The pain in my vrAse...

As mentioned previously, I recently became backers of two projects on Kickstarter, one called "360specs" and the other "vrAse".  Both of these campaigns launched around the same time and, while at first looking very similar to one another, these two are as different as night is from day. After the first few weeks of both their campaigns, the vrAse is on track to reach its funding goals, while the 360specs have yet to reach even five percent of their target. This however, may not just be because of a slick marketing campaign and active community like there is with the vrAse. Upon further investigation, the 360specs use fresnel lenses, which, according to Palmer Luckey (the inventor of the RIFT) "... kill contrast, add a variety of annoying artifacts, and don't actually save all that much weight. They don't help with form factor, either; Fresnels cannot come close to matching the focal length/magnification of other optics tech." (source). The vrAse use aspherical lenses, which is what the Oculus RIFT uses, however that is where the similarities end.

Before I go into detail about the differences between the two lens types, it is important to remember a few things about both campaigns. Both are effectively "only" a pair of head mounted holders for your smartphone/device, along with some form of optics to provide the required distortion for total immersion. No electronics, no software, just a plastic case that holds your smartphone (or even tablet) and the relevant lens of the projects choice. While 360specs hints at Unity integration, vrAse seems to be suggesting some sort of a custom ROM/Launcher in the form of the AetherAR (link) as their go-to solution. IMHO, vrAse seem to be overstating just how much of it you will be able to actually do with current model smartphone technology. While hinting at engine integration and 3D movie watching, it doesnt look as though either the vrAse or 360specs will be offering any software/SDK directly, instead rellying on developers to offer solutions along with made-for-VR applications etc.

vrAse photorealistic render (not actual product)

360specs early prototype

Ray Latypov, the creator of the 360specs (and inventor of the Virtusphere, a VR locomation device) says that fresnel lenses "...allows wider field of view; light weight, cost effective and give others flexibility in design...". Compartively, the Oculus RIFT and the vrAse use bi-convex lenses, while the 360specs have chosen plano-convex lenses. What all that geek-speak basically means is that the lenses in the 360specs are flat on one side while the vrAse lens types, like the RIFT, are convex on both sides of the lens.

While the concept of this sort of 3D viewer isn't new, it is only in recent times that smartphone technology has started to pack the required hardware/software and sensor fusion required to create an immersive experience. Projects like FOV2GO (link) and Durovis's opendive project (link) show how, outside of the kickstarter community, users can create their own versions of what vrAse and similar projects offer. For example, purchasing the opendive lens kit and 3D printing the case and holder, can end up being relatively cheap to make a DIY version. One caveat however, is that unless your smart device supports direct USB connections and/or has appropriate software, additional hardware (such as certain controllers, external sensors, positional tracking etc) will not work "out of the box". This could be a bit of an issue when encountering things like drift and other problems that introduce disconnects between the virtual world and the user.

opendive3D demo running one of the four stereoscopic demo's

For those who are, like myself, skeptical as to just how low-latency something like an integrated graphics chip and an on-board gyro/accelerometer can be - there is an example that you can get running on your android based device right now. Using a smartphone with this opendive demo app (link), you can get an idea of what sort of experience your device may provide. Keep in mind, however, that as far as high fidelity graphics are concerned, even if your smart device has the latest Tegra based GPU and cutting edge display - it is unlikely that you will come anywhere near close to the fidelity of  a dedicated setup like the Oculus RIFT can offer, for obvious reasons. Especially once the consumer version of the RIFT hits the market sometime in late 2014/ early 2015. Of course, as smart phone technology improves, we will see advancements in these fields and I think that, despite these current limitations, the potential is definately there. Perhaps not as a direct competitor for the RIFT,  more like a low-cost/entry point into the emerging virtual world(s). The portability of a setup like this definately has its appeal, even when compared to a RIFT and laptop configuration. It seems to me that these sort of products are geared more towards the "casual gamer" and other, less tech-savy crowds.

The one thing I do dislike about the vrAse project (aside from the misleading marketing in the Kickstarter and on their website), is the name of the product. Personally, while I think it could benifit from a better name ("mybae tehy suohld rtehnik tehir pdorcut nmae?"), having something that encourages discussions on forums can only help a Kickstarter project acheive notoriety. While this sort of thing may not get the developer support at the same level as something like a dedicated HMD can, fortunately much of the content developed for VR can be ported relatively easily. Obviously, however, current issues facing development using distortion shaders and optics that involve UI (user interface) and resolution/Pixels per inch(PPI)/aspect ratio will continue with products like this and other VR HMD devices.

In other news and before this post becomes TLDR, I will wind it up by mentioning the STEM kickstarter by Sixense (here). Effectively, a wireless version of the Hydra with improvements in tracking and many other areas, the STEM system was funded within four hours of its campaign launch. By funding production through Kickstarter, Sixense have been able to avoid Razer's bloated software and drivers. Also, HAWKEN continues its open-beta with very much alpha Oculus RIFT integration being provided in its massive Ascension patch. It still requires manual IPD adjustment, additional tweaking and the text is quite unreadable (the alpha support was designed for the HD version of the devkit). However, I did not get as much motion sickness as the last time I tried it and clipping outside of the mech/kill cam issues have been addressed with hints at future HUD integration also on display. A more detailed post discussing my experiences with this will follow soon.