varjo – Page 6 – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

October 28, 2019

AWE EU 2019: Interview Highlights

The Augmented World Expo (AWE) may not be on the consumer radar as the event tends to focus on enterprise but that doesn’t mean to say there’s nothing interesting going on. As a matter of fact, the recent AWE EU event in Munich, Germany saw quite the turnout, and naturally, VRFocus caught up with several of them to see what they had in store for the future of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology.

AWE EU 2019 image1

Exhibitors covered the length and breadth of the VR/AR industry, whether that was Hologate demonstrating its location-based entertainment (LBE) platform allowing up to four people to play at once to Glue, a collaboration platform that’s both customisable and scalable depending on a businesses needs.

In the interview below you’ll hear from the likes of Varjo, the Finnish hardware manufacturer behind the new VR-2 and VR-2 Pro headsets. The company unveiled the two new VR devices just prior to the event, meaning AWE EU was the first time Varjo had demoed them to the public. Needless to say, the Varjo stand remained busy throughout, as attendees tested the high-resolution display alongside Ultraleap’s hand tracking.

Also on hand was Blend Media which had just officially announced Blend Market. This is an online marketplace designed to connect creatives working in the immersive industries with corporate clients looking to hire professionals for projects.

AWE EU 2019 image2

While there were some big fancy stands by XR’s more prominent companies AWE EU was also about highlighting the smaller startups trying to make their presence known. One of those was Nucurrent, a specialist in wireless charging technology. Fairly standard in high-end smartphones nowadays, Nucurrent displayed its wireless charging system retrofitted to an Oculus Go and its controller using a docking station. Ideal for those who want a storage and charging solution in one.

Check out the interview compilation below. And for all the latest enterprise-focused VR/AR news from around the world, keep reading VRFocus.

October 20, 2019

The VR Job Hub: Rewind, Holoride, Varjo & More

Every weekend VRFocus gathers together a number vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industry, in locations around the globe, to help make finding the ideal job easier. Below are a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on VR, AR and MR.

Location	Company	Role	Link
St Albans, UK	REWIND	3D Artist	Click Here to Apply
St Albans, UK	REWIND	Lead Artist	Click Here to Apply
St Albans, UK	REWIND	Lead Programmer	Click Here to Apply
St Albans, UK	REWIND	Senior Artist	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	Holoride	Backend Architect	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	Holoride	Content Creator	Click Here to Apply
Munich, Germany	Holoride	Software Engineer	Click Here to Apply
NYC, US	Schuco Virtual Construction Lab	VR Programmer	VCLcontact@schuco-usa.com
Helsinki, Finland	Varjo	Unity SDK & Engine Developer	Click Here to Apply
Helsinki, Finland	Varjo	Senior 3D Graphics & Rendering Developer	Click Here to Apply
Helsinki, Finland	Varjo	Computational Vision Developer	Click Here to Apply
Helsinki, Finland	Varjo	Data Scientist	Click Here to Apply
Helsinki, Finland	Varjo	Computer Vision Developer, Eye Tracking	Click Here to Apply

Don’t forget, if there wasn’t anything that took your fancy this week there’s always last week’s listings on The VR Job Hub to check as well.

If you are an employer looking for someone to fill an immersive technology related role – regardless of the industry – don’t forget you can send us the lowdown on the position and we’ll be sure to feature it in that following week’s feature. Details should be sent to Peter Graham (pgraham@vrfocus.com).

We’ll see you next week on VRFocus at the usual time of 3PM (UK) for another selection of jobs from around the world.

October 18, 2019

Daydream Dead, New Pro Headset And Win Hotel R’n’R! – VRecap

Fix up, look sharp, it’s the VRecap!

For those of you not from the UK, that was a reference to the 2003 rap hit from grime artist, Dizzee Rascal. Go Spotify it.

Anyway, there’s a whole host of big headlines to get through this week. The biggest, undoubtedly, is the death of Google Daydream VR. Google’s flashy new phone, the Pixel 4, isn’t supporting it and the company isn’t selling Daydream View anymore. You could probably still find a Lenovo Mirage Solo somewhere online if you were really looking. You probably shouldn’t, though.

Elsewhere, we’ve got a list of the most popular PSVR games (which doesn’t include Ghost Giant because you’re clearly all very bad people). Oh and Varjo announced its next super high resolution headset. It looks amazing but it also cost 5,000 euro so, you know, no thanks.

Moving onto release, it’s another good week for Quest fans with Knockout League and Kingspray. PSVR is suffering a bit of a drought, but you can pick up Crazy Machines VR if you’re in the EU.

Over in the comments section, we asked you if you though Asgard’s Wrath was VR’s best game yet. We think it is, but did you agree?

As for our competition, this week we have codes for Hotel R’n’R, which just got its Party Mode update. Don’t sleep on this one; enter below.

Win Hotel R’n’R on SteamVR

Okay, it’s the weekend. Time to let loose and cause mayhem inside the virtual universe, everyone. I plan on starting bar fights in Drunkn Bar Fight to capture the true essence of a Friday night. How about you?

The post Daydream Dead, New Pro Headset And Win Hotel R’n’R! – VRecap appeared first on UploadVR.

October 15, 2019

Varjo Expands Enterprise Headset Lineup With VR-2 & VR-2 Pro

There are several virtual reality (VR) headsets competing in the higher end enterprise sector such as the HTC Vive Pro Eye, VRgineers’ XTAL and Varjo’s VR-1. The latter is a £6000 GBP head-mounted display (HMD) which launched back in February and today the company has announced two new additions to its product lineup, the VR-2 and VR-2 Pro.

Varjo VR-2

The two new state-of-the-art devices improve on the previous model in a number of ways, adding Varjo’s next-generation Bionic Display which has better peripheral vision and colour consistency than before. Varjo’s 20/20 Eye Tracker technology has also been upgraded offering faster and more accurate calibration performance, giving applications access to precise eye data.

The Bionic Display still features two 1920×1080 low persistence micro-OLEDs and two 1440×1600 low persistence AMOLEDs allowing for the high definition the headset is known for. Both the VR-2 and the VR-2 Pro include support for SteamVR content as well as support for the OpenVR development platform. Additionally, the Varjo VR-2 Pro also comes with integrated Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion) hand tracking technology.

“We have seen first-hand what the power of human-eye resolution in VR can offer in terms of expanding the realm of applications for the enterprise,” said Urho Konttori, Co-Founder and Chief Product Officer of Varjo in a statement. “Today we bring the Resolution Revolution overnight to nearly all industrial applications, unlocking the next level of professional VR. With VR-2 and VR-2 Pro, professionals can benefit from the industry’s highest visual fidelity and the most precise eye-tracking joining forces with the leading hand tracking technology.”

“One of the main goals of SteamVR is to support a diverse ecosystem of hardware and software. Varjo is taking a unique approach to building high-end industrial VR products, and we are excited that users of Varjo will be able to take advantage of the wide array of SteamVR content for professionals,” said Joe Ludwig from Valve.

As you may expect, the Varjo VR-2 and VR-2 Pro require some decent processing power as these system requirements detail:

Component	Recommended	Minimum
Processor	Intel Core i7-8700 AMD Ryzen 7 2700	Intel Core i7-6700 AMD FXTM 9590
GPU	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2080 NVIDIA Quadro RTX 6000	NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 NVIDIA Quadro P6000
RAM	32GB	16GB
Storage Space	2GB
Video output	2 x DisplayPort 1.2 / 2 x Mini DisplayPort 1.2
USB port	1 x USB-A 3.0
Operating system	Windows 10 (64-bit)

Available today, pricing for the Varjo VR-2 starts from $4,995 USD while the VR-2 Pro starts from $5,995. When purchasing either device you’ll also need to add on Varjo’s software and support services starting at $795. Both headsets will be on demonstration at AWE EU 2019 later this week. Varjo now sells four enterprise-grade devices, the other being the XR-1. For further Varjo updates, keep reading VRFocus.

October 15, 2019

Varjo’s VR-2 Pro Kills Screen Door Effect, Tracks Fingers, And Runs SteamVR Content

Varjo is releasing two successors to its VR-1 “bionic” VR headset.

Varjo headsets’ unique feature is that they have angular resolution claimed as equivalent to the human eyes in the center of the image. There are two displays for each eye in a Varjo headset. There’s a larger peripheral display and a smaller foveal display directed toward the middle through an optical combiner. All Varjo headset so far have a field of view of 87 degrees.

A major improvement in the VR-2 series over the previous model is the addition of a prism diffuser film to the peripheral display, made by 3M. Varjo tells us this eliminates the screen door effect. This should make the entire image look more natural, albeit with the center significantly more detailed than the peripheral.

Per pixel calibration for the peripheral display is now also used, meaning improved image consistency and reduced “mura” effect.

VR-2 and VR-2 Pro are almost identical, however the Pro includes Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion) finger tracking built in, a twice as long (10 metre) cable, and a counterweight to improve ergonomics. Many of Varjo’s customers were adding Leap Motion already, so the option to have it integrated represents an added convenience for some.

Varjo vs Vive Pro

All Varjo headsets are also getting SteamVR support. This should allow customers to use software which doesn’t support the Varjo SDK. SteamVR, however, treats the headset as a regular uniform resolution headset, so SteamVR apps can’t take advantage of the headset’s unique foveal display system. This means that Varjo SDK apps will still display the best quality in the headset.

The Varjo runtime is also getting positional timewarp support. Positional timewarp should allow intensive apps like CAD with ray tracing to maintain 90Hz when the framerate would normally drop. For more details on this, see our article about VR reprojection technologies.

Varjo VR-2

In an ideal VR headset you’d see the highest resolution wherever you point your eyes. Varjo says, however, it hasn’t yet reached its ultimate goal of a headset with a dynamic foveal area. The company told us this is due to the difficulty in building a VR headset with constantly moving parts that won’t break down over time. They are researching the feature though.

Varjo VR-2 and VR-2 Pro are now available for purchase for 4995€ and 5995€ respectively. You’ll need to be a business to place an order, and, to be clear, these headsets aren’t designed for playing Beat Saber.

The post Varjo’s VR-2 Pro Kills Screen Door Effect, Tracks Fingers, And Runs SteamVR Content appeared first on UploadVR.

October 15, 2019

Varjo Launches VR-2 Headset with SteamVR Support, Improved ‘Bionic Display’, and Hand-tracking Option

Announced and launched today, Varjo’s enterprise-focused VR-2 brings support for SteamVR content and improves on the headset’s ‘bionic display’, which delivers ‘retina’ resolution at the center of the field of view. A variation called the VR-2 also offers integrated hand-tracking via Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion).

Varjo launched its first headset, the VR-1, only back in February, but the company is already releasing the next iteration. Aimed at high-end enterprise customers, the VR-2 offers an improved ‘bionic display’, which the company says offers a better blend between the central ‘focus display’ (which offers ‘retina’ resolution of 60 PPD) and the larger ‘context’ display (which is much lower PPD but expands the headset’s FOV to an immersive 87 degrees).

The above through-the-lens photos, captured by Varjo, are an accurate portrayal of the difference in visual fidelity between Vive Pro and Varjo VR-2, but only for the center of the field of view (which is the only portion shown here). Use the slider to compare.

We’ve been impressed with Varjo’s execution of the novel display architecture, calling the company’s prior headsets a “breathtaking preview of VR’s future.”

Varjo VR-2 Improvements

While the resolution of the VR-2 is identical the VR-1 (1,920 × 1,080 focus display, 1,440 × 1,600 context display), Varjo says the improvements in visual quality come from an improved optical combiner, enhanced calibration between the focus and context displays, and a diffuser which reduces the screen door effect on the context display. The company says the result is a smoother blend between the two different displays, making for a more natural appearance and a slightly larger area of the ‘retina’ portion of the view.

The VR-2, which has built-in SteamVR tracking, will now also ship with support for SteamVR content. This will also apply to the original Varjo headsets.

Varjo clarified that only its native API currently supports independent resolution rendering of the high density focus display and the lower density context display, while SteamVR content only supports a single resolution. In order to not tax the GPU too hard, SteamVR content will render on the headset around 40 PPD, though users can optionally crank this up to 60 PPD if they have the GPU horsepower.

Varjo VR-2 Pro with Hand-tracking

Alongside the VR-2, Varjo will also offer a VR-2 Pro which will include integrated hand-tracking via Ultraleap (formerly Leap Motion), as well as a removable counterweight for the back of the headset to achieve better balance. The VR-2 Pro also ships with a 10 meter cable while the VR-2 ships with a 5 meter cable.

All Varjo headsets include eye-tracking, and the company says that new and old headsets alike will benefit from faster and more accurate eye-tracking calibration; the company claims its eye-tracking is the best in any VR headset. The video below shows both eye-tracking and hand-tracking in action on the VR-2 Pro:

Varjo VR-2 and VR-2 Pro Price and Release Date

Still aimed at high-end enterprise customers, the VR-2 is priced at the same $5,000 as the original. Meanwhile, the VR-2 Pro costs $6,000. That’s before adding base stations for tracking, controllers, and the mandatory $800 support license. Both headsets are available starting today.

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.

June 20, 2019

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.

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.

May 29, 2019

Volvo Invests In Varjo After Testing XR-1 Prototypes On The Road

Volvo is investing in VR headset-maker Varjo after testing out its XR-1 prototypes to “test-drive virtual car designs on the road.”

The XR-1 Developer Edition is a “video-pass-through headset” promising “visual parity” between augmented and real elements presented to the eyes. The headset is supposed to ship late this year.

According to Varjo:

The XR-1 upgrades Varjo’s human-eye resolution headset (VR-1) with a front plate featuring dual 12 mpx cameras. The core technology making photorealism possible is video-pass-through. It means that the device uses cameras to digitize the world in real time, and then multiplexes it inside the GPU with the virtual content to show the combined result to the user. The Varjo VR-1 is the only device with the high resolution to make the seamless visual blending possible, and the XR-1 has the only camera technology capable of producing high resolution with unperceivable latency (< 15 ms).

Volvo released a video showing the headset and their efforts to visualize early designs with the system.

The headset promises to let wearers “switch seamlessly between mixed reality and full virtual reality modes” with depth sensors to map real-life objects. “XR-1 enables examining photorealistic mixed reality in a full field of view. With the XR-1 virtual objects appear as real as anything in the physical world and can themselves cast shadows or even illuminate reality. Black objects appear truly black, opaque objects indeed block real or virtual light, and semi-transparent objects will refract the light from the real world behind it.”

We’ve seen some demos from Varjo in the past with its VR-1 headset providing impressive resolution improvements. We’ll report back when we get to go eyes-on the XR-1 as well.

Tagged with: Varjo, Volvo

May 29, 2019

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.