation proposals as it was based on a “lifting body” design rather than a capsule system. Although launched atop a conventional rocket, the design allows it to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and glide to a landing on a conventional runway, making it an exceptionally versatile craft (image: SNC)

Dream Chaser was originally designed as part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) programme aimed at having private sector companies provide the means of carrying crews back and forth between the space station and US soil. One of four proposals put to NASA under the programme, it was ruled out of the final selection in September 2014, with SpaceX and Boeing being chosen by NASA despite the fact that on paper, Dream Chaser offered potentially a better deal than Boeing’s CT-100 capsule.

While SNC lodged a complaint with the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) as a result of the decision, citing interference in the selection process by William Gerstenmaier, NASA’s top human exploration official, the GAO upheld the selection of SpaceX and Boeing for the crewed transport vehicles. However, NASA continued to work with SNC on various ideas for Dream Chaser, alongside of SNC looking at other options for the vehicle’s crew carrying capabilities to be put to use.

An artist's concept of the Dream Chaser Cargo docked with the ISS during a resupply flight
An artist’s concept of the Dream Chaser Cargo docked with the ISS during a resupply flight (image: SNC)

The new resupply contract will see SNC provide NASA with the uncrewed “Dream Chaser Cargo” variant of the vehicle, capable of flying up to 5 tonnes of cargo to / from orbit, As with the original crewed variant, the Dream Chaser Cargo will launch atop a rocket, but return to earth to make a conventional runway landing.

How many missions each of the three resupply vehicle types will fly is unknown; vehicles will be selected on the basis of flight / payload requirements and cost. The total cost of the contract, spilt between the three companies, is expected to be US $14 billion over the 5 years.

The Ice Volcanoes of Pluto

Scientists with NASA’s New Horizons mission have assembled the highest-resolution colour view of one of two potential cryovolcanoes spotted on the surface of Pluto, as the spacecraft hurtled by the little world in July 2015.

Informally called “Wright Mons”, the feature is about 150-160 kilometres (90-100 miles) across at its base, and about 4 km (2.5 miles) high. If it is in fact a volcano, it will be the largest such feature discovered in the outer solar system.

The feature has members of the New Horizons science team intrigued on two counts. The first is that there is a very sparse distribution of red material on its flanks. The second is that it apparently only has a single impact crater. This latter point suggests “Wright Mons” is relatively new surface feature on Pluto, while the former might suggest it is active, with ice ejected by eruptions covering the red material over time.

"Wright Mons" (the large dimple in the image on the right) and as seen in context with the rest of Pluto, may be one of two enormous cryovolcanoes on the tiny world (image: NASA/JPL / JHU/APL / SwRI)
“Wright Mons” (the large dimple in the image on the right) and as seen in context with the rest of Pluto, may be one of two enormous cryovolcanoes on the tiny world (image: NASA/JPL / JHU/APL / SwRI)

The images of “Wright Mons” were returned to Earth from New Horizons in November 2015. Since then, data from the Ralph instrument suite aboard the spacecraft has been used to add the colour details to the images, which have been composed into a new mosaic of the feature. If it and “Piccard Mons” are cryovolancoes, then they present further evidence that Pluto was (and might still be) geologically active.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: Dream Chasers Falcons, and spacewalks” →

At what price VR?

Posted on by Inara Pey
Oculus CR-1 with microphone, Oculus Remote and Xbox wireless controller
Oculus CR-1 package (image: Oculus VR)

On Wednesday, January 6th, and as I reported, Oculus VR announced the price of the first generation Oculus Rift VR headset as being US $599 (€699 in Europe and £499 in the UK) + shipping at applicable taxes, with the unit available for pre-order.

The price has caused some consternation around the globe, even though Palmer Luckey had, since September 2015, been indicating the headset would be more than the assumed price of US $350, as my colleague Ben Lang over at The Road to VR quoted Luckey saying at the time.

As it is, the Oculus Rift is apparently heavily subsidised by Facebook; had it not been so, then the price might have been north of the US $1,000 mark . Further, and like it or not, the HTC / Valve Vive is likely to have a price point somewhat more than the Rift – although it will include hand controllers and room sensors, which the Rift does not. In addition, the latest version of the Vive sports a “chaperone system”: a front-mounted camera which allows the user to overlay their VR environment with images of the room around them, making for easier physical movement when using the headset.

Elsewhere, there has been speculation about the possible price of Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR), particularly after Forbes reported Amazon Canada had it listed at CAN $1,125 (roughly US $800). The listing price was later removed, with Sony stating it was an error and that the final price of the PSVR has yet to be determined – but it has left people wondering.

And while the Oculus Rift price may seem steep, it might be worth pointing out that the Vuzix iWear, an OSVR-based headset initially aimed at the immersive film experience, but capable of supporting VR games and applications, is currently available for pre-order at US $499, and comes with a specification somewhat below that of the Rift.

Sony PSVR - Amazon Canada quoted a price of US $800, quickly countered by Sony - but some speculate it might be accurate
Sony PSVR – Amazon Canada quoted a price of US $800, quickly countered by Sony – but some speculate it might be accurate or at least close to the truth (image: Sony Computer Entertainment)

So does this mean the US $599 price tag for the Oculus Rift is justified? Given that the first pre-order batch apparently sold-out within minutes, one might be tempted to say “yes”. However, the initial rush could be deceptive; while there are undoubtedly a lot of early adopters out there willing to pay a premium for the hardware, they aren’t likely to be in the majority.

And here is where consumer-focused VR could end-up being hoist by its own petard, and in a number of ways, some of which are pointed to by Chris Kohler, writing at Wired.

The first is that VR as a term is already being badly abused.Much is made of 360-degree video (already a thing through Google Cardboard systems), but it really isn’t VR as many would accept it.

The second is there is already a rising tide of headsets offering “VR experiences”. Most of these are (again) Cardboard-based and utilised a mobile ‘phone. The problem here is that inevitably, the quality of the experience isn’t all it could be. What’s more, it often hooks back into the idea that VR is pretty much stuff like 360-degree video.

Samsung's Gear VR sits at the top of the mobile VR pyramid, and could be said to be indicative of where Oculus VR would like to go: a self-contained, lightweight system which doesn't necessarily tether the user to their computer
Samsung’s Gear VR sits at the top of the mobile VR pyramid, and could be said to be indicative of where Oculus VR would like to go: a self-contained, lightweight system which doesn’t necessarily tether the user to their computer (image: Samsung)

The issue here is that despite these factors, these low-end headsets and units such as Samsung’s Gear VR, are presenting VR as something that’s easily affordable (given most people are liable to have a suitable ‘phone to use with them). The experience may not be terribly clever when compared to the Rift or the Vive – but it is there, and it is coupled with a possible perception that VR is about 360 film / sports experiences.

Thus, unless the Rift and the Vive et al can convince the greater populace they offer a truly unique, high-end, head-and shoulders-above-the-rest type of VR experience that instantly compels people to shell out the readies for them, there is a risk that they could be seen a “just another headset”, and passed by in favour of the cheaper albeit less capable headsets, at least until the price point is seen to come down – and that could put something of a pin in the side of the VR bubble, if only in the short-term.

Space Sunday: dunes, rockets and asteroids

Posted on by Inara Pey

CuriosityNASA’s Mar Science Laboratory rover, Curiosity, continues to perform the first up-close study ever conducted of extraterrestrial sand dunes as it slowly explores the slopes of “Mount Sharp” dubbed the “Bagnold Dunes”.

Located on the north-west slope of the mound which lies at the centre of Gale Crater, the dunes differ from those drifts and sand fields the rover has previously encountered on Mars in terms of both their size and height – some cover an area the size of a football field and are 2 storeys high – and their general shape, something which marks them out as “classic” sand dunes.

This latter point is most evident by the dunes exhibiting a steep, downwind slope, referred to as the slip face, and which exhibits certain features of its own, such as gain fall, ripples and grain flow, as well as the dune as a whole exhibiting typical features such as the horn and toe.

For the last couple of weeks, the rover has been working its way around one dune in particular, dubbed “Namib”, which is somewhat smaller than the “high dunes” images at the start of December, but which still rises to a height of some 5 metres (16 ft). The leeward side of “Namib” in particular demonstrates the classic features of a sand dune, and helps to confirm the fact that the dunes are slowly progressing down the slope of “Mount Sharp” at a rate of about 1 metre (39 inches) a year.

The leeward side of Namib:
The leeward side of “Namib”:Horn – where sand is escaping the main dune and escaping downhill, as indicated by the ripples; Toe – the downwind extent of the dune; ripples – signs of the sand bouncing sideways over the dune as the wind blows it downslope towards the horn;  Brink – the ridge between the windward, gentle slope of the dune and the leeward, steeper slope of the dune; Grail Fall – areas where sand is blown / falls from the brink and comes to rest on the leeward slope; Gain Flow – tongue-like area indicating where large amounts of sand have slumped down the side of the dune towards the toe, again indicative of a dune in motion

The dune-investigation campaign is designed to increase understanding about how wind moves and sorts grains of sand in an environment with less gravity and much less atmosphere than well-studied dune fields on Earth. Such an understanding of how the wind moves sand could lead to a clearer picture of how big a role the Martian wind played in depositing concentrations of minerals often associated with water across the planet, and by extension, the behaviour and disposition of liquid water across Mars.

This rather odd-looking image is a foreshortened 360-degree view of the area around Curiosity. In the immediate foregound is the rover's main deck, with the cylindrical, finned nuclear RTG at the back of it. Beyond this is the "Namib" dune, with a taller dune beyond it. The view was constructed froma series of images taken by the rover's Mastcam on December 18th, 2015 (Sol 1,197 on Mars), all of which have been white-balanced to present the view under normal Earth daylight conditions
This rather odd-looking image is a foreshortened 360-degree view of the area around Curiosity. In the immediate foreground is the rover’s main deck, with the cylindrical, finned nuclear RTG at the back of it. Beyond this is the “Namib” dune, with a taller dune beyond it. The view was constructed from a series of images taken by the rover’s Mastcam on December 18th, 2015 (Sol 1,197 on Mars), all of which have been white-balanced to present the view under normal Earth daylight conditions

Back to Sea for SpaceX

SpaceX, the private space launch company, is keeping itself busy. Following the successful launch of the Orbcomm mission from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air force Station, together with the successful recovery of the first stage of the booster when it flew back to the Cape and performed a flawless vertical landing, the company’s next launch is scheduled for Sunday, January 17th.

The launch will take place from Vandenberg Air force Base, California, which is the company’s Pacific Coast launch operations centre. The primary aim of the mission is to place the third in a series of joint U.S.-European satellites into a near-polar orbit (for which Vandenberg AFB is ideally suited, as a polar launch from there does not pass over inhabited land during ascent, lessening the risk to human lives should a launch vehicle suffer a failure).

The Jason-3 series of missions is part of a very long-term series of studies (started in 1992) to study the topography of the ocean surface (i.e. the formation and movement of waves and the troughs between them), which can provide scientists with critical information about circulation patterns in the ocean, and about both global and regional changes in sea level and the climate implications of a warming world.

Jason-3, the latest in a series of joint US-European satellites studying the topography of the ocean's surface, is due for launch on December 17th, 2016, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 1.1 rocket
Jason-3, the latest in a series of joint US-European satellites studying the topography of the ocean’s surface, is due for launch on December 17th, 2016, using a SpaceX Falcon 9 1.1 rocket (image: NASA / CNES)

The polar orbit used for this kind of earth-observing mission, being almost perpendicular to the Earth’s rotation, allows the spacecraft to at some point travel over almost every part of the world’s oceans, vastly increasing its ability to gather data when compared to a vehicle in an equatorial orbit.

What is also significant about the mission is that it will use a SpaceX Falcon 9 1.1 booster, the first stage of which will once again attempt to return to Earth and make a safe landing. However, unlike the December 2015, this landing will once again be at sea, using a SpaceX droneship landing platform.

Continue reading “Space Sunday: dunes, rockets and asteroids” →

Oculus Rift now available for pre-order

Posted on by Inara Pey
The Oculus CR-1 - now available to pre-order
The Oculus CR-1 – now available to pre-order (image: Oculus VR)

Following a pre-announcement on Tuesday, January 5th, Oculus VR have confirmed that the Oculus Rift headset is now available for pre-order (for Windows users) for shipment to the following countries: Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, United Kingdom, United States.

The price for the headset and accessories is a nominal US $599 (€699 in Europe and £499 in the UK), although as the announcement notes, this is exclusive of tax and shipping costs, and the price may vary for non-USD purchases.

Oculus VR indicate that pre-ordered set will start shipping on March 28th, 2016, and limited stocks will be available to retailers later in April 2016. However, Engadget report even the March 28th ship date may have slipped due to the initial volume of orders already received by Oculus VR, and that some outside of the US may have had problems in placing orders.

The Oculus Remote is "esigned to make it simple and intuitive to navigate VR experiences"
The Oculus Remote is “designed to make it simple and intuitive to navigate VR experiences” (image: Oculus VR)

The complete package comprises the Rift headset with built-in headphones and microphone, sensor, and an Xbox One controller and the Oculus Remote.

Those pre-ordering also secure the opportunity to pre-order the Oculus Touch hand controllers when they become available later in 2016 (the  release of the latter was pushed back to the second half of 2016 to allow further time for development  / testing).

Also included in the package is a copy of Playful’s Lucky’s Tale, a platform game which has enjoyed much exposure and positive response as a part of Oculus Rift demonstrations, and also EVE: Valkyrie.

Those pre-ordering are reminded that a fairly hefty PC is required to obtain a suitable Rift experience, with the specifications listed as : NVIDIA GTX 970 / AMD R9 290 equivalent or greater GPU;, an Intel i5-4590 equivalent CPU or greater; at least 8Gb of RAM; compatible HDMI 1.3 video output; 3 free USB 3 ports (and 1 USB 2 port) and Windows 7 + SP1 or greater.  Oculus also report that PCs supplied by manufacturers meeting this specification will start to ship with an “Oculus Ready” logo, and the company will be making suitable PCs with headset available for pre-order in February (presumably in the US only) at a starting price of US $1499.

A compatibility tool is available for download to help determine if your PC is “Oculus ready” and those wishing to pre-order can do so through the Oculus Shop.

The compatibility test will tell you if your PC is ready for the the best Oculus Rift experience
The compatibility tool will tell you if your PC is ready for the best Oculus Rift experience

There has already been some excitement following the announcement by those SL users who are interested in the Lab’s upcoming virtual worlds platform, “Project Sansar”, as this is being built very much with the Rift in mind (although use of a Rift headset with “Sansar” is not a requirement).

While the experience is acknowledged to be somewhat less-than-optimal, it’ll be interesting to see of the Oculus VR announcement spurs the Lab on update the Second Life Oculus Rift project viewer for those wishing to try the headset in Second Life. There have been promises that such an update is coming down the pipe, but until now it has likely been sitting at the back of the queue while the Lab pushes out updates and capabilities liable to be more widely appreciated by SL users.

Oculus CR-1 with microphone, Oculus Remote and Xbox wireless controller
Oculus CR-1 with sensor, Oculus Remote and Xbox wireless controller (image: Oculus VR)

As noted above, Engadget report that the initial response to the pre-order announcement has been positive. There is undoubtedly a lot of interest in HMDs from gamers around the world, and most likely from the curious and those with specific uses for the headset. However, it’ll be interesting to see how things go over the coming year. Whichever way you look at it, the Oculus Rift CR-1 and its nearest rival, the HTC / Valve Vive represent fairly hefty investments, and many might prefer to wait and see how the market develops in terms of newer, more compact headsets, lower prices, etc., before committing.

I confess to being in the latter category. To me, the potential of VR still lies down the road, and I’m more than happy to see how the hardware side of things shapes up, and what really develops in support of it in terms of practical applications which might appeal to me (games most certainly ain’t it). I also have to admit augmented reality holds far more fascination for me in terms of it potential for “every day” use than do most things so far imagined with VR.

High Fidelity: Stephen Wolfram and more on tracking

Posted on by Inara Pey

HF-logoOn Tuesday, December 29th, High Fidelity announced that Stephen Wolfram has become their latest advisor.

British-born Stephen Wolfram is best known  for his work in theoretical physics, mathematics and computer science. He  began research in applied quantum field theory and particle physics and publish scientific papers when just 15 years old. By the age of 23, he was studying at the School of Natural Sciences of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, where he  conducted research into cellular automata using computer simulations.

Stephen Wolfram via Quantified Self
Stephen Wolfram via Quantified Self

When introducing Wolfram through the High Fidelity blog, Philip Rosedale notes this work had a profound impact on him, as did – later in life – Wolfram’s 2002 book, A New Kind of Science.

More recently, Wolfram has been responsible for WolframAlpha, an answer engine launched in 2009, and which is one of the systems used by both Microsoft’s Bing “decision engine” and also Apple’s Siri. In 2014, he launched the Wolfram Language as a new general multi-paradigm programming language.

In become an advisor to High Fidelity, Dr. Wolfram joins Peter Diamandis, the entrepreneur perhaps most well-known for the X-Prize Foundation, Dr. Adam Gazzaley, founder of the Gazzaley cognitive neuroscience research lab at the University of California, Tony Parisi, the co-creator of the VRML and X3D ISO standards for networked 3D graphics, and a 3D technology innovator, Professor Ken Perlin of the NYU Media Research Lab, and Professor Jeremy Bailenson, the director of Stanford University’s Virtual Human Interaction Lab.

In their October update published at the start of November, High Fidelity followed-up on the work they’ve been putting into various elements of tracking movement, including the use of BinaryVR for tracking facial movement and expressions. In particular, the company’s software allows users to create a their own virtual 3D face from 2D facial photos, allowing them to track their facial animations in real-time, transforming them onto the CG representation of their face.

Ryan balances one object atop another while Chris uses the gun he picked-up with a hand movement, then cocked it, to try and shoot the yellow object down
Ryan balances one object atop another while Chris uses the gun he picked-up with a hand movement, then cocked it, to try to shoot the yellow object down

Integration of the BinaryVR software allows High Fidelity to track users’ mouth movements through their HMDs, allowing their avatars to mimic these movements in-world, as Chris Collins demonstrates in the update video. The company has also been extending the work in full body tracking, as seen in my October coverage of their work, and this is also demonstrated in the video alongside of more in-world object manipulation by avatars, with Chris and Ryan building a tower of blocks and Chris then picking up a gun and shooting it down.

The hand manipulation isn’t precise at this point in time, as can be seen in the video, but this isn’t the point; it’s the fact that in-world objects can be so freely manipulated that is impressive. That said, it would be interesting to see how this translates to building: how do you accurately sized a basic voxel (a sort-of primitive for those of us in SL) shape to a precise length and width, for example, without recourse to the keyboard or potentially complicated overlays?

Maybe the answer to this last point is “stay tuned!”.