Having completed a $31 million USD Series B investment last October, Varjo Technologies has today announced the launch of its enterprise-focused virtual reality (VR) headset, the Varjo VR-1.
The Varjo VR-1 has been designed as an industrial grade head-mounted display (HMD), ideal for those professionals who work in training and simulation, architecture, industrial design, engineering and construction. Two of the main features the company is touting is the Bionic Display and eye tracking technology.
Varjo’s Bionic Display is in actuallity two screens, the main ‘Context screen’ which delivers 1440×1600 per eye – similar to a HTC Vive Pro – and then a microdisplay or ‘focal screen’ which delivers a resolution of 60 pixels per degree (or 3000ppi) – which Varjo claims is the equivalent of 20/20 vision in humans. As the image below demonstrates this can make VR look amazing, although the field of view (FoV) only comes in at 87-degrees.
As for eye tracking, the Varjo VR-1 uses the company’s own in-house 20/20 Eye Tracker system, ‘enabling high-precision analytics and interaction’ claims Varjo.
“Premium cars can only be made with premium tools. To design in virtual reality, we need the high resolution of the Varjo device. With this high resolution there is a seamless transfer between the real world and the virtual world,” said Jan Pflueger, Coordination Augmented & Virtual Reality at Audi in a statement.
“The entire Varjo team has been hard at work for 2+ years to make nothing less than the best headset on the planet,” said Urho Konttori, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Varjo. “Nothing has been left to chance, nothing has been compromised and we are delighted that the response from our partners has been overwhelmingly positive. VR-1 marks the start of a new era in virtual reality for professionals.”
Supporting both SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 tracking, the Varjo VR-1 is compatible with software including Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and Unity. The headset retails for $5995 USD with an additional yearly service license of $995 USD. Sales and shipping of the VR-1 starts immediately in 34 countries including North America, Europe as well as Hong Kong. As you may expect for the price, the Varjo VR-1 is only available for businesses and academic institutions.
For any further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
Technical Specifications:
- Resolution:
Bionic Display
with human-eye resolution (over 60 PPD / 3000 PPI)
Combining 1920×1080 low persistence micro-OLED and 1440×1600 low persistence AMOLED - Optics:
Dual lens design combining different refractive index lenses for minimal color aberrations, zero ghost rays, and minimal reflections. Each surface coating has been methodically designed to maximise brightness and clarity of the light fusion needed to achieve human-eye resolution. - Colours:
Contrast ratio at over 10 000:1 enabling the deepest blacks
Individually calibrated colors, delivering outstanding accuracy & image quality - Eye tracking:
20/20 Eye Tracker with industry-leading accuracy and precision even with eye glasses
Automatic IPD adjustment - Field of view:
87 degrees - Connectivity:
Thin and light optical fiber cabling of 10-meter length with USB-C
Link Box for easy connection with PC - Tracking:
Compatible with SteamVR Tracking 1.0 and 2.0 - Comfort & wearability:
Active airflow system
Detachable head strap & adjustable headband
Easily replaceable face cushions in two different sizes
Can be used with glasses - Weight:
605g (including headband 905g) - Mixed Reality:
Upgradeable with Varjo Mixed Reality Add-on, available in 2019