iMyth

Tag: Optitrack

  • Sensics’ New Professional Grade HMD

    Sensics’ New Professional Grade HMD

    Sensics, a long time manufacturer of high end Head Mounted Display devices, has recently released its new professional grade HMD geared towards VRArcades and amusement parks.

    This new headset has two versions: $2160.00 and $2590.00. Sanitation and Resolution are it’s big selling points. Hygienically, the new units include a machine-washable, hypoallergenic face mask that physically separates from the display. This detached face mask has two advantages. First it is easily set aside and sanitized for later use apart from the disply, expensive part of the HMD. Secondly, participants can strap in and adjust the headset for optimal fit before clipping into the display. Both of these contribute to greater customer throughput. No longer does the attraction need to stop between sessions so the new users can exchange sets with the old. The new users prep themselves before the start of the experience, receive the display portion from the prior users then immediately start the experience with minimum downtime. Experience operators then sanitize the used face masks and help the next participants prepare for their own experiences.

    The resolution of the more expensive unit is 1440×1600@90 Hz LCD which is 70{76c5cb8798b4dc9652375d1c19c86d53c1d1411f4e030dd406aa284e63c21817} larger than the Vive/Oculus display at 1080X1200. Whether the rendering engine can handle that much more throughput is an entirely different issue and will need be explored. The cheaper unit resolution is 2160X1200@90Hz OLED. Here are some of the image comparisons:

    Currently the headsets will be equipped with integrated 9-axis orientation trackers which is very similar to what you currently have in your cell phone. For room scale and larger experiences, this headset lends itself naturally to an OptiTrack or Vicon tracking solution. Regretfully, this does not sound immediately compatible with Steam VR tracking. However, a third party could very well create an attached controller which could track the headset as an added component to an existing Vive setup.

    While this system sounds very interesting, at this moment in time the cost for these units is very expensive and prohibitive. Past the R&D and prototyping stages this tool would be very useful for commercial usage.

     

  • House Scale VR in Sight!

    House Scale VR in Sight!

    I received some bitter sweet news today from the folks at Valve Software.

    After much anticipation, the engineers at SteamVR have found a way to create a cheaper, more versatile Lighthouse solution. The old sensor chip, the TS3633, produced a single “envelope” pulse per laser or sync blinker hit. That hit allows the Watchman module in the device to time the difference between the sync and the laser hit and compute angle from that difference.  There is a new sensor chip from Triad Semiconductor, the TS4231 which is actually simpler and cheaper to produce. What’s most important, it provides a burst of data per laser or sync hit. Using that data allows information to be transmitted on the laser itself, which we can be used to learn about the source of that laser.

    This new capability to encode information in the laser is significant for two reasons:

    • It allows support for more than two base stations, and thus larger tracking volumes.
    • It allows a base station to function without including a sync blinker, which is the source of most of the interference between base stations (and is also a significant driver of base station cost.) This technology is called sync-on-beam.

    Depending on tests, these new sensors will start rolling out in late June. The new lighthouses won’t start rolling out until November.

    Here is a diagram of the compatibility of the two systems:

    Regretfully the old sensors will not work with the new Light House configuration. The new sensors will work with the old but not the other way around. Regretfully I just invested in 7 new Tracker pucks. They can still be used with the old system but not the new.

    So this news is bitter sweet. iMyth will have ware house scale VR in 2018. Regretfully We will need to retrofit will all new sensors. I suppose it was a good thing I had not had a chance to turn the printed iMyth props into controllers since they will be need to be redone anyway. At close to $500 per prop, I suppose the damage could have been much worse. I have recently finished long conversations with the folks at Optitrack and Motion Reality. It seems now Steam VR can join them in the House Scale/Warehouse Scale VR race. Because Steam VR tracking is not bound by cameras, there may be possibility to have vertical structures as well. Very cool!

  • The Void Opens in Linden

    The Void Opens in Linden

    After what seemed to be an almost two year wait, the Void has finally opened their doors in their home Utah location. I have yet to sample any of The Void’s experiences. I have read there are many good aspects and many bad aspects. Overall, each individual needs to be the judge for themselves.

    As The Void claims, they are now operating at 90 frames/sec and with a FOV comparable to the Vive. Participants are equipped with backpacks so there are no annoying cables to deal with. Evidently, compared to some other immersive experiences, the extra weight on a participant’s back is worth the extra frame rate and expanded field of view. It also seems as if The Void’s tracking problems have been solved with the new tracking system by OptiTrack. OptiTrack claims their cameras are 40{76c5cb8798b4dc9652375d1c19c86d53c1d1411f4e030dd406aa284e63c21817} less expensive than competitor’s. I am not sure this is so remarkable. 40{76c5cb8798b4dc9652375d1c19c86d53c1d1411f4e030dd406aa284e63c21817} from $.5 million is still close to $.25 million which is still quite a chunk of change. iMyth will need to find other ways around this entry barrier. Tracking balls are also hidden from the experience. This is actually a good idea since tracking balls tend to stick out and be one more item to potentially break. This is achieved with imbedded led lights and silver metallic paint which is the same stuff used to paint the Nike logo on the sides of your shoes.

    The tracking and the overall experience appear to be stable. There still seems to be some dynamic problems in tight situations where participant bump into each other. Evidently the avatars don’t really match the person they are modelling. This is attributed to only the participant’s head and gun being tracked. With that said, participants were feeling disappointed they could not see their hands. Once again this is because the participants hands are not being tracked.

    The price of the experience is $25 for a less than 15 minute experience. Some may question this price and make it hard to justify a trip to Linden Utah. However, if one is passing through with a little time on their hands then the experience is definitely worth it.

    Once again The Void is back on top of the Pioneer Train of Immersive experience. They are definitely discovering many of the bumps and pitfalls of this immerging new media. For us little guys let’s hope they do not run out of money so they can keep hitting these snags and coming up with solutions. Good Luck!

  • Nomadic

    Nomadic

    This is starting to get a bit comical. It seems everywhere you look there is new immersive experience company sprouting. Not more than two days ago I blogged about Knott’s Berry Farm entering the immersive experience game. Now I am reporting the emergence of yet another company called Nomadic. This time, instead of a location based experience, the Nomadic folks are focusing on the physical environment itself. This is a very cool concept. I will have to reach out to them to explore opportunities for partnership.

    Tech-wise, it looks like they are employing the typical Optitrack setup as a turn key VR experience station. This will be very interesting to see how they pull of objects such as doors, walls and windows which may occlude the line of sight of the optical cameras. Also what should be explored is the possibility of partnering with piecemeal items instead of an entire “turnkey” system, similar to the one offered by Zero Latency.

    Nomadic isn’t the first company to add physical cues to virtual reality experiences. But the company does have a novel concept of getting these kinds of experiences out in the marketplace. Instead of building and operating its own VR locations, Nomadic wants to partner with bigger players that already have a lot of real estate at their disposal and are now looking for the next big thing to retain and monetize audiences. Think mall operators, theater chains and the likes.

    The Nomadic website gives a good indication of the makeup of the company. I recognize many of the names from days at Electronic Arts. It seems like they have a very solid team in the works. I hope some kind of partnership can be reached.

  • Knott’s Berry Farm; Showdown in Ghost Town

    Knott’s Berry Farm; Showdown in Ghost Town

    I love Knott’s Berry Farm. When living in Southern California I looked forward to every opportunity to visit the nation’s first theme park. Although the rides were definitely geared for smaller kids and were not as high-adrenalin as what could be found at Cedar Point or Six Flags, they park always had a low keyed, pleasant atmosphere around it.

    Knott’s Berry Farm, as part of thew Cedar Fair conglomerate, has take its own step into the location based, immersive experience market. Its VR Showdown In Ghost Town is a multiplayer VR experience that costs $6 in addition to the cost of your ticket. It pays homage to the park’s  19th century western theme but with a 21st century twist. IN a nutshell the experience is three minutes long where the participant plays a law keeper in an old west town trying to stop time traveling robots. Luckily the bad guys are not Zombies but there are similarities to other shot-em ups such as Zero Latency.

    The experience is wireless as the participant is equipped with only a toy gun and an head mounted display device. The tracking is done with Optitrack cameras which track the headsets and the toy guns.

    The refresh rate is only 60 frames per second which will be noticeably slower than the 90 frames per second experienced with the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. I have not goner through the experience myself but initial experiences report blurring and thick black lines outside the display area in different headsets.

    Many amusement parks are venturing into virtual reality to beef up their existing rides. Similar to the Void and Zero Latency, this is an early attempt to get the public involved with larger than life experiences that can not be found in the home. While I am dismayed the experience developers chose yet another “Shoot-em-Up” experience, I am encouraged with the acceptance of this new form of media by location based venues such as amusement parks.