Oculus Rift ‘Crystal Cove’ Prototype Officially Best Of CES Winner


oculus-riftThings have been promising from the very beginning of the Oculus story. The first time we laid our eyes on the Oculus Rift, it was a Kickstarter campaign back in 2012. First, it gained attention by raising more than 2 million dollars on Kickstarter. Soon after, well known game developer John Carmack jumped in the game by becoming the company's CTO. Until recently, we've only had the option of sitting in front of a display to play games. Virtual Reality has always been seen as something we dream about and not within our grasp. But if you had the chance to snap on the Oculus Rift headset, you wouldn't be stunned to learn that as of now, Oculus has raised over 90 million dollars in funding. The company is systematically refining and updating the Oculus Rift prototype. The latest model, code-named 'Crystal Cove', was unveiled at CES. The virtual reality headset has gone through major transformations; impressing consumers enough to be a big winner at CES.

Gadget Show IntelWhereas the Oculus Rift development kit had a 720p display, the most obvious improvement is its full 1080p video for each eye. This higher resolution means the virtual gaming experience will be intensified by a sharper and more natural picture. Apparently the experience is so profound, it is almost easy to forget about all that goes into the hardware. However, another technical jump Oculus engineers have made is a drastic decrease in blur. Because of motion data being slightly out of sync, blur was a major issue with the Rift. The headset experience involves a lot of moving and tilting your head, therefore headache and nausea could be unfortunate side effects. The Crystal Cove cleared this up well by allowing the display to refresh only when synced up with the motion sensors.

oculus-rift2Finally, while the former Rift used accelerometers and internal motion sensors, infrared LEDs and a camera have been added to enhance motion tracking. This feature really sets it apart because now it's not just tracking the position of your body, but the degree of the Rift in relation to it. Therefore, head tracking is far more precise. You may lean back and forward and your virtual environment POV moves with you. The virtual 3D experience that comes with the Rift is so realistic and natural, that when take off the headset, you may suddenly feel like you don’t want to stop playing. This is because your body has been convinced it was actually moving around! Currently in prototype mode, Oculus is now available for game developers to use and experiment with. But it goes beyond that. The company has sold developer kits to companies of all sorts, including the automobile industry and NASA. Businesses, like NASA for example, are already benefiting from the technology by creating virtual tours of Mars. Forbes magazine refers to this capitalization on VR as the “Oculus Rift effect”. However, a time line in getting the set into the hands of gamers is unknown, and the company remains silent about price and release date.

Topics: Technology News CES - Consumer Electronics Show Display Screen Technology Gadgets & Peripherals Inventions & Innovations

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