The concept and invention of virtual reality as we know it was starting development in the late 50’s and early 60’s, 20 years ago virtual reality was in its consumer adoption infancy. One of the first attempts at mass market consumer VR was Nintendo’s Virtual Boy. While there are numerous theories about why the Virtual Boy didn’t do well in consumer markets, one thing that is often overlooked is the actual technology used to create the product wasn’t where it needed to be at the time. Modern day advances have catapulted the business of VR technology into the present with emerging VR small company development teams as well as major companies such as Sony, Microsoft, and Samsung now developing highly usable VR headsets.
Modern Day Implementation
Facebook | Oculus Rift
Facebook’s development of Oculus Rift has been a front runner in the virtual reality “face race” for quite some time. Now with a consumer model looking to be launched in 2016, other companies are gearing up their own development teams to be able to compete with Oculus Rift’s already large fan base. The consumer model “builds on the presence, immersion, and comfort of the Crescent Bay prototype with an improved tracking system that supports both seated and standing experiences, as well as a highly refined industrial design, and updated ergonomics for a more natural fit”.
Microsoft | HoloLens
The premier device for Windows Holographic,Microsoft HoloLens is a smart glasses unit that is a cordless, self-contained Windows 10 computer. It uses advanced sensors, a high-definition 3D optical head-mounted display, and spatial sound to allow for augmented reality applications, with a natural user interface that the user interacts with through gaze, voice, and hand gestures. HoloLens had been in development for five years before its announcement in 2015.
Microsoft expects HoloLens to be made available “in the Windows 10 timeframe” and priced for use in both the enterprise and consumer markets. An unnamed Microsoft executive said that HoloLens would cost significantly more than a game console and is more on the high-end entries into the VR “face race”.
Sony | Morpheus
Morpheus, Sony’s virtual reality headset for PlayStation 4 will launch in early 2016, Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony’s Worldwide Studios has announced.
The company revealed an updated version of its device, which encases the wearer’s eyes to give the sense of having bodily entered the environment rendered on its visor-like screen.
Morpheus now features an OLED display with 1080p resolution capable of generating images at 120 frames per second, twice the performance of the model unveiled at last year’s Game Developers’ Conference. There will also be less than 18 millisecond latency (the delay before a user’s head movements are represented on screen), which Yoshida claimed is indistinguishable from the way in which humans perceive the real world.
Where Virtual Reality Is Headed
Virtual Reality is only going to continue to rise and penetrate the consumer market in many ways according to reports by KZero. These reports extensively surveyed the current landscape and made predictions about the future from their data. The future of virtual reality applications over the next few years ranging from a focus on gloves and bodysuits to further integrate the body into the sensations to small portable VR devices that integrate with your smartphone (Samsung Gear VR) or device anywhere and everywhere. Through this varied approach to VR integration, the marketplace for virtual reality companies looks to be a securely innovative field going forward.
View the KZero Reports here for more in-depth study on the virtual reality marketplace.
http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/vr-headset-sales-forecasts-and-market-penetration-2014-2018/
http://www.kzero.co.uk/blog/crossing-the-chasm-virtual-reality-launch-strategies-for-mass-adoption/