{"id":4344,"date":"2017-03-06T09:00:34","date_gmt":"2017-03-06T16:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/qualcomm-moves-vr-forward-with-wireless-headset\/"},"modified":"2017-03-06T09:00:34","modified_gmt":"2017-03-06T16:00:34","slug":"qualcomm-moves-vr-forward-with-wireless-headset","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2017\/03\/qualcomm-moves-vr-forward-with-wireless-headset\/","title":{"rendered":"Qualcomm moves VR forward with wireless headset"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Timseek<\/a> decease<\/a> http:\/\/1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tim-leland-5-300×194.jpg 300w, viagra order<\/a> http:\/\/1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tim-leland-5-768×497.jpg 768w, http:\/\/1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tim-leland-5-800×517.jpg 800w, http:\/\/1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tim-leland-5-780×504.jpg 780w, http:\/\/1u88jj3r4db2x4txp44yqfj1.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/03\/tim-leland-5.jpg 900w” sizes=”(max-width: 578px) 100vw, 578px”><\/p>\n

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Virtual reality took a few steps forward last week, advances highlighted by Qualcomm<\/a>\u2018s demo of a development headset for wireless virtual reality.<\/p>\n

The prototype is part of a reference design for a second generation of VR headsets that don\u2019t have to be connected to a PC. Hardware companies can adopt this technology, and Qualcomm has started an accelerator<\/a> to enable those companies to move faster. At least five headset makers plan to launch VR headsets in 2017 that are based on Qualcomm\u2019s newest chip, the Snapdragon 835<\/a>. Osterhout Design Group has also said it will create two augmented reality smartglasses models <\/a>with the 835.<\/p>\n

I tried it out at GDC 2017 and was taken aback at first that I could pretty much walk anywhere in the hallway where I was testing it. The device was untethered, with all of the processing taking place in the headset itself. This one had last year\u2019s chip, the Snapdragon 820 processor, but the production versions will use the newer 835.<\/p>\n

Qualcomm vice president Tim Leland said the device was a reference model, which others could use as their own products or as a foundation for more unique designs. The 835 will have better performance per watt, significantly better graphics, and a 20 percent improvement in motion-to-photon latency, he said. There will also be better interaction with sensors and better single-buffer rendering performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think the future of VR is mobile,\u201d Leland said. \u201cI don\u2019t think the future of VR is tethered to a PC. The market is starting to speak on that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Dean<\/p>\n

Above: Dean Takahashi tries out the Qualcomm VR headset at GDC 2017<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The headset I tried was smaller and less bulky than existing headsets like the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift.<\/p>\n

It was battery-powered, offering about five hours of life with a 3,600 milliamp-hour battery. But the battery life will be content dependent, Leland said. The device will have a hardware version available in the second quarter, with six degrees of motion tracking. And there will be a software kit available, as well.<\/p>\n

The headset also had a fairly large bar in front of the eyes with a couple of sensors as part of its inside-out sensing design. (\u201cInside-out\u201d means the sensors are on the headset, not on devices set up around the room).<\/p>\n

Those sensors were able to detect my hands and the movements of my 10 fingers. It used controller-freehand tracking from Leap Motion, which meant I didn\u2019t have to hold a touch controller in my hands. The headset ran Leap Motion\u2019s demo software.<\/p>\n

With it, I was able to pick up and create blocks. I could toss them around and look at my fingers in virtual reality. The resolution was good, though the tracking wasn\u2019t absolutely precise. It was still a little hard to pick up objects, but mainly because I had no force feedback, or sense of touch, that informed me when I had touched a block.<\/p>\n

The Leap Motion software has been integrated into Qualcomm\u2019s reference design kit that other companies can take and put their brand names on, if they wish. Leland said hand-tracking is optional for other companies to include, but the sensor for it isn\u2019t that expensive. It adds very little weight, so including it is kind of a no brainer for hardware companies.<\/p>\n

The Qualcomm headset was smaller than Intel\u2019s own prototype, dubbed Project Alloy. That device has the capability of a high-end laptop, with the ability to run VR apps at 90 frames per second. The Snapdragon 835 is also powerful, but I don\u2019t know what kind of performance it will have. Qualcomm\u2019s device was also much lighter, which means it didn\u2019t feel so heavy on the head.<\/p>\n

\"Qualcomm's<\/p>\n

Above: Qualcomm\u2019s VR headset.<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi<\/em><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The developer headset had a four-megapixel\u00a0(2560\u00d71440) WQHD AMOLED display (two megapixels per eye) and six degrees of freedom (6DoF) motion tracking. It had two\u00a0monochromatic, one megapixel (1280\u00d7800) global shutter cameras. It had four gigabytes of LPDDR$ DRAM memory and 64 gigabytes of Flash UFS. It used wireless with Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and USB3.1 type C (power).<\/p>\n

For audio, it featured Qualcomm Aqstic audio codec (WCD9335), and for I\/O it also had a trackpad on the right side of the headset.<\/p>\n

The best thing about this prototype is that it told me that the second generation of VR hardware isn\u2019t so far off. That\u2019s a good thing, because the first generation hasn\u2019t gotten enough\u00a0traction to sustain a large number of VR startups and game companies.<\/p>\n

In other developments in VR at GDC, LG showed off its first wired headset to compete with the HTC Vive. It was based on the Steam VR technology developed by Valve, and it can use apps that are available in the Steam VR store.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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