So was CES 2020 amazing for the virtual reality (VR) industry? There was some interesting tech shown but there wasn’t a lot of truly standout advancements. One that did gain a lot of attention was Panasonic’s VR Eyeglasses, a rather stylish looking device which could actually make VR look cool. VRFocus managed to not only demo a prototype model but also spoke with Panasonic’s Makoto Morise to learn more about the project.
It was four years ago that VRFocus first reported on Panasonic developing a head-mounted display (HMD) with a kit which connected to a PC whilst employing glasses like ergonomics for wearability. That initial glasses like aesthetic has proven to be a core design choice with the latest CES 2020 design looking like some high-tech sunglasses.
It’s the look of the headset which has attracted such interest from media and consumer alike, moving away from the often bulky VR devices currently seen on the market. Yet there compromises with the design such as 3DoF, instead of 6DoF, limiting user interaction for gaming purposes. On the other hand, the headset features a 2k micro OLED display for each eye, offering 4K content consumption of standard and 360-degree videos.
There are other interesting design choices such as the IPD adjustment, the eye cowling to avoid light leakage and the use of Technics audio for high fidelity sound. Check out VRFocus’ hands-on article to see what we thought of the early prototype.
Morise, Industry Alliance and Partnership executive at Panasonic R&D Company of America was on hand to chat about the prototype and detail a little more information about this new product and its debut showcase at CES 2020.
VRFocus will continue its coverage of Panasonic’s VR Eyeglasses as development progresses and keep an eye out for further CES 2020 interviews coming in the following days.