microsoft mixed reality controllers – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

October 28, 2017

HP Microsoft Mixed Reality Headset & Controllers Unboxing Video

Holiday season is almost upon us and fthose of you who have want to purchase a Christmas gift may be considering of buying one of Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Headsets. If you need a quick run-down of the latest mixed reality (MR) headsets available from Microsoft, check out VRFocus’s rundown here. Since then, Microsoft announced a fall update, and VRFocus expect more developers to support the MR headsets. In short, expect more videogames, applications and experiences coming to Microsoft’s platform. Just a quick note that for gamers who aren’t sure about the headsets, Microsoft’s MR headsets will support SteamVR as well as support social virtual reality (VR) application AltSpace VR.

In the video below Dr. John Holder, Head of Technology & Special Projects of VR from the Realities Centre, unboxes HP’s Microsoft’s Mixed Reality Headset and controllers. The HP MR headset came in its own box and the two controllers in their own separate box. John goes through the weight of the headset, the comfort, wires, the controllers and the potential ability to hack into the controllers.

VRFocus will also be creating a set-up guide on how to install a Microsoft MR headset onto a Windows laptop. Stay tuned and subscribe to learn more about Microsoft’s latest MR headsets.

August 30, 2017

Developer Shows Microsoft’s VR Controllers in Action

Earlier this week we shared our first hands-on with Microsoft’s VR controllers, but at the time the company didn’t allow us to document the session with photos or videos. Now, a developer with the controllers has produced a handy overview that shows how they work and gives a glimpse of them in action.

The Windows “Mixed Reality” (Microsoft’s term for AR and VR) controllers are unique among similar VR controllers (like those of the Rift and Vive) because they don’t require external sensor for motion tracking. Instead they are tracked by cameras on the VR headset (as far as we know, all of the Windows VR headsets will support the controllers). That means that setup is simplified, but also comes with a crucial downside which is that the controllers lose their positional tracking when outside of the camera’s view for more than a second or two.

Developer Sean Ong demonstrates this, while overviewing the controllers, by placing a bag over the tracking markers to block them from the camera’s view. When that happens the positional tracking is lost but the controller continues to reflect proper rotation thanks to internal rotation sensors. When the controller comes back into view of the camera, they pop back into place and regain positional tracking.

For many VR games and applications this limitation not even be noticeable, especially because Microsoft is doing a bit of prediction to compensate for brief moments of positional tracking loss, though it could impact the experience for some apps where players frequently have their hands outside of the camera’s field of view.

Otherwise, Ong’s experience matches my own thoughts after a hands-on with the controllers: the placement of the trackpad and thumbstick is a little strange, and while the tracking may have some limitations, it’s definitely functional.

The post Developer Shows Microsoft’s VR Controllers in Action appeared first on Road to VR.

May 11, 2017

Microsoft Reveals Motion Controllers for Mixed Reality Headsets Coming This Holiday

Today Microsoft has unveiled their Windows Mixed Reality motion controllers. The controllers fill in a major gap in Microsoft’s strategy to become the “most complete platform across the broadest range of mixed reality devices and experiences.”

While we expect to hear a lot more about the company’s VR controllers at the Build conference today, Microsoft has so far confirmed the following:

The controllers will come bundled with the Acer VR headset for $400 and be available on retail shelves this holiday season
The controllers offer 6 DOF tracking, and are tracked within your field of view using the sensors in the headset and in the controllers
Additional sensor technology coming soon could extend the controller’s tracking abilities outside of the headset’s field of view

When asked if the controllers were only available via a bundle from a given headset partner, Microsoft clarified that their hardware partners will be able to decide on an individual basis if they would like to bundle a pair of controllers or not. Microsoft confirmed that just as there are specifications for Windows VR headsets, there are similar specifications that must be met for any given OEMs implementation of the Windows VR motion controllers. This could mean that we’ll see many flavors of the Windows motion controllers, just as there are already many companies (Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and 3Glasses) planning to release a Windows MR headset.

There are however a different set of these specifications for developer hardware and the hardware that will end up being shipped to consumers. This means that the development kit headsets we’ve seen so far from companies like Acer could be somewhat under the specifications we’ll see at the consumer launch. However, one member of the Microsoft MR team said that there would be “basically no difference” between the current Acer dev kit and the version that will ship to end users.

Acer’s Windows-compatible mixed reality headset will ship with bundled VR controllers | Image courtesy Windows Central

When asked to provide more information on the new motion controllers, a member of the Windows MR team said that the controllers were in fact true six degrees of freedom controllers that take advantage of Microsoft’s inside-out tracking. The team member said that for now the controllers need to be within a given sightline of the headset, but that there may be additional sensor technology coming soon that could extend the controller’s tracking to fully behind a user’s head or back.