Christmas is coming, and I’m ready to gain some kilos eating panettone and lots of other Italian Christmas dishes. I hope you all will have amazing Holidays in the next days! Enjoy your time with the people you love, with or without VR 🙂
Top news of the week
Facebook is building its own operating system
Facebook is reportedly working on its AR glasses (made with Luxottica) that should be released in 2023. This is something we already knew. But now a new report from The Information informs us that it is also building its own operating system for those glasses, and it won’t be based on Android (like most of the operating systems for mobile devices, including standalone headsets), but made entirely custom. It is also working on creating its own hardware: a previous report highlighted that it could build its own chips in the future, and this article shows how the company is working also in acquiring hardware parts markers. Facebook is investing billions for hardware creation, and it is going to move 4,000 employes working on AR hardware in a new venue just built in California. Besides that, it is also hiring key figures to make this AR dream a reality: the operating system project will be supervised by Mark Lucovsky, a former Microsoft engineer who co-developed Windows NT.
The company is also working on its own VR telepresence and meeting system, which could make all Facebook people work together even if they are far away the one from the others. Facebook has confirmed TechCrunch that “Boz [Andrew Bosworth] hosted two internal events where he videoconferenced through VR to about 100 of his team leaders using virtual Q&A software Facebook is prototyping internally.”
Some months ago, we all read that letter where Zuckerberg claimed wanting to get complete control of the hardware and software stack so that Facebook shouldn’t depend on external companies, like Google or Apple for the SO, or phone manufacturers for the hardware. It seems that Mark is still working on that vision, so that in the end, Facebook will be able to do on its devices whatever it wants, without compromises and without control. Honestly, this scares me a lot. A company of this kind, with full control and no restrictions, could do great things on the tech side, but very bad things on the privacy side.
More info (Report on TechCrunch)
More info (Report on Upload)
Other relevant news
Oculus releases hands tracking SDK, official Link cable for Quest and more
This has been a great week for all Oculus Quest users and developers.
First of all, Oculus has finally released the hands tracking SDK for Oculus Quest, letting all developers create hands-tracked application for this popular standalone headset. The hands tracking is already available inside the Oculus SDK and Oculus has also released a demo that helps people in understanding how to use it. I’m very curious to discover what developers will be able to create with it. Regarding Rift S, Oculus has said again that it is considering porting hands tracking to it maybe in the future, after they have listened to the feedback by Quest users.
Developers can also rejoice because Oculus SDK now enables “dynamic fixed foveated rendering”, that is it will be possible to let the runtime decide how much to downgrade the visuals of Oculus Quest applications in the peripheral region depending on the actual workload of the GPU. This way, developers won’t have to manually set a constant value for the whole application, but it will be adjusted by the runtime.
Oculus has also finally released the official 5-meters optical fiber cable to be used with Oculus Link. It is available on Oculus’s website for $79, and it should guarantee the best Oculus Link experience. Unluckily, only US users will be able to enjoy it for Christmas, since the launch in Europe is delayed. I hate this.
If you can’t use hands tracking or Link on your Quest because your Quest doesn’t update, a redditor has discovered a way to force the update on your Quest. It is a procedure only for expert users, but it is cool to know.
If you’re nerd like me, you may also like the link I’ve added here below on the details on how controllers tracking on Quest can work even in front of Christmas lights.
More info (Official announcement of hands tracking SDK)
More info (Hands tracking SDK release news on Upload)
More info (Hands tracking on Rift S)
More info (Hands tracking on Quest and Leap Motion side-by-side)
More info (Oculus Quest Dynamic Fixed Foveated Rendering)
More info (Oculus Link official cable released)
More info (How to increase resolution in Oculus Link)
More info (How to force update of Oculus Quest runtime)
More info (How Oculus Quest controllers’ tracking can work in front of Christmas lights)
…and in the meanwhile, a new update makes a mess for PC VR users
The latest update of Oculus Runtime for PC has created issues for many Rift CV1 and Rift S users. It seems that the latest version creates some stuttering while playing VR games, and this is creating discomfort for some users and making the devices unusable for others. People are complaining, especially because it is the Christmas season, so many are buying the VR headsets as gifts… and at the same time, there is the worry that Oculus engineers will go on vacation and so the bug will take longer to be fixed.
I hope that Oculus will fix this issue very soon, because many people on Reddit are complaining.
More info (Example n.1 of post about this on Reddit)
More info (Example n.2 of post about this on Reddit)
More info (Example n.3 of post about this on Reddit)
Both Oculus Quest and Valve Index are backordered to February (in the US)
The Good news of the week is that the two most popular VR headsets of the moment, the Oculus Quest and the Valve Index, have seen such an increase in sales that in the US you can’t receive them until February. The Oculus Quest is getting much interest for its great quality, its very good content and its affordable price, while the Valve Index for its amazing features and because it is the official headset of Half-Life: Alyx.
This is an amazing piece of news, because it means that there is a lot of new interest around VR, and that now that Christmas is near and that Valve is rising the hype for Half-Life, the sales are spiking. I don’t think that VR is getting mainstream, but its interest is surely rising month after month, and now thanks to Half-Life, it has also got the interest of mainstream gaming media.
Regarding the backorders, though, I also think that it is a problem of low manufacturing volumes. I mean, Facebook knows that the Quest is a successful headset and it is an ideal Christmas gift, and Valve knew that HL would have spiked the interest in the Index. So, why haven’t they ramped up the production? Is it that they mispredicted the size of this spike or they wanted the devices to get out of stock so that to make them appear as exclusive successful devices? Honestly, I have no idea.
More info (Valve Index and Oculus Quest out of stock)
More info (Resellers are selling the Quest at 3x its price)
TESTED has gone hands-on with Half-Life: Alyx
People at the popular Youtube channel TESTED have gone hands-one with Half-Life: Alyx with 8 different VR headsets, telling how the experience was with all of them. They couldn’t describe the game, but they revealed that it is astonishing on the graphical side and UX. Interactions are very natural, and the game is fun to be played. Regarding the various headsets:
- Index was great, the best to play the game with;
- Rift S was great, with just a little problem on weapon selection that sometimes gets misinterpreted as snap turning;
- Rift CV1 was nice as well, and the game could be played even from seated position;
- Oculus Quest + Link was able to play the game, with just some compression artifacts. Without Frankenquest, though, it was quite uncomfortable after one hour;
- Vive Cosmos performed well as an HMD, but its controllers’ tracking was a very big issue for using the weapons;
- Original Vive worked, but the controllers are big and clunky and have some problems with UX and with handling weapons;
- Samsung Odyssey had again some problems due to the dimension of the controllers;
- Pimax (5K) had a great resolution and FOV, but actually, the image appeared just a zoom of the one of the other headsets, and so there was not an actual exploitation of the FOV of the device.
The good news is that Valve is working on making this game usable on all possible headsets. Of course its goal is to give importance to Steam, not to the hardware.
More info (TESTED video on Half-Life: Alyx)
More info (Summary of most important points of the video by Upload)
Huawei VR glasses are now available in China
Huawei has finally released its 3DOF glasses in China for 2999 Yuan (around $430). Many of you would comment the news with “3 DOF is not VR”, but actually I think that this news is very important for VR because of the amazing design of this headset. For the first time, a VR headset doesn’t look like a shoebox in front of your face but seems like a pair of bulky sunglasses. I would absolutely wear the Huawei VR glasses in a plane to watch some movies without worrying looking like a dork. And I know that many companies (like for instance Pareal) are going for the same design, so I bet that next year most of 3DOF glasses will use this form factor.
Huawei has changed the paradigm of 3DOF VR. I’m very interested in following the sales of this headset.
More info (Huawei VR glasses launched)
More info (My review of Huawei VR glasses)
Varjo gives us a glimpse of the office of the future
Finnish company Varjo never ceases to amaze me. After having announced a retina-resolution VR headset, and a very high-resolution mixed reality headset, it has now created a prototype of a mixed reality workspace. This software, running on the Varjo XR-1 (the mixed reality headset), is able to show in front of you all the displays that you want. That is, you can have a computer without a real screen, and just use one, two or three virtual screens that are there in front of you and that are big as you wish. Since all runs in passthrough mixed reality, you can just use your real keyboard and mouse to interact with these displays, creating a fantastic mix of virtual and real. This is not only a gimmick: first of all, you can have as many displays as you wish, with the size that you wish, and this is important for all visual creatives. Then, you can create MR applications, and so code in Unity and at the same time see the preview of your 3D game in 3D in front of you. The possible applications are endless.
CNET’s Scott Stein has tried the demo and has been amazed by it. He says that it is the first time in these years that a company made him try an XR solution that can really supersede real PC screens and TVs. Of course, Varjo XR-1 is rather expensive (it costs $10,000), but it shows us how the future will be in some years.
More info (Varjo announcing the XR workspace)
More info (Comment on the XR workspace by Road To VR)
More info (Scott Stein goes hands-on with this solution)
News worth a mention
Pimax unveils new “Artisan” headset
With a surprise tweet, Pimax has unveiled that it is going to launch a new headset dubbed “Artisan”. It should feature 3,200 × 1,440 resolution and 140° FOV at 120 Hz. These specifications are less aggressive than the ones of the Pimax 8K and similar headset, and this makes us think that probably it is the new low-tier offering by the Chinese startup. The price is undisclosed (we only know that it is below $950) and the full announcements should happen at CES 2020.
A new headset is always welcome, but the situation in Pimax becomes even more confusing. The company has still not shipped the 8K X to backers after more than one year of delay, and it is keeping launching new devices. Furthermore, the launch has not even been coordinated with its European Marketing Director SweViver, that has been himself surprised by the tweet.
I think that this confirms how Pimax is great in trying to offer high-end VR at affordable prices, but it is also working in a very confused way.
A-frame v1.0 has been released
It’s many years that Mozilla works in offering a framework to develop easily WebVR solutions called A-Frame. Now A-Frame has reached a status that is satisfactory enough that it can reach the milestone of version 1.0. Mix it with the fact that Chrome and Firefox are now implementing WebXR standard, and you can see the potential of A-Frame for the future of the immersive web. Great job, Mozilla!
Logitech releases its VR Stylus
If you are a creative, you may be very happy to discover that finally, Logitech has released its VR Stylus, that is a pen, tracked with SteamVR technology, optimized for drawing in VR, both in 3D in air and in 2D by pressing the tip on a surface like a desk. That sounds amazing, and in fact it is, given that the reviews are pretty positive. The only real drawback is the price: this nice gadget costs $750 and so it is perfect only for prosumers and enterprise customers.
The debate on HoloLens 2 image quality continues
This week, Cesar Berardini has published on Twitter some through-the-lenses images of the HoloLens 2, and the results are pretty disappointing, with non-uniform coloring and rainbows all over the image. It is very interesting to read all the debate happening in the comments of the post, where Alex Kipman himself has contested the photos, saying that they don’t show at all what is the experience inside the AR glasses. Many people have confirmed this to me: the photos are actually an exaggeration of what happens, but actually something in that line happens, because especially when you have a white background, you may see non-uniform coloring and other artifacts.
Unity releases the XR Interaction Toolkit
The game engine Unity has just released the XR Interaction Toolkit, a plugin that gives AR/VR developers many functionalities for XR applications ready to be used out of the box. The library already implements various locomotion modalities (teleporting, etc…), interactions with objects (grabbing an object, attracting an object with a ray, etc…), and interactions with the UI. This way developers won’t have to re-invent the wheel for every application. The plugin is currently in preview, and Unity seeks feedback for fixing the bugs and adding new features.
This is a piece of great news. I wonder what will happen with already existing frameworks like VRTK when Unity will have expanded this toolkit, though.
More info (XR Toolkit official announcement)
More info (News on Upload VR)
PlayStation London Studio is working on a new flagship game
According to Road To VR, PlayStation London Studio is working on a new flagship VR game, probably a shooter. The game will most probably work with the upcoming PSVR 2. Given the amazing track of great VR games released by this studio, I can’t wait to see what they are creating.
OVR Technology is working to bring smell in VR
Talking about smell in Virtual Reality, the names of the companies working in the field were mostly two: VAQSO and FeelReal. It seems that now a third company, called OVR Technology, is working on offering an add-on to add smells to VR headsets. The gadget is still not on sale, and I am curious to discover more about it.
Deep dive into IPD
Tom Forsyth has written a super-interesting post with many details on IPD and its implications in having a pleasant VR experience. Reading it, I discovered lots of new things, and the most mind-blowing of all of them is that actually having lenses moving to accommodate the IPD of the user is less important than we may think and that eye-relief is actually more important. I suggest you give it a read.
Mobile AR apps are now very popular (maybe)
A report on Next Reality highlights how AR mobile apps account for over half of the top 10 most downloaded apps for 2019. When I read it, I was very happy about it: finally, AR is becoming mainstream! But then I realized I have heard of no popular mobile AR app, and so I got dubious. In fact, in the article, they count as AR apps all apps that have AR features, like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, etc… So, actually, this is a bit misleading: social apps are the most downloaded and most of them include AR features.
The Matrix trilogy may be a game in the Matrix 4
A new rumor on the Matrix 4 movie says that in the fourth episode of the saga, The Matrix trilogy we have all enjoyed is actually a videogame that people can play in The Matrix, featuring Neo, Trinity and all other characters. This sounds very meta.
Steam Winter Sale is here
Are you ready to give Gaben some money? Steam Winter Sale offers many VR games discounted… so, give it a look!
Some news on VR content
Some news on XR content:
- The Walking Dead: Saint and Sinners is available for preorder. There is also an expensive collectors’ edition available;
- Radial G: Proteus is finally available on the Oculus Quest Store;
- Quill Theater gets released on Quest: finally you can enjoy in full mobility the masterpieces created by people like Goro Fujita;
- Cosmos Within Us is an experience about life when you are affected by Alzheimer. Sound design has been fundamental in creating it;
- Upload has reviewed Beat Saber Green Day DLC;
- Next year Martin Luther King’s famous speech “I have a dream” will be ported to VR.
More info (The Walking Dead: Saint and Sinners — new gameplay video)
More info (The Walking Dead: Saint and Sinners — preorders now live)
More info (Radial G: Proteus released)
More info (Radial G: Proteus preview)
More info (Quill Theater)
More info (Cosmos Within Us)
More info (Beat Saber: Green Day DLC)
More info (Dream)
Some XR fun
Beat Saber may help you in losing weight
Be careful when someone is playing VR around you…
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(Header image made mixing images from Facebook and Luxottica)