Category: Other Worlds and Tech

High Fidelity: “VR commerce”, 200 avatars and scanning faces

Posted on by Inara Pey

HF-logoHigh Fidelity have a put out a couple of interesting blog posts on their more recent work, both of which make for interesting reading.

In Update from our Interns, the provide a report by Edgar Pironti and Alessandro, Signa two of High Fidelity’s interns who have been working as interns  on a number of projects within the company, including developing a single software controller for mapping inputs from a range of hand controllers, with the initial work involving the Razer Hydra, HTC Vive’s controllers and the Space Navigator. They also discuss working on recording and playback functionality, which is also expanded upon in the second blog post which caught my eye, the January newsletter, issued by Chris Collins.

This work has involved developing the ability to pre-record the data stream of an avatar – audio, facial expressions and body movement in a format which can later be played back on a server under the control of JavaScript. As Chris notes, this makes it very easy to quickly populate a VR experience with compelling pre-recorded avatar content, allowing life-like characters to a place or for use within a machinima film.

As their third reported project. Edgar and Alessandro discuss how they’ve been looking into creating a “VR commerce” environment. This combines elements of physical world shopping – sharing it with friends, actually grabbing and trying items, having discussions with sales staff, etc., with the convenience of e-shopping, such as quickly changing colours, seeing customer reviews and feedback, and so on. As well as explaining how they went about the task, Edgar and Alessandro have put together a video demonstration:

In the High Fidelity newsletter, Chris Collins covers a number of topics, including work on optimising avatar concurrency on a single High Fidelity server. While this work most likely used Edgar’s and Alessandro’s approach to pre-recording avatar  data streams mentioned above, the initial results are impressive: 200 avatars on a server, of which the 40 nearest the observer’s viewpoint are rendered at 75Hz when using the Oculus Rift, and with a very high level of detail, with full facial animations.

200 avatars on a High Fidelity server as the comes starts into optimising avatar concurrency (image: High Fidelity)
200 avatars on a High Fidelity server as the comes starts into optimising avatar concurrency (image: High Fidelity)

One of the things that High Fidelity has often be critiqued for by SL users is the cartoon like avatars which were first shown as the company gradually cracked open its doors. These are still in use, but there has also been a lot of work put into making the avatars more life-like should users so wish. However, there is a trade-off here, which has been discussed in the past: the so-called uncanny valley effect: the closer the facial features look and move almost, but not exactly, like natural beings, it causes a response of revulsion among some observers.

This has tended those investigating things like avatar usage to express caution in pushing too close to achieving any kind of genuine realism in their avatars, and Philip Rosedale has discussed High Fidelity’s own gentle pushing at the edge of the valley. Now it seems the company is stepping towards the edge of the valley once more, using 3D scans of people to create avatar faces, as Chris notes in the newsletter:

We scanned our whole team using two different 3D scanners (one for hair and one for the face), and then used some simple techniques to make the results not be (too) uncanny … Although there is still a lot of work to do, we achieved these results with less than 2 hours of work beyond the initial scans, and the effect of having our team meetings using our ‘real’ avatars is quite compelling.

High Fidelity's staff group photo using scans of their own hair and faces (image: High Fidelity)
High Fidelity’s staff group photo using scans of their own hair and faces (image: High Fidelity)

Not everyone is liable to want to use an avatar bearing a representation of their own face, and the idea of using such a technique does raise issues around identity, privacy, etc., which should be discussed, by High Fidelity’s work in this area is intriguing. Although that said, and looking at the staff group photo, I would perhaps agree there is still more work needed; I’m not so much concerned about the technique pushing towards the edge of the uncanny valley so much as I am about the avatars in the photo looking just that little bit odd.

Also in the update is a discussion on audio reverb, a look at how the use of particles can be transformed when you’re able to see your “hands” manipulating them, and a look at a purpose-built game in High Fidelity.  These are all discussed on the video accompanying the January video, which I’ll close with.

Space Sunday: day of remembrance, seeing Mars and flying over Ceres

Posted on by Inara Pey

This week marked a sombre period in the annals of NASA’s history. In a period of just 7 days – albeit spread across 50 years – America lost 17 astronauts in just three space flight related tragedies. Every year, the US space agency marks this loss of life – the results of the Apollo 1, Challenger and Columbia accidents – with a special Day of Remembrance on the 27th January. This year’s event was particularly poignant in that 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the Challenger disaster.

It was on January 27th, 1967, that NASA suffered the first of these tragedies when, during a pre-launch rehearsal of what was intended to be the first manned flight of the Apollo Command and Service modules, a fire broke out inside the Command Module as the vehicle sat on the pad of Cape Kennedy Air Force Station Launch Complex 34. A combination of a pure oxygen atmosphere at a high internal PSI, and highly flammable materials used in the vehicle’s interior construction resulted in the deaths of Command Pilot Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Senior Pilot Edward H. White II, and Pilot Roger B. Chaffee in just 16 seconds.

Apollo 1: (l-to-r) Virgil I. "Gus" Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee standing before the Apollo 1 launch vehicle, on January 17th, 1961
Apollo 1: (l-to-r) Virgil I. “Gus” Grissom, Edward H. White II, and Roger B. Chaffee standing before the Apollo 1 launch vehicle, on January 17th, 1961

Nineteen years later, on January 28th, 1986, NASA suffered its largest loss of life in a space mission up until that point in time. It occurred when Space Launch System mission 51L, the 25th flight in the space shuttle programme and the 10th flight of the shuttle orbiter vehicle Challenger – regarded as the veteran of the fleet, having flown more orbital missions than the other three orbiter vehicles at that time – exploded 73 seconds after launch, resulting in the loss of all seven crew.

The Challenger 7: (l-to-r) Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Francis "Dick" Scobee, Ronald McNair, Michael Smith and Elison Onizuka, during a countdown training exercise on January 9th, 1986
The Challenger Seven: (l-to-r) Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, Judith Resnik, Francis “Dick” Scobee, Ronald McNair, Michael J. Smith and Ellison Onizuka, during a countdown training exercise on January 9th, 1986

Tragedy struck the space shuttle programme again on February 1st, 2003, when the space shuttle Columbia broke-up following re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of mission STS-107, killing all seven crew. On board were Commander Rick Husband, Pilot William McCool, Payload Commander Michael Anderson, Mission Specialists Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Kalpana Chawla, David M. Brown, and Payload Specialist  Ilan Ramon, a colonel in the Israeli Air Force and the first Israeli astronaut.

The official STS-107 crew photo (l-to-r): Brown, Husband, Clark, Chawla, Anderson, McCool, Ramon
The official STS-107 crew photo (l-to-r): David M. Brown, Rick Husband, Laurel Blair Salton Clark, Kalpana Chawla, Michael P Anderson, William C. McCool, and Ilan Ramon

There have of course been other lives lost within the fraternity of astronauts and cosmonauts over the decades. However, these three tragedies perhaps stand larger than others because NASA has always undertaken its missions in the full glare of the public and media spotlight. Apollo 1, for example, was the headline mission for America meeting President Kennedy’s requirement for “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth” before the end of the decade. Similarly, STS-51L, the Challenger mission, had been specifically engineered to be in the public eye, featuring as it did the first teacher in space, Sharon Christa McAuliffe.

McAuliffe had been selected from more than 11,000 applicants to participate in NASA’s Teacher in Space Project, initiated by US Present Ronald Reagan and intended by NASA to rejuvenate public interest in the space programme, which has been declining steadily since the first space shuttle flight in 1981. The gamble paid off and McAuliffe, became a media sensation, attracting world-wide public interest in STS-51L; so much so that it has been estimated that around 17% of Americans watched Challenger’s lift-off live on television as a direct result of McAuliffe’s presence on the mission, and that around 85% heard about the disaster within an hour of it occurring (and if that doesn’t sound unusual, remember 1986 was well before the Internet and media revolution what has placed information and news at our fingertips wherever we are).

It could be argued – particularly with regards to Challenger, and also with Apollo 1, that the disaster could have been avoided. Warnings about the precise type of failure which caused the loss of Challenger date back as far as 1971, which tests carried out in 1977 revealing the risk of what because known as an O-ring failure being inherent in the design of the shuttle’s solid rocket boosters.

Things are less clear in the case of the Columbia tragedy; while it has been suggested that a rescue mission might have been mounted using the shuttle orbiter Atlantis, which was being prepared for a mission due to lift-off at the start of March, 2003. However, in order to get the vehicle flight ready for a launch ahead of the February 15th deadline (the point at which lithium hydroxide, a critical part of the systems used to remove carbon dioxide from the air in a space vehicle, would run out aboard Columbia), was itself fraught with risks.

But whether they could be avoided or not, these three disasters remind us that the cost of becoming a space faring civilisation – something which could be vital to our survival – is not without risk. Which is why I’ll close this part of Space Sunday with the words of Francis R. Scobee, the Commander of STS-51L, written shortly before his death aboard the Challenger:

Continue reading “Space Sunday: day of remembrance, seeing Mars and flying over Ceres” →

Space update: seeking planet X, examining comets and sifting sand

Posted on by Inara Pey

CuriosityNASA’s Curiosity rover has been sampling the sands of the “Namib Dune” the vehicle has been studying / circumnavigating for the last few weeks as it studies an extensive dune field which is slowly making its way down the slopes of “Mount Sharp” on Mars at the rate of about a metre per year.

“Mount Sharp”, more formally called Aeolis Mons, is the huge mound of material gathered against the central impact peak of Gale Crater. It forms the rover’s primary mission target in its quest to better understand conditions on Mars down through the ages, and to look for areas which at some point in the planet’s past, may have had all the right conditions – minerals, chemicals, water, heat, shelter, etc., – which might have allows life to arise.

The dune field on the north-east flank of “Mount Sharp” is of considerable interest to scientist, as it is the first genuine dune field to be studied on another world, and obtaining a clearer understanding of how the Martian wind moves sand could lead to a clearer picture of how big a role the wind plays in depositing concentrations of minerals often associated with water across the planet, and by extension, the behaviour and disposition of liquid water across Mars.

Tracks on a sand dune: this image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) shows the rover's tracks on the same of "Namib Dune" as it starts sample gathering
Tracks on a sand dune: this image from Curiosity’s front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) shows the rover’s tracks on the same of “Namib Dune” as it starts sample gathering

On January 12th, the rover reached a target area for sample gathering dubbed “Gobabeb”, and even this presented a challenge. Curiosity had to manoeuvre up onto the dune, and then turn in place in order to start sample gathering operations. This meant a cautious approach to the location, initially “scuffing” the sand to obtain and indication of its depth and composition (loose firm material). After this the rover gently edged onto the sand and deployed the robot arm to use its small scoop in only its second major sample gathering exercise, which took place on January 14th.

The sand gathered by the operations well be sorted within the CHIMRA system inside the robot arm, which uses a series of sieves to divide the sand grains by coarseness. Once sorted, the samples are delivered to the rover on-board chemical and analysis systems  – ChemMin, the Chemical and Mineralogical laboratory and SAM, the Sample Analysis at Mars suite – for examination.

A second sample of sand was gathered on January 19th, and is currently awaiting processing.

CHIMRA
CHIMRA – the Collection and Handling for In-Situ Martian Rock Analysis device attached to the turret at the end of Curiosity’s robotic arm, processes samples acquired from the built-in scoop (red) and the drill, which is not shown but is also part of the turret. CHIMRA also delivers samples to the analytical lab instruments inside the rover. Two paths to get material into CHIMRA are shown (the scoop delivers material to the location marked at the bottom, and the drill deposits material to the sample transfer tube shown at top). Also marked are the location of the vibration mechanism used to shake the turret and cause the sample to move inside CHIMRA, and the portion box (yellow) from which the material processed through a sieve is delivered to the analytical lab instruments.

Europe Joins Dream Chaser

In my last Space Sunday report, I covered the news that Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) will be joining SpaceX and Orbital ATK in supporting US work to delivery supplies to, and remove waste from, the International Space Station.

As a part of a new contract which commences in 2019 and runs until 2024, the expected end of ISS operations, SNC will utilise an unmanned cargo version of its Dream Chaser “mini shuttle”, which is based on a lifting body design, to carry up to 5 tonnes of material to the space station. Now Europe has officially joined SNC as a strategic partner.

The Drem Chaser Cargo, bult by SNC, and the International Berth and Docking Mechanism, to be supplied to SNC for Dream Chaser flights by the European Space Agency
The Dream Chaser Cargo, built by SNC, and the International Berth and Docking Mechanism, to be supplied to SNC for Dream Chaser flights by the European Space Agency

SNC and Europe have been looking at options for Dream Chaser development since SNC lost out to SpaceX and Boeing to supply the crewed version of Dream Chaser to NASA for ferrying crews back and forth between the ISS and US soil. Confirmation that NASA will be using Dream Chaser for the resupply flights means that ESA can nor push ahead with developing an International Berthing and Docking Mechanism (IBDM) for Dream Chaser.

Continue reading “Space update: seeking planet X, examining comets and sifting sand” →

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.