Sixense – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

May 21, 2019

Former Vive Studios Head Joel Breton Joins Sixense

Sixense today announced that games industry veteran and former head of Vive Studios Joel Breton has joined the company as president of its studios and executive VP of product development.

Breton is tasked with leading the strategy for creation and delivery of AR/VR software, which is targeting businesses in healthcare, training, and entertainment.

A long-time games industry veteran, Breton started his career in product development at Sega of America in the mid-90s. He’s since worked in various development roles spanning 2K Sports, Bethesda Softworks, MTV Networks, and 505 Games. Breton’s stint as Vive Studios’ head started in 2016 and ended with his appointment at Sixense Studios.

“Joining Sixense Studios is an amazing opportunity to create showcase VR and AR content that redefines how humans learn, play, and interact with the products they use every day,” said Breton. “Sixense has been a leader in immersive computing for the past decade and I am thrilled to work alongside Sixense’s talented team and their global partners as we continue advancing the industry ecosystem.”

Former Head Of HTC Vive Studios Joel Breton Joins Sixense

Joel Breton has been known as the head of HTC’s Vive Studios content division, but is leaving the company to join Sixense as the President of the newly founded Sixense Studios and Executive Vice President of product and development. In this role at Sixense’s new software division, Breton will oversee content creation and will deal directly with Sixense’s client base.

Sixense has a checkered past as a consumer company, especially following a major fiasco with production and delivery of its Kickstarter-funded 6DOF VR controllers that ended in full refunds to all backers. Since then, they’ve reportedly pivoted to more enterprise-level clients.

“Our software team has developed a deep understanding of the core principles of human interactions with immersive environments over the past decade,” said CEO of Sixense Enterprises, Amir Rubin. “With Joel’s deep experience with content development, and with bringing both consumer and enterprise cross-platform applications to market, he will be invaluable to our growth.”

Sixense has been known as a hardware company, so this is an interesting shift and certainly a major addition to the team. Breton’s background at Vive encompasses all of the studio’s Ready Player One content, Knockout League, Skyworld Kingdom Brawl, Arcade Saga, and more. Prior to that Breton worked at Sega, GT Interactive, MTV Networks, and more.

Details are scarce on what exactly Breton can contribute directly and immediately, but projects like SiegeVR from IGT show promise, as do clients such as VRSim and Lincoln Electric.

Let us know what you think of this shake up in the VR landscape down in the comments below!

Tagged with: sixense, vive studios

October 29, 2018

Sixense Refunding $1 Million In STEM Preorders – Here’s Who To Contact

Sixense CEO Amir Rubin sat down with me recently to discuss the current state of the STEM controller system — a project initially launched on Kickstarter back in 2013 — and the recent announcement that they’d be giving refunds to Kickstarter backers and pre-order customers.

Joining us for the conversation was Steve Hansted, Director of Business Development, who is in charge of the daunting task of managing the refund process. As previously reported, 2,383 Kickstarter backers have been contacted for Paypal information to receive a refund. Rubin also says that beyond the $600,000 in backer funds, there was more than $1 million worth of additional hardware pre-ordered from the website that will also be refunded. The process will take time, Rubin said, but some early backers who responded immediately to the refund email say they’ve already gotten a payment to their Paypal account.

“We will be giving all pre-order customers full refunds via PayPal,” Hansted wrote in a follow up email. “Over the years we have refunded pre-order customers when they requested one and we currently have approximately 500 left to process. We have received approximately 1550 replies with PayPal email addresses from Kickstarter backers and have processed over 1200 refunds. We hope to complete all refunds by the end of November, but we need the last 800 backers to respond with their PayPal email.”

Hansted suggested reaching out to steve@sixense.com for more information if you are a backer of the Sixense STEM Kickstarter or a pre-order customer.

As far as the STEM controller technology goes, Rubin and his team say they are focusing on enterprise hardware now.

Tagged with: amir rubin, kickstarter, paypal, refund, sixense, stem

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October 16, 2018

Sixense Announces Refunds For Controller Kickstarter Backers

It has been over five years since Sixense launched its campaign for an STEM motion controllers designed for virtual reality (VR). Despite the crowdfunding campaign being successful, the project has been mired in delays, and now the company are offering refunds to backers as well as people who pre-ordered the controllers after the Kickstarter campaign closed.

Despite the STEM motion controllers not being delivered, Sixense have since been involved in developing hardware solutions, including VR systems, for business and enterprise applications.

The Kickstarter campaign raised $604,978, with Sixense CEO Amir Rubin confirming that further $500,000 was raised through per-orders after the close of the crowdfunding campaign. Rubin told The Verge that the decision to refund backers came after the company failed to resolve a number of issues resulting from the attempt to move from 3D-printed prototypes to full-scale production.

The company managed to resolve the majority of the problems, but the company decided against proceeding with moving the device into the mass market. Instead, the company are intending to produce limited runs of an improved, and more expensive, device.

Another factor in the decision made by Sixense is that in the time since the Kickstarter campaign for the STEM controller a number of tracked motion controllers have entered the market, such as the Oculus Touch and HTC Vive wands.

Sixense previously refused to give refunds to Kickstarter backers and those who had placed pre-orders after those customers became angry and frustrated with the delays. Rubin says the company has issues refunds to individuals who have requested them, but up until now the Sixense board of directors have not authorised a blanket refund.

Though some customers will be disappointed in the news, many analysts believe that the majority will be relieved that a very long saga is finally at an end.

For future coverage of VR hardware and peripherals, keep checking back with VRFocus.

October 16, 2018

Sixense Will Refund Its VR Controller Backers, Switch To Enterprise

Sixense pioneered hand controllers for virtual reality applications in 2013, but the company hasn’t been able to produce its Stem consumer product for VR. And so the company is announcing today that it will refund all of the money raised from its Kickstarter campaign backers and preorder customers.

Amir Rubin, CEO of Los Gatos, California-based Sixense, said in an interview with GamesBeat that the company will now focus on the enterprise market with its six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) controllers, which allow people to use their hands in virtual reality applications. In many ways, this represents yet another failure in the overhyped VR market, but there’s also a certain measure of success for Sixense.

Earlier this year, Sixense formed a joint venture with Penumbra, a health care company that wanted 6DoF technology for things like VR surgery training and patient recovery. That raised some much-needed capital for Sixense. In September, Penumbra bought an additional 40 percent of the joint venture, bringing the total owned to 90 percent, for $20 million. That gave Sixense the ability to replay its 2,383 Kickstarter backers, who gave the company $604,978 in 2013.

Above: Amir Rubin, CEO of Sixense, ran a Kickstarter for a wireless version of his company’s motion-sensing controllers in 2013.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

Rubin said he was grateful for the support of the backers.

“After a lot of consideration, we decided, based on current market conditions, we will refund all of the Kickstarter backers at 100 percent,” he said. “We will refund every backer and every preorder.”

Rubin said that when the company emerged with its Stem wireless hand controllers in 2013, before Oculus Rift came out, the industry needed a solution for navigating VR.

“There was no 6DoF control system for VR to go with the Oculus headset,” he said.

But then Valve showed off its SteamVR controllers and gave that at no cost to HTC. Oculus launched in 2016 with an Xbox controller, and later that year it debuted its Oculus Touch controls. With those solutions from the major vendors in the market, there wasn’t as much need for the Stem controllers, which were both more precise and more expensive.

To survive, Rubin started focusing on health care solutions, mobile devices, and the enterprise. It spun out a VR building application, and then it cut the deal with Penumbra.

Above: Sixense Stem controllers

Image Credit: Sixense

“With enterprise, we were able to be comfortable as a company and continue to develop our technology,” Rubin said. “Penumbra is one of the most committed companies in the VR health care market.”

Rubin said he was down on the VR market’s potential until about three months ago, when the music-and-swordfighting game Beat Saber debuted and generated millions of sales on VR headsets. He was also impressed with Facebook’s Oculus Quest wireless VR headset.

“We feel the market has what it needs as its first real consumer product,” Rubin said. “We will take our technology to the enterprise and health care.”

Eventually, he said that the consumer market will develop further and require the more precise technology in the Stem controllers. And when that happens, Sixense hopes to be ready with a solution that works across platforms. But for now, the company will postpone any investment in the consumer market.

Sixense shipped a small number of prototypes to large backers, but it did not ship any production units for the Stem controllers. Sixense will pay the backers using a Paypal refund process.

Rubin said he sees the deal with Penumbra as a good one for the company and the industry, as it gives Sixense enough cash to develop its future products. The company has 31 employees in Los Gatos, San Francisco, and Israel, and it continues to hire, Rubin said.

“We are taking a step back,” Rubin said. “We ignited a fire. We are going back to R&D. Some years from now, we’ll be back.”

The enterprise market includes training applications, and Rubin also believes education will be a good market. As an example, the company is working on an application to teach workers how to weld properly.

Regarding the backers, Rubin said, “It’s an important thing for me personally. The message is every single of them needs to feel comfortable for taking full credit for the success we have today with 6DoF motion trackers in VR today.”

This post by Dean Takahashi originally appeared on VentureBeat.

Tagged with: sixense

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October 16, 2018

Sixense to Refund STEM Kickstarter Backers After More Than 4 Years of Delays

In what might be the longest Kickstarter campaign conclusion to date, more than four years following estimated deliveries of the STEM VR controller, Sixense says they will fully refund all backers and pre-orders.

Sixense was once a name central to the early VR community. The company built the technology behind the magnetically tracked Razer Hydra controller which was one of the only consumer-available 6DOF controllers available when the first Oculus Rift development kit (DK1) started shipping.

Early adopters of the DK1 gravitated toward the Hydra for an early glimpse of 6DOF input for VR, back when the headset itself only tracked rotation. I recall years ago strapping a Hydra controller to the headstrap of a DK1 and using the controller in my hand for crude (but at the time revelatory) positionally tracked VR experience.Well before the announcement of the Vive, with its 6DOF wand controllers, or the Rift’s 6DOF Touch controllers, Sixense planned to build its own 6DOF controller system for VR. The ‘STEM’ (based on magnetic tracking, like the Hyrda), would include two controllers and several additional trackers which could be clipped to the head and feet for full body tracking. The company rallied the young VR community around a Kickstarter campaign, successfully raising over $600,000 back in October of 2013, well exceeding the project’s $250,000 goal.

At the time of the Kickstarter, Sixense had estimated that the earliest deliveries of STEM would reach backers by July 2014. As that date slipped past, backers were still hopeful—after all, many successful hardware Kickstarter projects end up seeing some delays. But few could have known that a years-long string of delays would follow, eventually culminating in backers throwing around the word “scam” and repeated calls for refunds and legal action against the company.

It’s been four years and three months since the first STEM deliveries were expected. And in a twist we definitely didn’t see coming, Sixense has announced plans to fully refund all backers (of all tiers) and pre-orders placed through the company’s website, including fees. The company says they’ll use a PayPal-facilitated process to issue refunds, as Kickstarter doesn’t provide a refund service. More details on the exact refund process should come shortly in an update to the STEM Kickstarter.

– – — – –

It’s a bittersweet conclusion for backers—and the right thing for Sixense to do—but may not do much to mend Sixense’s broken relationship with supporters who put their faith in the company only to have it tested to the point of breaking.

From 2014 to as near back as March, 2018, Sixense’s updates to Kickstarter backers made it sound as if the completion of the STEM system was just around the corner. “We are getting close to be able to start production, so please stay with us through this final phase,” read the most recent backer update.

But as early as October 2017 the company began seriously questioning the viability of manufacturing and delivering STEM to its backers.

Speaking to Sixense CEO Amir Rubin this week, he told me that by the time that Valve/HTC and Oculus began shipping their own VR controllers—some two years after the initial STEM systems were estimated to be delivered—it became clear to Sixense that STEM would be fighting an uphill battle in the PC VR space, though the company held out hope that it would be a great match for mobile VR headsets, and refocused their efforts on the project for that use-case.

But then, unable to get STEM out the door for another year later and a half, Oculus revealed VR controllers as part of its Santa Cruz II prototype (which would go on to become Oculus Quest) in October 2017, causing Sixense to reconsider whether bringing STEM to consumers made sense, Rubin told me. The final nail in the coffin was when, just last month, Oculus announced that Quest would ship next year with VR controllers at a $400 price point.

– – — – –

Rubin told me that Sixense had spent all of the $600,000 Kickstarter budget by the end of 2014, but says the company continued to fund R&D to try to bring STEM to market (before deciding to kill it). I wondered then, if the company couldn’t pay to get STEM’s myriad of manufacturing issues fixed, how could it afford to refund all of its backers?

After coming to grips with STEM not being viable for the consumer VR market, Sixense has begun to focus on enterprise VR solutions. The company has been sending out hand-produced STEM development kits to potential partners with the hopes that the tech will be adopted and licensed as a component piece among non-consumer VR systems.

To that end, Sixense formed a joint venture back in early 2018 with Penumbra, a healthcare company, “for the purpose of exploring healthcare applications of virtual reality technology with Sixense Enterprises, Inc.”

It was a 50/50 partnership, Rubin told me, and just last month Penumbra bought out most of Sixense’s interest in the company for $20 million. He said there was “no question” once the deal was closed that the money should be used to refund backers before being used for other company interests, though he also said the decision to return the money was difficult considering other ventures they could use it for.

– – — – –

It won’t come without a laugh from STEM backers, but Rubin says this is just another delay; STEM will eventually come to the consumer market, in some form or another.

“The fact is, that we are delaying our consumer market release plan until there is a large enough VR systems install base with some ‘killer apps’. I believe that the current optical 6DOF controller solutions represent the early days of the ‘Mechanical Mouse’. I hope that when we release our STEM technology to the consumer market it will have a similar impact as ‘Multi-Touch’ did,” he said.

The post Sixense to Refund STEM Kickstarter Backers After More Than 4 Years of Delays appeared first on Road to VR.

June 9, 2018

Sixense Technology Deployed In VR Training

Sixense Enterprises has becomes a recognised name is the field of motion tracking for virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). The company has now teamed up with training simulation company VRSim to integrate the Sixense motion tracking technology into a immersive simulation for spray paint and coating training.

VRSim has engaged with the Sixense technology in order to get motion tracking data which can simulate and evaluate the skills of trainees in order to further improve the skills of students and employees.

Data gathered by VRSim shows that the SimSpray VR simulation can reduce material costs by up to 50% and operating costs by up to 20%. Using the VR simulation for training reduces waste and production of hazardous materials, thus reducing the environmental impact.

The 3D motion tracking allows for user performance to be tracked so progress can be evaluated and specific areas pinpointed for further development, providing a better skillset for workers before they commence work in high-risk areas.

“We need to provide training experiences that enable trainees to gain in-depth understanding of the knowledge and motion it takes to do a perfect paint job,” said Matthew Wallace, CEO of VRSim. “Using the Sixense Full-Presence Platform, our software can create a learning dynamic where the trainee acquires skills from aggressive instantaneous feedback.”

“There is an extraordinary opportunity for VR to contribute to skilled industries in helping to bring new trainees up to speed quickly, at low risk,” said Amir Rubin, CEO of Sixense. “VRSim is leading the way in industrial VR training applications and we are excited to partner with them to make the trainee experience as realistic as possible.”

The Sixense motion tracking can provide absolute position and orientation in 6 Degrees-of-Freedom, or 6DoF, which is often important for enterprise-level VR applications that require high accuracy. Further information on the Sixense motion tracking technology can be found on the Sixense website.

For future coverage on news from the VR and AR industry, keep checking back with VRFocus.

March 21, 2018

SiegeVR Debuts At GDC 2018 As HTC Vive Studios And Sixense Reveal Partnership

It’s not just the hardware side of virtual reality (VR)that is getting announcements at this year’s Game Development Conference (GDC) and when it comes to videogames it’s not just familiar faces appearing either. New experiences are also at the event to make their debuts. One such title comes HTC Vive Studios and Sixense, who today revealed a new partnership with the launch of SiegeVR – an archery title aimed at attracting interest from the eSports sector.

SiegeVR - Title In the title you will take on the role of an archer and, through several game modes are required to show your accuracy, speed and in one case even your ability to out think your opponent as you turn targets and enemies into well rendered pincushions. Featuring a gallery style PVP mode, global leaderboards, a free practice mode and a tower defense style ‘siege mode’ in which you’ll let loose your inner Green Arrow or Hawkeye with an array of what the developer terms “specialised” arrows.

The title is out now to buy on Steam, with a limited time discount of 15% off the usual price of $9.99 (USD) / £7.19 (GBP) and will be made available on Viveport at a later date. At GDC 2018, Sixense is hosting four tournaments, two per day over the course of the next two days. The winners of each bracket receiving the prize of an HTC Vive. A similar competition will be operating on Steam, with the top ten players on the SiegeVR Steam leaderboards being invited at the end of April to take part in a competition to crown the top player overall in the title. That player winning themselves an HTC Vive Pro.

SiegeVR - Screenshot “We are looking forward to allowing players to hone their skills within the comfort of their homes, then compete both online and in casinos for cash prizes,” said Amir Rubin, Sixense co-founder and CEO. “By partnering with HTC, we have a powerful platform to make SiegeVR widely available to the virtual reality community.”

“With VR on the HTC Vive, we can deliver a more realistic, competitive experience from virtual sports that mimics real life sport tournaments,” said Joel Breton, HTC VIVE, VP Global Content. “This collaboration with Sixense on SiegeVR allows us to bring a new type of eSports experience to novices and experienced gamers alike that enables them to build on their skills and improve their scores with each session.”

VRFocus will bring you more information about the ongoing news from GDC very soon, check back frequently for updates or subscribe to us on social media to stay up to date.

March 14, 2018

Sixense CEO: STEM Could Be Close to Production Following Manufacturing Fix

Sixense, the company behind the much-belated positionally tracked STEM controller system, just released an update stating the company is “getting close to be able to start production,” which should follow an estimated 4-week retooling and finalization of production samples.

As the result of a successful Kickstarter campaign launched back in late 2013, STEM was poised to beat many manufacturers to the punch by offering the first consumer room-scale controller and positional tracking systems using a magnetic tracking technology. After more than 4 years of waiting, Sixense CEO Amir Rubin says that next week the company should receive updated 3D printed samples following a recent design update.

“Assuming that the fix works, the tool change and samples, should not take more than four weeks,” Rubin says. “We are getting close to be able to start production, so please stay with us through this final phase.”

The company’s penultimate update detailed the outstanding design issue – a critical misalignment and part warping problem that prevented STEM from entering production phase. Taking the words out of many backer’s mouths, Sixense called the effort “a long and complicated process.”

Here’s the full update below:

Update – March 2018 Posted by Sixense (Creator)

We have received an update from our manufacturer in regards to the remaining issue concerning the STEM plastics.

The fix that is proposed, and that we will be implementing, incorporates two modifications. The first mod, shown in the images below, is the addition of a screw boss near the thumb area where we were experiencing some inconsistency in the reveal gap.

The second modification includes additional alignment/interlock features around the perimeter of the two halves that will help stabilize the reveal all the way around the assembly.

We should be receiving 3D printed samples of the updated geometry next week, before we initiate the tool change to do an assembly level check fit to ensure the design update. Assuming that the fix works, the tool change and samples, should not take more than four weeks. We are getting close to be able to start production, so please stay with us through this final phase.

Also, we are exhibiting our latest VR products at GDC again this year. If you plan on attending, we welcome you to come visit us in Booth #1201 in the South Hall of Moscone Center.

Thanks, Amir

Sixense originally posted their first delay back in April 2014, citing the need for unspecified “hardware improvements.” Similar delays thereafter lead up to one of the greatest setbacks to the project in late March 2015: failure to pass FCC/CE testing, something that was chalked up to difficulties surrounding the basestation’s inability to both provide grounding for its radio frequency (RF) dongles without disturbing the magnetic tracking. Traversing more failed tests and manufacturing difficulties, a July 2017 update revealed a manufacturers letter to Sixense that detailed the company was still having part stability issues.

While many might wonder exactly why a company would sally forth to produce a product largely thought surpassed by modern VR systems such as Valve’s SteamVR tracking standard or Oculus’ optical tracking sensors, STEM at very least boasts a function that other positional tracking systems can’t claim: no need for direct line-of-sight from the basestation. Whether that’s enough of a draw, we can’t say for sure.

So here we are again – on the hypothetical cusp of Sixense STEM finally materializing into an honest-to-goodness product.

The post Sixense CEO: STEM Could Be Close to Production Following Manufacturing Fix appeared first on Road to VR.

January 25, 2018

Sixense Still Struggling With Manufacturing for Years-delayed VR Controller Kickstarter

Breaking six months of silence since their last update, Sixense, the company behind the much-belated positionally tracked controller system STEM, recently detailed “one last issue that needs to be addressed” before the company can start shipping to Kickstarter backers.

With its Kickstarter campaign launched back in late 2013, STEM was supposed to provide one of the world’s first consumer room-scale controller and tracker systems, something made possible by a magnetic tracking technology that can accommodate several tracked objects. Now, more than 4 years since the conclusion of the Kickstarter, backers are still waiting for their STEM Systems amidst what Sixense calls in their latest update “a long and complicated mess.”

The last remaining issue? Parts are still warping, making for a critical misalignment when assembled.

“Our manufacturer has recently completed a tool mod to address gate relocation in order to eliminate warping of the controller halves. Following this, they produced 40 sets of controller halves (in 2 different runs) for us to perform an assembly build evaluation. In doing so, we found assembly level issues that were causing variability with the size of the reveal gap on the controllers. The proposed fix is to add a screw boss per the images below. It was also proposed that since we are doing a tool mod anyway, we should explore opportunities to add additional (steel safe) alignment features (bayonets, etc.).”

Sixense originally posted their first delay back in April 2014, citing the need for unspecified “hardware improvements.” Similar delays thereafter lead up to one of the greatest setbacks to the project in late March 2015: failure to pass FCC/CE testing, something that was chalked up to difficulties surrounding the basestation’s inability to both provide grounding for its radio frequency (RF) dongles without disturbing the magnetic tracking. Traversing more failed tests and manufacturing difficulties, the penultimate update, posted in July 2017, revealed a manufacturers letter to Sixense that detailed the company was still having fitting issues fixing dubious part stability.