Category: Varjo VR-1

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Enterprise VR Specialist Varjo Opens US Headquarters

Varjo Technologies, the Finnish company behind the $6,000 USD Varjo VR-1 industrial virtual reality (VR) headset continues to accelerate its global expansion plans this week announcing the opening of its new US headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.

Varjo XR-1

Celebrating its third anniversary this month, the US represents an important market for Varjo hence why alongside the HQ opening the company has announced an expansion to its reseller program. Varjo’s reseller network only launched three months ago, making the Varjo VR-1 headset available to enterprise customers in 34 countries.

Two new US resellers have been added to the list, GC Micro and FoxGuard Solutions, ensuring better reach and customer support across the country.

“2019 has been an exciting year for us so far with the announcements of our first two products – the Varjo VR-1 and Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition – among other key milestones, and this is just the beginning,” said Timo Toikkanen, president and COO of Varjo in a statement. “As we continue to expand our global footprint, through new offices, additional reseller partners and entrance into new sales markets, we look forward to delivering the innovative solutions and local support our enterprise customers need to apply VR in new and compelling ways.”

Varjo XR-1

Dubbed the ‘the world’s first human-eye resolution VR device’ the Varjo VR-1 has already been taken up by global enterprises such as Saab, Airbus, Siemens PLC and Audi. Using a system called the Bionic Display which is made up of two screens for each eye, the main ‘Context screen’ delivers 1440×1600 per eye while a microdisplay or ‘focal screen’ delivers a resolution of 60 pixels per degree (or 3000ppi). Additionally, the headset also features Varjo’s own in-house 20/20 Eye Tracker system to help companies extract analytics data.

Then there’s the Varjo XR-1 Developer Edition, an adaption for the VR version adding mixed reality (MR) functionality. With the same screens and eye-tracking, the Varjo XR-1 includes two front-facing 12mp cameras with an 82 x 82 degrees field of view (FoV) putting the headset ahead of rivals like Magic Leap and Microsoft HoloLens. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Varjo and its expansion plans, reporting back with any further updates.

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Varjo Reseller Network Brings the VR-1 to Over 34 Countries Across Europe and North America

When it comes to industrial, enterprise-focused head-mounted displays (HMD) the Varjo VR-1 is up there with the best. Originally released earlier this year for $6000 USD, today, the company has announced the launch of its local reseller network, bringing in-person demos and local support to more than 34 countries across Europe and North America.

Varjo VR–1
Image credit: Varjo Technologies

The program will launch with 14 resellers to help bring the Varjo VR-1 to professionals across industries such as industrial design and architecture, training and simulation.

From the launch of the program the resellers are: Schenker Technologies (Leipzig, Germany), Immersion (Bordeaux, France), SystemActive (London, UK), Azken Mugan (Madrid, Spain), Nanco (Henån, Sweden), Inet (Gothenburg, Sweden), Fortum eSite (Helsinki, Finland), Osgenic (Helsinki, Finland), MACE Virtual Labs (Texas, USA), RAVE Computer (Michigan, USA), Silverdraft (Idaho & California, USA), iMotions (Boston, USA; Berlin, Germany; and Copenhagen, Denmark), ELSA Japan (Tokyo, Japan), and NGC Corporation (Tokyo, Japan).

“We are incredibly happy to be able to start providing local support and demos of human-eye resolution VR with our premium partners in more than 34 countries across Europe and North America,” said Miika Jokinen, Sales & Channel Development at Varjo in a statement. “With the support of our local partners, we are committed to providing unmatched expertise and on-the-ground support for our customers who are eager to start utilizing VR across different markets.”

“Being the first reseller to bring human-eye resolution VR to businesses in the UK and Ireland is an exciting opportunity for us, and we are also pleased to provide tailored leasing and bundling opportunities to our customers,” said Ross Riley, Vendor Manager at SystemActive. “Varjo’s support for resellers in product training, marketing and events has been truly valuable.”

The Varjo VR-1 is dubbed the ‘the world’s first human-eye resolution VR device’ by the company thanks to a system called the Bionic Display. Made up of two screens, the main ‘Context screen’ delivers 1440×1600 per eye while a microdisplay or ‘focal screen’ delivers a resolution of 60 pixels per degree (or 3000ppi). Additionally, the headset also features Varjo’s own in-house 20/20 Eye Tracker system to help companies extract analytics data.

As Varjo continues to expand its presence, VRFocus will keep you updated on the latest announcements.

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Varjo Reveals Mixed Reality Headset, the XR-1 Developer Edition

Not content with launching its $6000 USD human eye resolution virtual reality (VR) headset the VR-1 back in February, Finnish hardware manufacturer Varjo has just announced a new device called the XR-1 Developer Edition.

Varjo XR-1

Just like its forebear, the Varjo XR-1 Developers Edition will be solely aimed at the enterprise market, but unlike the VR-1 this new device is a mixed reality (MR) headset. This means Varjo is planning to take on the MR goliaths that are Microsoft and HoloLens 2, plus Magic Leap and its Magic Leap One Creators Edition.

The culmination of two and a half years of intensive R&D at Varjo, the XR-1 delivers photorealistic image quality with integrated eye tracking. In a press release, Varjo claims: “The dream of ‘Hard AR’ (where you can no longer tell apart what is real and what is virtual) has at last been achieved in a professional product.”

In fact, the XR-1 is an upgrade to the VR-1, adding a front plate featuring dual 12 mp cameras, capable of producing high resolution with < 15 ms latency. It’s so fast that Volvo has been testing the headset whilst driving cars, with XR-1 prototypes being used to aid workflow since the summer of 2018. Volvo has been that impressed with the device that as of May 2019, Varjo will receive an investment by the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. Additionally, Varjo claims an 82 x 82 degrees field of view (FoV) which would make it the class leader.

Varjo XR-1

“XR-1 brings all the convenience of seeing your body as well as the real world around you and being able to look at your colleagues while designing a virtual object or environment,” said Urho Konttori, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Varjo. “The XR-1 can show mixed reality with true-to-life fidelity you can only achieve using video-pass- through. Lifelike mixed reality is quite literally impossible to achieve with optical-see-through systems like HoloLens.”

Varjo hasn’t said how much the XR-1 Developers Edition will cost but as its an upgraded VR-1 it isn’t going to be cheap. Shipments of the cutting-edge headset to mixed reality developers, designers and researchers is expected to begin in the latter half of 2019. As VRFocus learns more about the Varjo XR-1 we’ll let you know.

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The Varjo VR-1 is a $6000 Headset With 20/20 Human Eye Resolution

Having completed a $31 million USD Series B investment last October, Varjo Technologies has today announced the launch of its enterprise-focused virtual reality (VR) headset, the Varjo VR-1.

Varjo VR–1
Image credit: Varjo Technologies

The Varjo VR-1 has been designed as an industrial grade head-mounted display (HMD), ideal for those professionals who work in training and simulation, architecture, industrial design, engineering and construction. Two of the main features the company is touting is the Bionic Display and eye tracking technology.

Varjo’s Bionic Display is in actuallity two screens, the main ‘Context screen’ which delivers 1440×1600 per eye – similar to a HTC Vive Pro – and then a microdisplay or ‘focal screen’  which delivers a resolution of 60 pixels per degree (or 3000ppi) – which Varjo claims is the equivalent of 20/20 vision in humans. As the image below demonstrates this can make VR look amazing, although the field of view (FoV) only comes in at 87-degrees.

As for eye tracking, the Varjo VR-1 uses the company’s own in-house 20/20 Eye Tracker system, ‘enabling high-precision analytics and interaction’ claims Varjo.

“Premium cars can only be made with premium tools. To design in virtual reality, we need the high resolution of the Varjo device. With this high resolution there is a seamless transfer between the real world and the virtual world,” said Jan Pflueger, Coordination Augmented & Virtual Reality at Audi in a statement.

Varjo VR–1
A pixel comparison between HTC Vive Pro (left) and Varjo VR-1 (right). Image credit: Varjo Technologies

“The entire Varjo team has been hard at work for 2+ years to make nothing less than the best headset on the planet,” said Urho Konttori, Co-founder and Chief Product Officer of Varjo. “Nothing has been left to chance, nothing has been compromised and we are delighted that the response from our partners has been overwhelmingly positive. VR-1 marks the start of a new era in virtual reality for professionals.”

Supporting both SteamVR 1.0 and 2.0 tracking, the Varjo VR-1 is compatible with software including Epic Games’ Unreal Engine and Unity. The headset retails for $5995 USD with an additional yearly service license of $995 USD. Sales and shipping of the VR-1 starts immediately in 34 countries including North America, Europe as well as Hong Kong. As you may expect for the price, the Varjo VR-1 is only available for businesses and academic institutions.

For any further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

Technical Specifications:

  • Resolution:
    Bionic Display™ with human-eye resolution (over 60 PPD / 3000 PPI)
    Combining 1920×1080 low persistence micro-OLED and 1440×1600 low persistence AMOLED
  • Optics:
    Dual lens design combining different refractive index lenses for minimal color aberrations, zero ghost rays, and minimal reflections. Each surface coating has been methodically designed to maximise brightness and clarity of the light fusion needed to achieve human-eye resolution.
  • Colours:
    Contrast ratio at over 10 000:1 enabling the deepest blacks
    Individually calibrated colors, delivering outstanding accuracy & image quality
  • Eye tracking:
    20/20 Eye Tracker™ with industry-leading accuracy and precision even with eye glasses
    Automatic IPD adjustment
  • Field of view:
    87 degrees
  • Connectivity:
    Thin and light optical fiber cabling of 10-meter length with USB-C
    Link Box for easy connection with PC
  • Tracking:
    Compatible with SteamVR™ Tracking 1.0 and 2.0
  • Comfort & wearability:
    Active airflow system
    Detachable head strap & adjustable headband
    Easily replaceable face cushions in two different sizes
    Can be used with glasses
  • Weight:
    605g (including headband 905g)
  • Mixed Reality:
    Upgradeable with Varjo Mixed Reality Add-on, available in 2019
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Varjo VR-1 mit Bionic Display für 6000 Euro erhältlich

Wir das Unternehemen Varjo mitteilt, kann ab sofort die Varjo VR-1 vorbestellt werden. Die VR-Brille soll eine enorm gute Bildqualität durch ein “Bionic Display” erreichen.

Varjo VR-1 mit Bionic Display für 6000 Euro erhältlich

Varjo VR-1 2

Die Varjo VR-1 setzt auf zwei Displays je Auge. Ein Bionic Display ist für den fokussierten Bereich des Auges (20 Grad des Field of Views) zuständig und ein “Context Display” für die restliche Umgebung. Das Bionic Display, für welches Varjo erst kürzlich neue Investoren finden konnte, soll auf 60 Pixel pro Grad kommen und damit eine enorme Schärfe bieten. Im Vergleich: Die Oculus Rift kommt nur auf 16,14 Pixel pro Grad. Beweglich ist das Display jedoch nicht und somit ist die genaue Position fixiert.

Doch auch das zweite Display braucht sich nicht verstecken. Für das restliche Field of View, welches nicht durch das Bionic Display abdeckt wird, stehen 1440 x 1600 Pixel zur Verfügung. Das komplette Field of View soll bei 87 Grad liegen.

VR-1_Explosion_9e359d9d

Varjo richtet sich mit der neuen VR-Brille konsequent an andere Unternehmen und nicht an Konsumenten. Eine AR-Durchsicht ist ebenfalls für die Varjo VR-1 zu einem späteren Zeitpunkt in diesem Jahr geplant. Ein System für das Tracking der Augen ist bereits integriert und das Tracking der Brille wird über SteamVR realisiert.

Der Beitrag Varjo VR-1 mit Bionic Display für 6000 Euro erhältlich zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!

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Varjo Launches VR-1 with Retina-quality Fixed-foveated Display & Eye-tracking, Priced at $6,000

Varjo today announced the launch of its VR-1 headset. Priced at $6,000, the headset aims to deliver a huge jump in effective resolution with a novel fixed-foveated display that offers unprecedented retina-resolution fidelity at the center of the field of view.

Varjo’s VR-1 headset uses a novel fixed-foveated display which actually uses two different displays per eye: an ultra high pixel density display covering the central ~20 degrees of the field of view (where your eye naturally sees the sharpest) and a lower pixel density display which fills out the headset’s peripheral view.

A comparison between the pixel density of the Vive Pro (left) and Varjo VR-1 focus display (right) | Image courtesy Varjo

The central display (which Varjo calls the “focus display”) is quoted at 60 pixels per degree, which the company says is 20 times the pixel density available in any other VR headset currently on the market. Indeed, we’ve been very impressed with prototypes of the headset; per our most recent prototype hands-on in December:

The central part of the field of view in the Varjo headset has absolutely no visible screen door effect or aliasing. It feels a bit like using bifocals in the way that you sometimes need to consciously gaze through the center of the lens to see the best detail, but it’s a drastic, almost magical difference from even the highest resolution consumer headsets available today. Lines are perfectly smooth and you can read text at distances that would be rendered entirely illegible on other headsets. Some things, like fine surface textures, are revealed with stunning detail where they would be outright invisible at a more common resolution. Scenes captured with photogrammetry—which already look impressive even on high-end consumer hardware—take on a whole new level of breathtaking detail when seen through the Varjo headset.

The focus display resides in the center of the field of view and blends into the larger “context display” which, with a resolution of 1,440 × 1,600, covers the peripheral field of view with a pixel density that’s similar to contemporary headsets like the Vive Pro.

An exaggerated approximation of how the ultra-sharp focus display fades into the less sharp context display | Photo by Road to VR, based on images courtesy Varjo

Varjo says the VR-1’s full field of view covers 87 degrees. Both the focus display and the context display are OLED, and our understanding is that the focus display operates at 60Hz with the context display at 90Hz.

The VR-1 also includes custom-made eye-tracking which the company claims delivers “unmatched precision and accuracy” in a stereo eye-tracking solution.

Image courtesy Varjo

SteamVR Tracking 2.0 is built into the headset which connects to a host PC with a USB-C link box at the end of 10 meter (32 feet) cable. The weight of the headset, including the new hard strap, is 905 grams.

Varjo says their “industrial-grade” VR-1 headset is available starting today in 34 counties, across North America, Europe, and Hong Kong. The headset is priced at $6,000 in addition to a yearly service license of $1,000. The company is steering clear of the consumer segment, saying that the VR-1 is “designed solely for professionals in industrial design, training and simulation, architecture, engineering and construction.”

Image courtesy Varjo

At launch the company is promising support for 3D software tools and engines, including Unreal Engine, Unity, Autodesk VRED, PREPAR3D, ZeroLight, and VBS Blue IG. An SDK is also available for integration into custom 3D engines.

Varjo plans to launch an AR pass-through add-on for the VR-1 later this year.

The post Varjo Launches VR-1 with Retina-quality Fixed-foveated Display & Eye-tracking, Priced at $6,000 appeared first on Road to VR.