Rethink reality with HTC's VR vision

22nd July 2015

Jordan Mulcare

0 0

We have all seen virtual reality in films and wanted it, it is the ultimate gaming experience. HTC have jumped on the bandwagon and partnered with Valve, the creators of Portal, Half-Life, Left 4 Dead and the Steam platform, to create the Vive headset. The headset pulls virtual words off your computer screen and right in to your eyes, offering users lifelike experiences and transporting them right into the game.

Powered by SteamVR, the Vive will allow any of Valve's games to be streamed to the headset, through the Steam service. Featuring a 1,200x1,080px screen in front of each eye with refresh rates of 90fps, the headset fills your vision in all directions, eliminating jitter.

The Vive has a jack on the side to allow users to plug their headphones in to add to the experience. Combining a gyrosensor, accelerometer and laser position sensor, the VR device allows the users to look around the virtual environment naturally by precisely tracking the rotation of the users head on both axes with an accuracy of 1/10th of a degree.

The headset also can monitor movement, allowing users to get up and physically walk around inside the virtual world by coupling the headset with a pair of SteamVR base stations, which will track the users physical location in any space up to 15x15ft.

VR game hand controllers are also available and allow users to use virtual object and interact with the virtual world. Each controller is tracked in space, which allows users to simulate a wide range of activities and interactions. Vive Developer Editions are currently being sent out.