The Oculus Touch includes two handheld wireless controlled designed to fit both left and right hands. With these controller you will be able to interact with the objects in virtual world. Each has analog sticks, an analog trigger and two buttons as well as haptic feedback called "hand trigger".
Each
Touch controller will need a single standard AA battery which should
give you 20 to 30 hours of usage, depending on the game your playing and
haptic feedback settings.
The Touch controllers are priced at $199 and will go on sale starting December 6. It also comes in a bundled package with the Rift VR headset, that will set you back by $798, bringing it in par with HTC's $800 Vive headset (controllers included). Pre-orders will open October 10. Those who pre-order will get two free games: VR Sports Challenge and The Unspoken.
Oculus also introduced $49 earbuds designed to work with Rift VR headset, which offers solid bass response. Pre-orders will begin October 10, and shipping starts December 6.
Intel at its 2106 Intel Developer Forum, San Francisco, showed off its all-in-one virtual reality headset called Project Alloy with RealSense technology. Unlike Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Project Valley is a wire-free VR headset and works as a standalone device, and does not need to attached to the computer. Instead, it derives its computing power from a Head-Mounted Device, allowing the user free range of motion. It uses Intel's RealSense camera technology to merges realities, which allows users to see and interact with the objects present in real world in virtual realitry. The cameras and sensors required to merge the two realities are embedded in the headset. Users can freely interact in VR without having to worry about obstacles in front of them, as the VR headset has sensors for detecting collision and bumps. Intel is also teaming up with Microsoft to optimize Windows-based content and experiences on Intel-based VR devices such as Alloy. Intel will make the Alloy ecosystem and APIs available for developers and partner in 2017, allowing them to create their own branded products from Alloy design.
China based device maker Pico has introduced a new virtual reality system called Pico Neo. The headset comes with screen and lenses, while the processing power of the VR unit are packed into a game controller.
Unlike traditional VR headsets, the Pico Neo doesn't cram the processor and
RAM into the headset, instead Neo's processor is packed into a gaming
controller. This has many advantages. First the headset will be very light, and second you don't have to worry about the headset getting too hot. You will also be able to purchase the headeset seperately, which will cost you less, and connect it to your PC, or purchase the whole bundle with the gaming controller to get an all-in-one Android VR kit.
The controller features 4GB RAM, 32GB eMMC 5.1 storage w/ microSD card, a six axis motion sensor, a USB 3.0 port, WiFi 802.11ac and Bluetooth 4.1. It runs a custom version of Android Marshmallow and is backed by a 5000mAh battery with Quick Charge 3.0 support that can last three hours of continuous usage or 10 hours in standby mode. The game controller has physical buttons and a tocuhpad on the back. The controller connects to the headset via USB-C cable.
The headset sports a 3.8-inch AMOLED display with a resolution of 1200 x 1800 pixels and features aspheric lenses with 102 degree field of view, as well as 9-axis motion sensor with 20ms maximum latency. It includes a 3.5mm jack, built-in micro-phone and micro USB port (for charging). For VR contents, Pico has its own VR app store which includes games like Audio Arena, Evil Robot, Traffic Jam, WaddleHome and more.
The Pico Neo will be available in late June for $500 with the controller, or for $300 without the controller. There's also a TrackingKit bundle, which appears to be offered seperately and includes two handheld motion controllers, a pair of tracking cameras, a TrackingKit Station and an attachable tracking beacon
Apart from unpacking the two new Galaxy flagship, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, Samsung has officially announced the Gear 360, a spherical shaped 360 degree virtual reality camera.
The Gear VR 360 is equipped with dual fisheye lenses, and both have CMOS 15-megapixel image sensors, capable of capturing high-resolution 3840 x 1920 360 degree videos that also supports 30-megapixel still images. It comes with DRIMe5s Image processor that helps the device in saving videos in MP4 format.
Users can shoot 180-degree wide angle video and images using only the one side of the camera lens. The Gear 360 provides Bright Lens F2.0, which creates high-res images even in low-light condition, where users can create panoramic videos. It has a user-friendly tripod and is compatible with a wider range of accessories and mounts which are currently available in market.
The Gear 360 sports a 0.5-inch 72 x 32 P-PMOLED that shows display number of images clicked, video recording duration, and other information. It is IP53 certified for water and dust resistance, comes with a microSD card slot (up to 128GB supported), and supports WiFi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac, WiFi Direct, Bluetooth 4.1, USB 2.0, NFC connectivity. Also on-board are accelerometer and gyroscope sensors.
The Gear 360 pairs with the Samsung smartphone via a dedicated app, and users can can preview content in real time when recording. They can also directly view the recorded content or edit it on their smartphone or upload and share directly to social channels including Facebook, YouTube and Google Street View. The app can be downloaded from Play Store or Galaxy Apps store.
The Gear 360 is compatible with the newly released Galaxy S7 and Galaxy S7 edge, Galaxy S6, Galaxy S6 edge, Galaxy S6 edge+ and Galaxy Note5. It will roll out starting Q2 2016 in select countries.
HTC at CES 2016 introduced the Vive Pre, the second generation developer edition for its VR headset, the HTC Vive.
The Vive Pre is built in partnership with Valve and gets new features and tweaks in the design hardware, including a front facing camera that can be used for augmented reality applications and not just virtual reality.
The Vive Pre comes with a smaller and compact headset, improved visuals with brighter display. The front facing camera will allow developers to blend physical elements into the virtual space which could be useful for training and education or for gaming.
The VR controllers have been enhanced with improved ergonomics and softer edges, improved balance, new textured button and grip pads for a more comfortable feel in the hand. The controller has a new dual stage trigger that makes interaction with objects smoother and haptic feed, to deliver vital feedback about your interactions with the virtual world. The controllers now have integrated rechargeable lithium polymer batteries with micro-USB charging that promises four hours of runtime on a single charge. HTC also said that the Vive VR headset will launch commercially in April. The company will make additional 7000 Vive units available for developer.
Nokia has forayed into the virtual reality arena by outing a virtual reality (VR) camera dubbed OZO. It is designed and built for professional content creator and helps capture 360-degree video and audio. The OZO is said to be the first in the portfolio of digital media
solutions from Nokia Technologies, the company's advanced technology and
licensing business. It will be manufactured in Finland. OZO captures stereoscopic 3D video through eight synchronized global shutter sensors and spatial audio through eight integrated microphones. The OZO software has been built to enable real-time 3D viewing. The recorded content can be published to virtual reality hardware such as commercially available headsets. Nokia alongside also announced that Palo Alto-based VR
production company Jaunt has committed to support OZO by offering the camera for use in Jaunt
Studios and by supporting content produced with OZO through its
post-production services. The OZO VR camera is expected to start shipping in Q4 2015. Details about pricing and full technical specifications will be announced soon.
