The proliferation of AR and VR head-mounted display (HMD) devices in the enterprise is expected to be faster than in-home parlors, but this does not stop developers from continuing to challenge limits, Introducing new devices that make consumers admire.
According to a survey by market research firm Greenlight Insights, global VR revenue is expected to reach $ 7.2 billion in 2017, of which head-mounted devices will account for $ 4.7 billion. Greenlight Insights expects the market to continue in the short term Growing modestly and reaching $ 74.8 billion by 2021, mainly driven by the growing business spending and entertainment of the destination (LBE) industry.
While consumer-grade ARs / VRs have gained most of the market attention, more and more companies are beginning to find these head-mounted devices can help them improve productivity and time-to-market while improving safety, quality and staffing Satisfaction.
According to a Deloitte survey of 500 executives at midsize companies in various industries, 67% are experimenting with the establishment or development of sophisticated applications such as mixed-reality (MR) technology.51 In addition, there are currently 53% % Of AR / VR pilot programs are in preparation or in progress, and 33% are deploying MR programs.
Greenlight Insights selected the most interesting products after tracking more than 150 AR / VR devices Greenlight Insights believes that many of the AR / VR products may only appear on the market in the short-run; In the future, systems that appeal to both consumers and business users can succeed.
In October, Oculus Go, the latest VR device from Facebook Oculus, was released at the 4th Oculus Connect 4. This stand-alone device supports applications written for Samsung Gear VR and, Including the monitor, optical lens subsystem, processor, power and audio, is expected to be shipped next year.
The Oculus Go's LCD supports 2,560 × 1,440 resolution. A new generation of lenses helps reduce the so-called "screen door effect", even in pixel-separated lines.
Go supports 3 degrees of freedom (DoF) tracking, meaning it can sense static VR experiences such as head tilt and rotation, and 6 DoF if you want to track actions in space.
The processor is the main disadvantage of today's generation of stand-alone head-mounted devices. Go uses Qualcomm's Snapdragon, which is very popular with Snapdragon but lacks the digital processing power of a wired computer. Polygons or support 30-90 frames per second (f / s) visual quality like a high-end PC processor.
PC Link Support 4K + Amazon Target AR
The Primax 8K is an interesting choice for high-end devices for those willing to pay $ 800, which is also the most expensive product in today's consumer-grade headsets and it also requires wireless connectivity to the powerful PC.
Powered by two monitors that provide 4K (3,840x2,160) resolution at 90Hz refresh rate over 200 ° horizontal viewing angle, this head-mounted device also offers several innovative module accessories including eye tracking, Wireless PC connection, and even fragrance, increase the immersive experience.
The 4K input is used by the Pimax 8K and is upgraded to 8K by connecting to a Nvidia GTX 980 or GTX 1070 graphics processor (GPU) on a PC. The device also uses BrainWarp technology to refresh the display every 1/180 seconds to replace Two monitors are displayed simultaneously, providing a complete dual 4K experience on machines that can only execute one 4K monitor.
The Primax 8K display replaces OLEDs with a 'Custom Low-Persistency Liquid' (CLPL) panel. Pimax also claims these displays 'completely eliminate ghosting and improve brightness'. The CLPL panels are arranged in RGB sub-pixels, which are more than those used by Vive and Rift units The PenTile approach is more dense.
The device's resolution is sufficient to support virtual desktops, and wide field of view allows users to place multiple screens, quick access to information while working or playing games.
The headset is compatible with SteamVR 2 games and is expected to ship with a controller similar to the Vive Knuckles, which you can consider as an enhanced Vive headset.
In addition to the high price, other disadvantages include common industrial design and manufacturing quality, and its liquid crystal displays (LCDs) are not as bright as OLEDs.
In addition, Amazon, the online giants, expects to launch AR glasses in the coming months as part of an upgrade to its Alexa products, which are expected to ship by the end of the year or early 2018.
Amazon's video division has been working for many years to create smart glasses that interact with the Alexa environment, and a 2015 patent describes a 'HMD system that includes a display layer and a variable transparent layer.' The concept includes the ability to display Video or footage superimposed on the viewer's field of view.
Amazon's smart glasses may be controlled by voice commands, and they are reportedly offering a bone-conduction audio system that transmits sound directly to the wearer's head through the vibrating skull.The device's design looks like normal Glasses, and wirelessly connected to the smart phone.
Intel plans to turn to Olympus for business users
Intel canceled plans to develop Project Alloy, its wireless VR unit, and terminated its AR brand Recon, accessories for sports and safety glasses.
According to RoadToVR, Intel is still developing AR / VR products as the company stated: 'We will continue to invest in and develop technologies that will drive the next generation of AR / VR experiences, including Movidius for visual processing , Intel RealSense depth sensing and 6-degree-of-freedom solutions, as well as technologies including Intel WiGig, Thunderbolt and Intel Optane. '
Meanwhile, companies like Olympus hope AR / VR will gain a foothold in the growing corporate market Olympus launched EyeTrek Insight EI-10 smart glasses this month to compete with Google Glass Enterprise Edition.
EyeTrek uses a pluggable battery life of about 1 hour.It uses Olympus development tools to execute open source software on Android 4.2.2.The headset includes a 640x400 OLED display with 13 degree field of view, camera, microphone, Three motion-tracking sensors, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, 1GB RAM, and a clip for connecting the device to prescription lenses or safety glasses.
EyeTrek is one of a number of AR / VR solutions as more and more incumbents target specific applications in the enterprise that have clear ROI advantages, given the wide range of usage scenarios, niche markets and niche markets Some companies are expected to gain a firm foothold in the business or consumer market at the same time.
Compile: Susan Hong