Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
Patents offer an enticing look at what a company is experimenting with and possibly planning for future products, even if many never make it past the idea phase. VRFocus has seen recent patents appear for a virtual reality (VR) floor mat by Microsoft and a new headset design for Nintendo Switch. Now it’s the turn of Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) with possible new designs for PlayStation VR which include possible improved tracking and wireless options.
Spotted by the eagle eyes over at Let’s Go Digital, there’s no question the headset design mirrors that of PlayStation VR, which could indicate ideas for PlayStation VR 2.
In comparison to rival headsets like Oculus Rift/Quest, HTC Vive or Valve Index, for example, the PlayStation VR falls way behind when it comes to tracking the device. The single point PlayStation Camera system SIE uses means the headset can’t offer true roomscale experiences as it would lose the controllers when a player turns around. So the patent addresses this particular problem with what appears to be inside-out tracking, placing two cameras on the front and one on the back (1410) of the head-mounted display (HMD).
Additionally, the PlayStation Move controller also gets an upgrade, with a camera (1730) built-in for tracking purposes. There’s another function for the headset mounted cameras and that’s seeing the world around you. Sounding very similar to Oculus’ Passthrough tech, it would allow users to see their surroundings without removing the headset, plus there are the possible augmented reality (AR) applications.
When it comes to connections the patent mentions both wireless and wired options in various arrays. It discusses a headset which could be fully wireless, with its own power source built-in. There’s also mention of a design with a power supply built-in but a cable connection for video and audio. Or the opposite way around with video and audio sent wirelessly with the HMD still mains connected. Finally, there are the full wired options, either all down one cable or multiple.
These are all feature SIE needs to address in its next VR headset to stay relevant within the field, but there’s no telling what route the company will take.
This week did see the PlayStation 5 name become official alongside a 2020 launch window. The current PlayStation VR will support the new console, so a VR upgrade might be a long way off. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Multiple patents awarded to Facebook this year suggest the company is researching a range of technologies which could enable force feedback gloves for VR.
Gloves may be the ultimate goal for VR input. The term “haptic gloves” usually refers to finger tracking gloves with vibration motors on each finger. Force feedback gloves, though, go further by restricting the movement of fingers in response to a simulated object or surface.
Facebook previously showed research involving a haptic glove, but not force feedback gloves. These three patents, however, provide insight into some of the company’s research.
Note these are not applications, but actual awarded patents.
In March of this year, Facebook was awarded a patent titled Switchable fluidic device.
The patent describes a glove with “soft materials that use millimeter or smaller channels filled with fluid“. By controlling the flow of fluid through these tiny channels, the system adapts the pressure it applies to the finger joints.
When the pressure is high, it “prevents or enables a physical movement of a portion of a user in contact with the virtual object in the virtual space“, according to the patent description. “For example, if a user’s finger is in contact with a virtual object (e.g., a virtual wall) in a virtual space, the haptic assembly prevents a physical movement of the user finger to move in a direction through the virtual object in the virtual space. Accordingly, the user can receive a perception of contacting the virtual object.”
One “embodiment” of the gloves is described as covered with infrared LEDs for positional tracking from cameras, just like an Oculus Touch controller.
In June, Facebook was awarded another patent related to haptic gloves, titled Haptic devices that simulate rigidity of virtual objects.
Almost all gloves to date use vibration motors to mimic the feeling of touching virtual objects, however, this is not particularly realistic. The glove in the patent instead uses an array of plates which dynamically actuate to touch the user’s finger with a force simulating the object the user’s finger is touching.
When pressing against a hard virtual object such as a button, the plates would resist the pressure of the finger. When pressing a less rigid virtual object the plates can “give” much more easily to pressure, providing the feeling of softness.
Last week, Facebook was awarded yet another patent. This time the idea covers an alternative to microfluidics for force feedback: Pneumatically controlled haptic mechanisms with nested internal structures for haptic feedback.
The glove is covered in an array of stacked “pods” which each contain a pneumatic “bladder” made of “a durable, puncture resistance material, such as thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU)”. By adding and removing air from each bladder, the pressure against the user’s hand at that position can be altered: “Depending on a posture of the user’s finger when the pressure inside the bladder is increased, the user may experience his or her finger becoming stiff and rigid, bending downwards, or bending upwards (e.g., pushing and pulling sensations).”
This pneumatic technology, because of the higher pressure it can generate, could simulate more intense events, even pushing back on the fingers rather than simply restricting them. The patent describes how this could be used in VR games:
“just prior to releasing an arrow from a bow in real life, a tremendous force is applied to the pads of the fingers drawing the bow string. Therefore, in virtual reality, the haptic stimulation created by the wearable device would need to be intense to provide some realism to the virtual reality experience (e.g., one or more pods on each string-contacting finger push against the string-contacting fingers and attempt to straighten these fingers, as would the bow string in real life)”
While such a system may not be reliable for hours of usage per week, the patent describes designing with this in mind: “Due to the ever-changing nature of virtual and augmented reality, the pods may be required to transition between the two states hundreds, or perhaps thousands of times, during a single use. Thus, the pods described herein are durable and designed to quickly transition from state to state.”
At Oculus Connect 3 in 2016, Oculus Chief Scientist Michael Abrash made a series of predictions about the future of VR technology. Among these was the claim that Touch-like VR controllers would be the state of the art “for at least 5 years”, and “maybe” much longer. Abrash postulated that controllers could potentially be “the mouse of VR”, and remain so even “40 years from now”. He followed this by saying:
“The only thing I can see replacing Touch-like controllers is the ability to use your hands as direct physical manipulators as you do in the real world, and I don’t see that happening in the next 5 years because it requires haptic and kinematic technology that isn’t even on the distant horizon.”
At Oculus Connect 5 in 2018, however, when revisiting these predictions, Abrash changed his outlook:
“I still don’t think it’ll happen in the next 4 years, but something interesting may in fact be on the distant horizon. […] I believe we’ll have useful haptic hands in some form within 10 years”
It is possible research related to these patented ideas — or perhaps some similar research underway at Facebook — may have informed Abrash’s updated guidance. Of course, organizations of Facebook’s size file patents all the time on lots of ideas that never see actual use.
Facebook Reality Lab, the company’s VR/AR research division led by Abrash, has been on a hiring spree for years now. In Facebook earning calls, the company mentioned increasing investment in VR/AR research.
The post Facebook Patents Reveal Deep Research On True Haptic VR Gloves appeared first on UploadVR.
Microsoft continues to invest in the experiences of differently abled players. This particular patent details an Xbox controller equipped with a Braille display and haptic paddles that can be rearranged.
The post Microsoft could make gaming more accessible with this Xbox controller patent appeared first on Digital Trends.
Die Facebook Reality Labs meldeten kürzlich ein Patent für eine neue innovative Eingabemethode an, welche die Controller in der Zukunft ersetzen könnte. Die Forscher arbeiten an einem Armband zum Hand- und Finger-Tracking, das elektrische Signale im Handgelenk erfasst und dadurch komplett ohne externe Kameras auskommt. Dank maschinellem Lernen sollen die Reizsignale daraufhin verarbeitet und in die entsprechenden Fingerpositionen konvertiert werden.
Ein kürzlich eingereichtes Patent verweist auf ein aktuelles Projekt der Facebook Reality Labs, dass die Zukunft der Eingabemethoden massiv verändern könnte. Das Tracking-Armband zur Bewegungserfassung durch Impedanzmessung soll als tragbares geschlossenes System am Handgelenk des Nutzers angebracht werden.
Image courtesy: Facebook Reality Labs
Die verschiedenen verbauten Sensoren erfassen die elektrischen Signale, die vom Arm oder Hangelenk des Nutzers ausgehen, und leiten diese an eine Recheneinheit weiter. Dort werden die entsprechend entstehenden Hand- und Fingerbewegungen errechnet und in digitale Handpositionen konvertiert. Für diesen Vorgang kommt ein KI-Lernmodell zum Einsatz, das auf maschinellem Lernen basiert.
Zudem werden zwei verschiedene Versionen des Eingabegeräts beschrieben. In der ersten Variante wird ein aktives Signal durch das Handgelenk gesendet. Basierend auf der Veränderung dieses Signals durch Muskelkontraktion bei Bewegungen, soll die jeweilige Endposition bestimmt werden. In der zweiten Variante wird auf dieses aktive Signal verzichtet, um stattdessen direkt die Impedanz des Arms zu erfassen.
Image courtesy: Facebook Reality Labs
Die neue Eingabemethode weist viel Potenzial auf. Durch die präzise und controllerfreie Steuerung könnten völlig neue Interaktionswege innerhalb der VR eröffnet werden, die wiederum für ein noch stärkeres Immersionsgefühl sorgen. Zudem bringt der Verzicht auf externe Kamerasensoren eine größere Bewegungsfreiheit mit sich, die besonders kabellose VR-Brillen, wie die kommende Oculus Quest noch attraktiver machen dürften. Ein weiterer Vorteil liegt in der Lösung zum Erfassen von Handbewegungen hinter dem Körper, was derzeit noch teilweise Probleme aufweist.
Neben Facebook arbeiten derzeit auch HTC sowie weitere Unternehmen, wie CRTL-labs an ähnlichen Tracking-Lösungen:
(Quelle: Facebook Patent | Upload VR | Video: CTRL-labs YouTube)
Der Beitrag Facebook: Neues Patent für KI-Finger-Tracking-Armband angemeldet zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Facebook filed a patent application for an armband which performs finger tracking by reading electrical signals inside the user’s wrist. Machine learning is used to convert these signals into finger positions.
Two variations of the device are described. In one, an active signal is sent through the wrist. Based on how the signal changes passing through the tendons and muscles of the arm their position can be determined.
In another variation no active signal is sent. Instead, the device directly reads the impedance of the arm without a probe signal.
Facebook doesn’t seem to be the only company working on this interesting concept however. New York based CTRL-Labs posted a video on YouTube of a seemingly similar armband:
The ability to directly use each of your fingers adds an entirely new level of interactivity to VR. However, that ability is absent from almost all consumer VR headsets today. Leap Motion shipped a finger tracking kit for the Oculus DK2 all the way back in 2014, but the tracking quality left a lot to be desired.
Facebook is already heavily researching optical finger tracking. HTC announced finger tracking for the Vive Pro late last year, but that hasn’t shipped yet and the tracking quality is currently unknown.
If the device described in the patent truly works, it could bring finger tracking to VR without having to do power hungry processing on multiple cameras pointed at your fingers. Furthermore, since it doesn’t rely on cameras the tracking would work at all angles regardless of the headset’s orientation. We’re excited to see what finger tracking solutions VR companies will deliver in the coming years.
Tagged with: facebook, Faceboook Reality Labs, finger tracking, oculus, patent, research
The post Facebook Files Patent For VR Finger Tracking AI Armband appeared first on UploadVR.
Samsung hat ein Patent eingereicht, welches eine VR-Brille beschreibt, die mit einem Field of View von mindestens 180 Grad punkten soll. Um diesen Wert zu erreichen, möchte Samsung auf gebogene OLED Displays setzen.
Wie Die Abbildung von Samsung zeigt, könnte mit der Verwendung von gebogenen Displays der Formfaktor einer VR-Brille mit großem Field of View deutlich schrumpfen. Laut Patent könnte das Unternehmen zukünftig auf zwei unterschiedliche Linsen je Auge setzen, welche kombiniert eine Darstellung ohne Verzerrung ermöglichen sollen. Hierfür soll auch das ausgegebene Bild in zwei Zonen eingeteilt werden, die unterschiedlich gekrümmt werden.
Das Samsung ein Patent für eine solche Bauweise einreicht, bedeutet jedoch nicht, dass wir auch zeitnah eine VR-Brille nach diesem Vorbild sehen werden. Dennoch scheint Samsung an einer interessanten Lösung zu arbeiten und mit der Samsung Odyssey hat das Unternehmen bereits bewiesen, dass es gute VR-Brillen herstellen kann und ein Interesse für die VR weiterhin vorhanden ist. Hier findet ihr das aktuelle Patent zum Nachlesen.
(Quelle: Upload VR)
Der Beitrag Samsung: Patent für VR-Brillen mit gebogenen OLED Displays und großem Field of View zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Samsung filed a patent application for a VR headset with a field of view of at least 180 degrees. The headset is described as using a curved OLED display.
The patent describes attaining the wide field of view while maintaining reasonable size and weight as a crucial design consideration. To achieve this, the design uses two lenses per eye. One pair of standard fresnel lenses with a field of view of 120, combined with a second set of wide angle strip lenses positioned at an angle.
This would provide a full vertical field of view for regular vision and partial in the peripheral. The curved screen would allow the overall design to remain relatively compact compared to other wide field of view headsets.
Companies frequently patent technologies which never come to market. But if Samsung did decide to go forwards with this design, they could leverage their competitive advantage as the world’s largest small OLED panel manufacturer. Samsung Galaxy smartphones already incorporate curved OLED technology.
The company could even keep the technology exclusive to such a headset, as they did with the “anti screen door effect” OLED technology in the HMD Odyssey+.
In an October interview with Lowyat.NET, the CEO of Samsung Electronics confirmed that the company was heavily looking in to both VR and AR. The Samsung Odyssey series has been well recieved by VR buyers. It offers Vive Pro resolution at a significantly more affordable price.
Samsung’s future in this industry seems promising- we’ll keep you updated on any further hints of the company’s future VR plans.
Tagged with: patent, pimax, samsung
The post Samsung Files Patent For 180 Degree VR Headset With Curved OLED Displays appeared first on UploadVR.