In 2013, I was fortunate enough to receive a leading Virtual Reality Development Kit for the sole purpose of demonstrating the potential of VR. I loaded a roller coaster programme and a head-pong game (yes, you can play pong with your head!) onto my powerful gaming notebook and headed out to spread the word about my company's new VR capacity. People were absorbed in the ride, even with the early low-resolution screens, and would frequently 'leave the roller coaster' dizzy, off-balance, and smiling ear-to-ear.
Since then, I've seen VR exhibited at virtually every major
trade fair in nearly every imaginable way. The ecosystem continues to invest in
VR, from roller coasters to gaming to industrial training tools and data
visualisation. Nonetheless, six years after that developer kit, VR remains a
work in progress. Several firms manufacture VR headgear, but widespread
acceptance remains elusive. A $2 billion VR purchase in 2014 established the
objective of getting 1 billion users into VR1.
So, how far have we come, and what does the future hold for
VR?
Tethered Virtual Reality Today
Because a VR headset is strapped to your face and close to
your eyes, high resolution displays (>10801200/eye), a high refresh rate
(70-90Hz), and flawless pixel rendering to the screen are required. Any rips,
lost frames, or halts will be seen and will damage the user experience.
This intense graphics task necessitates high performance,
high power GPUs. Because of these requirements, typical VR headsets are tied to
a powerful PC that handles game computation and rendering. There are various
arcades that place the PC in a backpack that you then carry about the
attraction site while saving the planet from zombies.
Traditional VR headsets tied to the PC have a downside even with a high-end gaming system delivering stunning images. They mostly need the user to be physically present at the PC while wearing a headset. One may believe that sitting and playing in Virtual Reality isn't a huge issue because gamers are infamous for all-night dungeon raids, but according to a recent poll, VR gamers only spend 6.2 hours per month with their VR headset on2.
Things are about to change - welcome to the world of virtual reality freedom.
Everything is going to change. Recent advancements in edge
compute enable stand-alone VR headsets to put the required graphics power into
a headset, freeing the VR experience from the PC. Imagine being able to pursue
monsters around the room or slay zombies on the fly while combining the
mobility of handheld gaming devices with the immersive experience of Virtual
Reality.
But there's more going on.
Embedded Virtual Reality System Development
Storage developments are also helping to improve this mobile VR experience. Many popular PC games can use up to 30-60GB of disc space. As VR games develop larger and more intricate environments, their file sizes will grow in proportion.
The problem is that all of this technology must fit into a
thin headset design while remaining cool and without depleting your battery.
Flash has played an important role in providing low power, high performance,
low latency, and great capacity in a very tiny form factor. Consider our iNAND®
Embedded Flash Drives, which make use of Universal Flash Storage (UFS). These
are an excellent example of a perfect option for providing stand-alone VR
headsets with a combination of high performance and large capacity, allowing
users to immerse themselves in a virtual world while on the road.
Virtual Reality on the Go: Get Up and Enjoy!
Companies have announced or released VR stand-alone headsets, which have gotten positive feedback from critics. The option to create a boxing ring in any room or continue your cosmic battle around the house adds a new and thrilling level to virtual reality entertainment.
A standalone headset with an inbuilt GPU will not allow you to play
demanding games that need high-performance graphics cards. For the next several
years, the trade-off between tethered and standalone headsets will be
delivering great graphics vs. an immersive mobile gaming experience. However,
if other OEMs continue to innovate with standalone VR and invest in games and
the VR game platform, there will be an abundance of entertaining VR games to
select from!
What do you think about VR? Let us know in comments!
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