Fibrum is a Russian-based company that are trying various endeavours in the world of virtual reality (VR). This involved manufacturing a mobile VR headset called the Fibrum Pro, VR apps such as the Rollercoaster, VR Cinema or VR videogame Space Stalker whilst partnering up with StartApp to introduce new ways of bringing advertisement into VR. VRFocus spoke to Michael Bakaleinik, the Business Developoment Advisor of Fibrum at CES 2018 in Las Vegas to discuss Fibrum’s VR platform Desirium.
Fibrum has slowly veered away from manufacturing headsets and is now leaning more towards software. Their journey has led them to create Desirium, a VR platform that should be able to support various VR head-mounted displays (HMDs). Bakaleinik explains that at the moment there is a lot of hardware and not a lot of software developers to match it. At the moment Fibrum has 30 VR applications, most of which are VR videogames made for mobile devices that can be downloaded from the Google Play Store or the App Store for iPhones.
Fibrum are starting by having their content on the Desirium platform first and want to grow by introducing third-party content. They have already been speaking to a lot of 360-degree content producers to bring their content to the platform. Desirium will be available on standalone headsets from Oculus Go and Google Daydream to HTC Vive (this could also mean standalone headset Vive Focus). Bakaleinik explains that by creating Desirium Fibrum are addressing the problem of users having a VR HMD that costs over $100 USD, but with barely any content available. It seems that Fibrum’s target audience are the mobile VR users, not specifically 6 DoF VR content but rather the casual user.
When it comes to monetization, Fibrum will have a subscription model similar to the Viveport that would enable users to pay for access of three months, six months or a year. Users could also choose to buy their in-app currency in order to get access to specific applications. When it comes to developers or third-party content creators, they can choose to also follow Fibrum’s subscription or in-app currency model or offer their experience for free but with advertisements. Fibrum offer various different ways to use their platform, you can find out more about Fibrum and the way in which they’re approaching VR watch the video below. If you’re looking for other things that were showcased at CES, VRFocus did a little summary here.