finch technologies – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

January 23, 2019

Finch Technologies Interview: Bringing 6DoF Control to Everyone

Over the course of CES 2019 VRFocus saw some interesting and awesome technology for both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) use. One company demonstrating a rather unique controller system was Finch Technologies, with its FinchShift controllers and FinchTrackers. So naturally, VRFocus had to sit down with CEO and Co-founder of the company Gary Yamamoto to find out more.

FinchShift

The whole purpose of FinchShift is to bring six degrees-of-freedom control (6DoF) to a wide variety of platforms, not just VR. The system has been designed to allow pure 360-degree, room-scale freedom with just a pair of controllers and a pair of armband mounted FinchTrackers, whether you’re using a basic Samsung Gear VR or headset slightly more high tech like HTC Vive Focus.

In VRFocus’ hands-on preview from last week we wrote: “From what VRFocus saw of FinchShift and the FinchTrackers, it looks to be one of the best systems yet to provide out-of-the-box room-scale control for a wide variety of VR and non-VR systems.”

Yamamoto explains that thanks to a combination of the FinchShift hardware and software the company developed, its able to accurately model a person’s entire upper body, to track it real-time in VR, all from four data points. In the future Finch Technologies plans to release a skeletal model for the lower body, all users would need are additional Finch Trackers.

FinchShift

He goes on to explain the different use cases wireless 6DoF controllers are suitable for, mentioning, in particular, the healthcare space for training purposes. This is one of the reasons why the FinchShift controllers have those additional lights on them, allowing headsets with cameras to perform even finer calibrations when setting up, for such tasks as simulating surgery.

Currently, the FinchShift controllers aren’t quite ready for widespread consumer rollout. You can order them from the Finch Technologies website for $249 – which includes the two FinchShift controllers and two FinchTrackers – but they’re more geared towards developer at the moment as the system does come supplied with the software development kit (SDK).

Check out the full interview with Yamamoto below, and for further updates on FinchShift, keep reading VRFocus.

January 17, 2019

Hands-on: 6DoF Tracker Free Control With FinchShift

When it comes to awesome immersive virtual reality (VR), one of the major factors VRFocus wants is freedom, complete wireless freedom to run around digital worlds to our heart’s content. And this is happening, not at lightning speed but it is still happening. But we’re not just talking about untethered headsets like Oculus Quest or HTC Vive Focus, it’s about freeing those last shackles like external sensors or tracking systems that lose a controller at a certain point. Which is where Finch Technologies comes in with its FinchShift controllers.

FinchShift

While tracking solutions like those found on Oculus Rift and HTC Vive are nice and accurate, you’re constrained to the room the sensors a located in. Which is why headsets like Windows Mixed Reality or Oculus Quest have inside-out tracking using cameras on the front to pinpoint where the controllers are and where the user is in the room (so you don’t bump into stuff). Again these have limits depending on where the lenses are and how many there are, so you might not be able to perform an action like grabbing an item from over your shoulder.

And what about devices like Oculus Go and Samsung Gear VR which don’t have any cameras on. They have 3 degrees of freedom (3DoF) control input, but that’s highly limiting when it comes to VR. During CES 2019 last week Finch Technologies showcased its solution, 6DoF, wireless controllers that don’t require additional cameras or wall mounted sensors.

This kind of feels like a fairy tale in its promise yet VRFocus found that the FinchShift controllers did exactly as described, supplying room-scale, 360-degree tracking with all the other fluff. This is achieved thanks to the latest IMU sensor technology by Bosch Sensortec. What this physically meant was a maximum of four parts to the entire system, depending on how much control you want. For example, the hand-controllers by themselves are in fact 3DoF, much like Oculus Go’s controller. The magic happens when users add the armband which also has the sensor tech inside. This instantly turns the 3DoF controller in 6DoF, on one arm, thusly for full immersive control, add another controller and armband – they’re actually called FinchTrackers – and you have full wireless freedom.

FinchShift

The demo Finch Technologies chose to use was very much like Fruit Ninja VR and incorporated the HTC Vive Focus, with a sword in one hand and a shield in the other, with the task being to slice up as many enemies as possible in the given time. Using all four units the system was calibrated by stretching your arms out straight and bring both controllers together.

The actual controllers themselves are very lightweight and comfortable to hold, with a really nice grip button nestled into the overall housing. The demo area was very small so swinging movements couldn’t be too outlandish. The videogame required a lot of very quick movements and while slower movements were accurately portrayed, there was some noticeable latency when wildly waving the sword around trying to hit a flurry of incoming opponents.

You may have also have noticed the white markers on each device. FinchShift actually has two calibration systems built in, the standard consumer version which VRFocus tried and found to be suitably accurate and then the enterprise-focused calibration which uses the markers. These are actually lights and can be used in conjunction with camera systems to fine tune the tracking calibration even further should a business need the increased accuracy for a particular use case.

FinchShift

From what VRFocus saw of FinchShift and the FinchTrackers, it looks to be one of the best systems yet to provide out-of-the-box room-scale control for a wide variety of VR and non-VR systems. It’s not cheap, with a full set costing $249 to pre-order. Yet new tech like this never is. It does on the other hand showcase what’s possible and what we all could be using in the next few years.

January 3, 2019

6DOF Controller FinchShift to Support Multiple Standalone Headsets via Vive Wave

Mobile VR motion controller manufacturer Finch Technologies today announced it’s working with Qualcomm and HTC to deliver its six degrees of freedom (6DOF) FinchShift controllers to a multitude of devices supporting Vive Wave.

Back in November 2018, HTC revealed that 15 hardware manufacturers had already adopted Vive Wave, the company’s open platform offering interoperability between several classes of mobile VR headsets and accessories—including HTC’s standalone VR headset Vive Focus.

An upcoming Vive Wave SDK release is said to include support for FinchShift, which will bring support for the controllers to a “wide range of devices and headsets and work with both iOS and Android operating systems,” Finch says in a press statement.

Qualcomm is also confirming FinchShift compatibility with its Snapdragon 845 VRDK, a standalone VR headset reference design that gained Vive Wave support shortly after it was revealed early last year. As Qualcomm’s latest VRDK, the headset essentially gives prospective manufactures a basis for creating their own headsets, and of course turn-key access to HTC’s mobile version of its Viveport app store.

FinchShift is a mobile 6DOF controller that lets users engage in room-scale experiences without the need of basestations or external sensors of any kind. A pair of FinchTracker armbands come along with the kit, providing additional points of tracking data.