Researchers Find Way To Shrink a VR Headset Down To Normal Glasses Size (pcgamer.com) 51
Researchers from Stanford University and Nvidia have teamed up to help develop VR glasses that look a lot more like regular spectacles. PC Gamer reports: "A major barrier to widespread adoption of VR technology, however, is the bulky form factor of existing VR displays and the discomfort associated with that," the research paper published at Siggraph 2022 says. These aptly named "Holographic Glasses" can deliver a full-colour 3D holographic image using optics that are only 2.5mm thick. Compared to the traditional way a VR headset works, in which a lens magnifies a smaller display some distance away from it, shrinking all the prerequisite parts down to such a small size is quite the spectacular step forward for VR.
The Holographic Glasses prototype uses pancake lenses, which is a concept that has been thrown around a couple of times in the past few years. These pancake lenses not only allow for a much smaller profile but reportedly they have a few other benefits, too: the resolution they can offer is said to be unlimited, meaning you can crank up the resolution for VR headsets, and they offer a much wider field of view at up to 200 degrees. [...] The research paper lists the glasses as such: "a coherent light source that is coupled into a pupil-replicating waveguide, which provides the illumination for a phase-only SLM that is mounted on the waveguide in front of the user's eye. This SLM creates a small image behind the device, which is magnified by a thin geometric phase (GP) lens."
Though, it's very much a promise of what's to come more than an immediately shippable product today. There are some limitations: while there's scope to have a much higher FOV than current generation VR headsets, this particular wearable prototype only offered an FOV of 22.8 degrees. The benchtop prototype offered even less, at only 16.1 degrees. "[The FOV] is far smaller than commercially available VR/AR displays. However, the FOV was mainly limited by the size of the available SLM and the focal length of the GP lens, both of which could be improved with different components," the researchers say. Another limitation is the likely requirement for a very accurate measurement of the user's pupil, which won't be easy without a well-thought-out design. It would be possible to use an infrared gaze tracker to do this, the researchers note, but you'd need to be able to track the wearer's pupil size constantly as they will adjust often to different light conditions while using the glasses.
The Holographic Glasses prototype uses pancake lenses, which is a concept that has been thrown around a couple of times in the past few years. These pancake lenses not only allow for a much smaller profile but reportedly they have a few other benefits, too: the resolution they can offer is said to be unlimited, meaning you can crank up the resolution for VR headsets, and they offer a much wider field of view at up to 200 degrees. [...] The research paper lists the glasses as such: "a coherent light source that is coupled into a pupil-replicating waveguide, which provides the illumination for a phase-only SLM that is mounted on the waveguide in front of the user's eye. This SLM creates a small image behind the device, which is magnified by a thin geometric phase (GP) lens."
Though, it's very much a promise of what's to come more than an immediately shippable product today. There are some limitations: while there's scope to have a much higher FOV than current generation VR headsets, this particular wearable prototype only offered an FOV of 22.8 degrees. The benchtop prototype offered even less, at only 16.1 degrees. "[The FOV] is far smaller than commercially available VR/AR displays. However, the FOV was mainly limited by the size of the available SLM and the focal length of the GP lens, both of which could be improved with different components," the researchers say. Another limitation is the likely requirement for a very accurate measurement of the user's pupil, which won't be easy without a well-thought-out design. It would be possible to use an infrared gaze tracker to do this, the researchers note, but you'd need to be able to track the wearer's pupil size constantly as they will adjust often to different light conditions while using the glasses.
If I'm understanding this right... (Score:5, Interesting)
They don't have a light source, they just have a modulator that is similar to the kind we used to use to project computer screens via an overhead projector designed for transparency sheets. So basically an LCD without the backlight. Ambient light is used to light the display.
From there they have a waveguide that brings the image into focus, based on the wearer's pupil size. They don't seem to have solved the pupil tracking issue yet.
It's interesting technology, but the pupil tracking will add bulk and without a built in light source whatever they project will show the background through it.
Re:If I'm understanding this right... (Score:4, Interesting)
The built in light source isn't an issue, that will be resolved by mLED / OLED, or just adding a backlight which will be a whole mm of additional thickness.
The story here is their optics.
Mind you the pupil tracking issue is real. There's no point having an ultra high res ultra wide FOV display if you need a supercomputer to display said image. Pupil tracking is a pre-requisite to foveated rendering which would make higher resolution VR viable.
Re:If I'm understanding this right... (Score:5, Informative)
The do have a light source - what the the summary somewhat euphemistically calls a "coherent light source", I guess if they said it shoots laser beams into your eyes people would be less inclined to try it out.
The paper explains the coherent light source is actually three laser diodes (red, green & blue).
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Ah, makes sense. Colour image can be created using a monochrome LCD then.
Cost ? (Score:3)
Spectacles, testicles, wallet, and watch (Score:3, Funny)
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there is nothing that would want me to own a VR headset
come on, how about the eternal fame that comes with having an entry in FailArmy's new genre of "VR headset wearer walks into things" videos
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If they can get the size down, I think AR (augmented reality) will likely be more useful and profitable than VR.
The technical capabilities are already there for cars. For instance, instead of trying to perfect self driving cars,
if they used the same technology in a HUD (heads up display) to highlight the lines on the road during a
rainstorm so they can reduce accidents during rainstorms by 50%. They could use the same technology to
highlight kids or other objects in the road allowing the driver to more quic
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Indeed. And even if this should work out, the software side is nowhere near ready.
headache (Score:1)
Eyestrain causes headaches (Score:2)
Re: headache (Score:2)
link to youtube video of glasses (Score:3)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
The first comment has a link to a Q&A video.
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Porn.
What else?
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Porn.
What else?
Agreed. Don't know about movies, but cam-girls (and boys) will be providing interaction and porn games will as well. The advantage is that for porn the price-point can be way higher as long as it actually works than for other content.
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The real problem is no one needs an artificial world.
No one needs slashdot either, yet here we are doing things we *want*.
essentially a new and more obnoxious facebook able
Not entirely sure what playing games or watching porn has to do with social networking. Is 100% of what you know about VR taken from Meta's marketing materials? I suggest you broaden your scope a bit.
Rather than discuss this technology or that, why not discuss where this is heading and what damage to society will come.
Turn off the internet because hackers exist? If you want to discuss the relative evils of specific actors than do that. This is about VR, it's a technology.
Re: What for? (Score:2)
VR's only killer app ever is being used as a SciFi plot device. The tech developed for it may lead to something useful though.
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Try "only killer app so far" and I'll agree. Predicting the future is hard, but if decent technology shows up, there will be a killer app. Most of the one's I've thought of require working haptic feedback (in a strong sense) and dedicated environments though. And many of them would be improved if it also added smell-o-vision. (Think, e.g., of hiking parties.)
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I don't see why VR goggles requires some fundamentally different societal paradigm or anything.
There's this 'Metaverse' stuff, but that's an aside. E.g. Second Life made a run at that concept way before VR would have been part of the strategy. Some enthusiasts/companies may be hoping that VR goggles and motion controls finally enable what they dream of, but there's no more of a prereq on Metaverse for VR then there was a prereq for the same concept for 3D graphics.
Meanwhile, the technology does open up a c
Smaller glasses, heck yeah I'm in (Score:4, Interesting)
I definitely welcome some way smaller wireless headsets/glasses.
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The bad thing for me is the right lens fogs up for some reason so I have to do a quick remove and wipe.
[John]
forgive me for pessimism (Score:1)
But Google Glass was even closer to normal spectacles than this and it still did not take off.
Of course, there was rather overreacting privacy movement resistance agains Google Glass as well...
Re: forgive me for pessimism (Score:2)
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Well, the cardboard is a neat parlor trick, but:
-Lackluster software support - it's pretty much abandonware at this point, never was popular
-Fundamental limitations of the strategy - dust on screen, clunky controls, imprecise alignment depending on how the phone seats, only 3DOF, etc
-Discomfort of the design - In recognition of how limited it was, Google specified among other things 'no headstrap'.
The whole point of this article is suggesting that there may be another way better ergonomic design to further
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Cardboard only allows 3DOF? Weird. Most phones have enough accelerometer axes for 6DOF (3.)
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Problem is that 6DOF acceleration ins't good enough for actual tracking.
So it can know orientation (accelerometers overwhelming showing a force in one consistent direction, there's gravity then...) but not translation. In theory a perfect accelerometer with infinite sampling and precision could provide velocity, but they are in practice limited and so must be frequently corrected by something that can measure position (e.g. camera data). Attempts to try to extrapolate position based on accelerometers alon
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Well, note that Google Glass among other things was kind of lame, a tiny sliver of AR reflected off one eye (as well as the privacy concerns about always-on cameras that aren't as obvious as people holding their phones in the air).
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Most of the privacy concerns of google glass are, IMO, based heavily around the spotlight effect. I believe them to generally be musings of people who simply believe themselves or their activities to be far more important to others than they actually are.
looking forward to it (Score:2)
part of the value of the headset is (Score:2)
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When the VR glasses are the size of normal glasses you can just wear something over them to block out the light, because they won't be so bulky that you can't do that. Think opaque over-glasses safety glasses, or a blindfold similar to a neck gaiter. Or just some side attachments like those sunglasses from the 70s
Just one problem left to solve (Score:1)
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Figuring out a way to get people to be remotely interested in VR.
Based on exponential increase in sales figures I doubt that's as much of a problem as you think.
Slashdot, where math is modded down (Score:1)
Lol, you kids with your New Math!
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Then to be more specific, Quest 2 has moved 15 million units, which is less than PS5, but not by as much as one might guess (20 million), more than Wii U sold (which wasn't too successful). Over it's life, I wouldn't be surprised if it lands about the same number of units as the N64.
It may not be on track to take over the world, but it has certainly has a viable target market.
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Yes and I own one and it was a waste of money. I let my friends try it out so they can save their money.
I also own a ps4 and a ps5 which are both pretty good for their respective eras. Enough that I stopped PC gaming when I got the ps4. My friend's Xbox is equally entertaining.
But the Quest 2 is pointless and useless. You can fool some of the people some of the time but you can't fool anyone twice.
This tech is dead until they create a reason for it to exist.
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On the flip side, I have my Quest 1 compelling.
Biggest problem is.. well.. Meta being the company with most prolific product. Product features may be good, but hate the company and the goals associated with it.
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What do you do with it? Mine collects dust.
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Put the word million behind it and you may have a point. Without the word million what you actually have is called "ignorance".
Researchers Find Way To Shrink a VR Headset Down (Score:2)
It would be nice if BeauHD either: read and understood the subjects posted or, quite bullshitting what it was about.
Doesn't even cover all the viewable angles (Score:2)
I was thinking about something that looked more like sport glasses like Oakleys. But the ones in the article don't come close to covering the full field of vision. Regular glasses are bad enough when you can see the frames and stuff in your periphery isn't focused the same. It's going to be bad with glasses that are trying to display virtual reality while you see something else in the periphreral.
Only part of the solution (Score:2)
This is an impressive achievement to be sure but it's only part of the solution. The other part is writing software that adapts to human nature. One of the big reasons why 3D films and VR experiences fail is that the content creators insist on showing you what they want you to see. It's sort of a high-tech Plato's Cave. Humans don't like their views restricted. Humans want to be able to look anywhere at any time which means everything in the VR/3D world has to be in focus and have the same level of det
Dial-in correction please (Score:2)
If you can dial in correction for near and far sightedness during use, you vastly increase the odds of me giving a shit.
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Hehehe, yes. Finally live becomes exciting and dangerous again!
What about augmented reality applications? (Score:2)