The Verge Chinese Station reported on October 28
At Microsoft's just-concluded conference, the most eye-catching is undoubtedly the new Surface Studio one desktop, but Microsoft also launched a big move in the field of virtual reality: that is a new set of independent built-in tracking sensors, sale The price is less than 299 US dollars (approximately 2027 yuan) virtual reality headset.
Microsoft's partners include major PC manufacturers such as Asus, Acer, Lenovo, Hewlett-Packard, and Dell, and at the press conference, Microsoft showed only a little, but did not do too much introduction. But when we experience more of what this virtual reality platform can do after the conference, we also know what this means for Microsoft.
"We have worked with top PC vendors and hope to carry a series of virtual reality headsets that sell for less than $299 and we can meet with users in 2017." Microsoft said on its official Twitter site.
So for Microsoft's virtual reality platform, we must have a look at seven points.
6 degree independent tracking from inside to outside is significant
The big selling point of Microsoft's virtual reality platform is the use of 6-degree tracking technology from the inside out. If Microsoft is successful, this means a major breakthrough in the field of virtual reality. 6-degree free tracking refers to tracking the user's position in space, not just tracking the user's head position change. This feature is also an important distinction between high-end virtual reality devices and inexpensive devices such as the Oculus Rift, Gear VR, or Google Cardboard.
Although many virtual reality systems currently support 6-degree free tracking, most of them require external trackers to be equipped, such as the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, and require more complex settings, and the mobility is also more limited. Microsoft’s virtual reality platform does not rely on an external camera or locator to track changes in the user’s position. Instead, it uses the built-in sensors to detect the uniqueness of the wearer’s space and to perform data matching. According to Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s CEO, this means that users do not need to provide dedicated mobile space for the virtual reality system. Instead, they can move freely as long as they wear headphones.
What is the difference with HoloLens
Obviously, Microsoft's HoloLens is an augmented reality device (Microsoft prefers to call it mixed reality) that can fuse virtual holographic projections into the surrounding real world environment. The virtual reality device completely isolates us from the surrounding environment and covers the entire virtual element in the field of vision. Although both can load the same 3D object, the virtual reality device will actually be a completely virtual environment, and HoloLens will add virtual objects to the environment we can see.
In fact, there are some similarities between the two, such as HoloLens also uses an internal tracking method.
How much can I move?
This is actually a question worth paying attention to. Because of adopting the internal and external tracking method, this independent head-mounted device theoretically can completely follow the user's movement. As long as there is a certain physical space, the headset can tell. Where do you go? However, in reality, this requires the cooperation of hardware and software to accurately track long-distance locations. HoloLens allows us to move throughout the room, but the world looks at the actual experience, if the edge moves, the effect will be somewhat affected.
In the presentation of the conference, the moving distance is not too large, but it moves from one segment to another, but this is a huge improvement compared to devices like Gear VR. After all, we don’t feel that we’re moving. Nausea and dizziness. And this already has a similar experience with head-mounted devices such as HTC Vive and Oculus Rift.
Computer configuration requirements
From the current point of view, Microsoft's new virtual reality platform is not as completely independent as HoloLens, and it also needs to rely on Windows 10 system computer equipment. However, unlike Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, which puts quite high demands on the PC configuration, the computer that drives the Microsoft virtual reality device at the conference should be just an ordinary Lenovo Yoga notebook, not a professional game PC. This means that Microsoft's virtual reality platform is not too demanding on the PC configuration, but it also means that the ability to parse graphics is also more general.
On the other hand, it is worth noting that both HP and Dell offer their own virtual reality backpack products, and they use their own Omen and Alienware brands. Currently, only HTC Vive is currently supported, but I believe that in the future it will also be perfectly adapted to Microsoft's VR headset.
How to control
The controller is already a very important aspect of the virtual reality device, including the HTC, Sony PlayStation VR has released its own controller, and the Oculus Touch is also on sale in December. Even Google's Daydream VR platform also provides a simple controller for operation.
At the press conference, Microsoft did not show us a dedicated controller. It was just like HoloLens on the stage to interact with the headset through voice. If Microsoft uses HoloLens's camera technology in a virtual reality system, it can even recognize the user's facial movements. Although this is not the most effective control method, it at least neatly solves the basic interaction problem without using any new hardware. For more complex operations, users can continue to use the keyboard, mouse, and gamepad.
Relationship with Oculus
A year ago, Microsoft and Oculus seemed to have a very happy relationship, Oculus Rift would be compatible with Xbox One's handles, and the Oculus Rift could also run some Xbox One games. However, there was no follow-up news for this cooperation, and Oculus was not seen in this conference. However, if you understand the previous Oculus conference, you can guess that the relationship between the two should have been terminated.
You can say that Microsoft's virtual VR system is completely different from the HTC Vive or Oculus Rift in tracking from the inside out, and can be used independently, but just a few weeks ago at the Oculus conference, the latter also announced a development. Codenamed Santa Cruz, an independent virtual reality headset prototype. Although from Microsoft's demo, their own virtual reality devices are not independent, they still need to connect with the PC. However, if the two companies continue to cooperate, this line should disappear.
When is the official release, how is the price
At present, we do not know the exact name of the Microsoft Virtual Reality System device and do not know what it will eventually look like. Microsoft said that its virtual reality headset will be officially released in 2017 and is currently being described as part of the 3D upgrade plan for the Windows 10 Creators Update system. If you want to know all the information, at least wait until next spring. We should see more news at WinHec in Shenzhen, China next year.
As for the price, Microsoft has already stated that the price is 299 US dollars (about 2030 yuan), compared to 399 US dollars (about 2700 yuan) PlayStation VR, 599 US dollars (about 4060 yuan) Oculus Rift and 799 US dollars The HTC Vive (about RMB 5,417) is cheap. However, specific prices should be different for different vendors. At the same time, Myerson said that because of the amazing results, Microsoft's virtual reality device prices will not be too low, of course, does not rule out the occasional special models.
At present, Microsoft's promise still has some elements that are not yet fully realized in current mainstream virtual reality technologies, and it looks very different. So far, all the virtual reality headsets on the market have been almost unveiled, and prices are often higher than we expected. Before Microsoft fully publishes more details of its own virtual reality system, we should consider who will become its competitor, at least strictly speaking, the Oculus Rift and the HTC Vive cannot be considered. Of course, if Microsoft can recruit more partners, this is also a very exciting product. (Author: Adi Robertson compiled: Human)
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