vivenchill – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

August 6, 2018

Staying Cool And Comfortable In VR

As Summer drags on, many people in the UK and Europe are sweltering under an unprecedented heatwave. As Kevin E has already noted in VR vs Scorchio article, this kind of weather can make donning a virtual reality (VR) headset and unappealing prospect. However, there are a few measures you can take to make staying in VR a bit more comfortable and safe.

The first thing to do is to properly prepare. Before you even load Steam or turn on the PlayStation 4, make sure you have a drink available nearby, preferably in a bottle or other sealed container. Also ensure you have decent ventilation, even if it is just an open window.

Wait! Nope, step away from the power button. We aren’t done yet. The next few things might involve some shopping.

Make sure your headset is clean. This can be as easy as wiping it down with a microfiber cloth dipped in some soapy water, this will ensure the nasty bugs that like to live in warm, dark places can’t get a foothold. Be sure to clean the lenses and foam surround before and after each use – this is especially important when sharing a headset.

Invest in a VR cover. These come in re-usable variants that can fit most commercial headsets, and can be washed in a washing machine and re-used, or you can buy a pack of disposable ones. Great for absorbing moisture from sweaty foreheads.

Get a desk fan or standing fan. You probably already have one, set it up in your play space and turn it towards you, be sure its in a location you won’t accidentally bump into it.

There are some specialist solutions out there, such as the ‘Vive n’ Chill’ device, which is specifically designed to help HTC Vive users keep their cool, with the added bonus of making sure the lenses don’t fog up.

For a slightly cheaper, if somewhat more ridiculous-looking solution, you can buy cooling face masks. These are designed to be put in the fridge (or even the freezer) and then strapped to your face. It is entirely possible, if somewhat awkward, to wear a HMD on top of one of these, letting it keep your face gloriously cool as you play.

Having a problem with sweaty hands making you lose your grip on your motion controllers? There are products out there that will help keep your hands dry, some of which are even specifically marketed to gamers. There is a more generic solution, however – gym chalk, or climbing chalk. Some recommend liquid chalk in order to prevent white handprints over everything, however.

A slightly more specific issue can occur for Samsung Gear VR or Google Daydream users – namely, the smartphone overheating. For this issue, it’s recommended that you leave the back off your headset. While the back can prevent light glare, in this weather, it will be much more comfortable to just draw the curtains and leave the back off.

Again, there are specific cooling products designed to help keep your smartphone, or Samsung Gear VR a bit cooler, though its hard to say how effective they really are.

To re-emphasise, make sure to stay hydrated. Have a bottle of water on hand and make sure you take regular breaks. Stay safe and comfy, everyone.

November 3, 2017

Wind Simulation Accessory for VR Headsets Hits $30k Crowdfunding Goal on Day One

Launched on November 2nd, the crowdfunding campaign for ZephVR, a VR fan accessory that “adds realistic wind at the right moments” achieved its $30,000 goal on Kickstarter in just a few hours, with 30 days remaining in the campaign. VR hardware startup Weasel Labs aims to deliver the first ZephVR units to customers in May 2018.

As described on the campaign page, ZephVR is designed to work with all VR games and experiences by reacting to audio cues, using machine learning to trigger the two fans at appropriate moments, i.e. traveling at speed, or when a bullet whistles past your ear. If the cue is louder in one audio channel, one fan will spin faster.

This audio-based approach—if it works well—means the hardware should function with all VR headsets; the PSVR-compatible version is more expensive, as it requires an additional audio processing box and cable. There is a cheaper version for just Oculus Rift and HTC Vive: the ‘earliest bird’ version going to the first 150 backers for $50. At the time of writing, some ‘early bird’ offers remain, but the full price appears to be $90 for the Vive/Rift version and $120 for the PSVR/Vive/Rift version.

ViveNchill—a simpler dual-fan device meant to keep players cool—also managed a successful crowdfunding project via Indiegogo in July, and recently began shipping to backers. ZephVR’s two fans can also be run at a constant rate for cooling rather than reactive ‘wind’, but hanging below the headsets rather than above might make it less effective as a cooling solution compared to ViveNchill.

According to the campaign page, ZephVR has the potential to improve over time as the software recognises more specific audio cues, and Weasel Labs hopes to “team up with game developers to create customized experiences for their games,” meaning that more precise fan activation could be supported in the future with direct integration into VR experiences.

The video above gives a visual example of how the algorithm detects the sound of wind in the game Windlands. The text scrolling on the left is red when the fan isn’t active and green when it is; the left stream represents the left fan and the right stream represents the right fan.

The post Wind Simulation Accessory for VR Headsets Hits $30k Crowdfunding Goal on Day One appeared first on Road to VR.

July 18, 2017

Hands-On: ViveNChill Fan Helps Fight Sweaty Faces and Foggy Lenses

I sweat a lot. If I’m standing outside with the sun up and a little breeze, it’s only a matter of time before I start sweating. Going for a jog? I’ll be pouring with sweat before most people are even breathing heavily. In fact, I often sweat without even the need for my breathing or heart rate to increase. If I’m in VR for more than 10 minutes I’m probably sweating regardless of what the experience is. My hands get sweaty all the time without cause, especially when holding a game controller. It’s just kind of part of who I am and bless my wife for dealing with it.

In that way, the ViveNChill cooling fan for the HTC Vive by RedRotor (currently running an IndieGoGo campaign that’s fully-funded with a little over a week left as of the time of this writing) almost feels like it was made for me. The email subject line we got at UploadVR asked, “Who’s the sweatiest guy at Upload?” as they asked to send us a sample unit to try and I don’t think there was a moment of hesitation before I volunteered myself. And the great part is that this little thing actually works.

The ViveNChill is a dead simple device that is so effective and unnoticeable that I’d be shocked if something like this isn’t naturally integrated into all future VR headset designs. GPUs have cooling fans, why not VR HMDs too?

All you do is thread it into the top head strap, plug it into the USB port on the headset itself, attach the fans and adjust them appropriately, and you’re good to go. Like most people I play with headphones on so I never even heard the fans buzzing despite their location.

They don’t blow a whole lot of air and it’s not very powerful, but that’s a good thing. It’s just enough to get a minor breeze flowing down your face and keeping you cool without distracting. Since the setup is so simple it’s hard not to recommend the ViveNChill.

Additionally, a cool breeze is a known relief for anyone that suffers from nausea or VR sickness, plus it will help prevent your lenses from fogging up. It happens to me with my actual glasses on a daily basis so being able to put a stop to it with my VR headset lenses is a huge boon. My wife actually brings me lens-defogging drops from the hospital she works at for me to use on my headsets. A little fan is a much nicer (and less smelly) solution.

Recommendation: Absolutely

The fact of the matter is that VR is not comfortable right now. The HTC Vive (especially) is quite bulky and smashes against your face when you’re using it. The Vive wands are clunky to hold, the wire tethers you and constantly gets in the way, and it’s just a very early technology that’s still going through its growing pains. VR headsets get extremely stuffy, especially if you’re being active in them, so this feels like a must-have accessory for anyone that suffers from a sweaty face in VR.

You can pledge support to the ViveNChill on IndieGoGo right now. They asked for $5,000 and have raised about $10,000 as of now. The lowest tier that grants you a ViveNChill on launch is $25 or you can buy a 4-pack for $88.

Tagged with: exercise, nausea, ViveNChill

July 4, 2017

Keep it Cool with ViveNChill

An IndieGoGo project is aiming to help keep virtual reality (VR) users nice and cool whilst engaging with the virtual world with a product called ViveNChill (pronounced Vive and Chill). The product is a small fan that blows cool air on to the forehead for a cooler VR experience.

The creators of the ViveNChill noted that using a HTC Vive headset for long periods can become uncomfortable, causing sweating and even increasing the ‘VR syndrome’ feelings of nausea. Following scientific research on how to human body heats and cools itself, and specifically citing a study from Frontiers in Neuroscience that stated: “Conversely, although the head and neck represent only 7–9% of the total body surface area, even a small increase in heat loss from surface cooling of this region causes a relatively larger cooling of the body core (Pretorius et al., 2006).”

As a result of this research, the ViveNChill team began working on a small, discrete fan assembly that could be easily added to a HTC Vive headset without compromising the function of the headset. The current version of the product features injection modded components, a whisper-quiet maglev fan and a custom cable harness. The creators estimate that the fan will have a lifespan of 70,000 hours, making it easily as long-lives at the HTC Vive headset.

The ViveNChill team are seeking $5,000 (USD) in funding. As of writing, $2,837 had been raised with a month still to go. Funding tiers range from the $20 early bird offer for a single ViveNChill unit, through to $88 for four ViveNChill units at ‘buddy pricing’ rates. The project creators expect that products will begin shopping in September 2017 if the funding goal is met.

Further information can be found on the IndieGoGo page.

VRFocus will keep you informed on the progress of the ViveNChill project.

June 30, 2017July 17, 2017

‘Vive N Chill’ Soon to Double Crowdfunding Goal with 2 Weeks Remaining

ViveNchill, the intriguing new bolt-on dual-fan cooling solution for the HTC Vive, has begun its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.

Update (7/17/17): The ViveNchill Indiegogo is now at 193% of its $5,000 goal. With 13 days remaining, the campaign appears on track to at least double its goal. Although the creators of the campaign haven’t announced any stretch goals, they have moved their shipping timeline forward and plan to begin deliveries one month sooner than initially projected.

Though not a huge campaign by any means, nearly 400 of the seemingly simple ViveNchill accessory have been bought through the campaign, suggesting that the product is addressing a real need for a non-trivial number of current Vive owners; something to be considered for all headset makers going forward.

Update (7/6/17): Now at 88% funded, the ViveNChill Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign looks well on its way to hitting its $5,000 goal; the campaign still has 24 days remaining. So far the team behind the project hasn’t announced any stretch goals.

Original Article (6/30/17): We wrote recently about a new prototype solution to alleviate ‘sweaty VR face’ syndrome and, as promised, we’re letting you know that the crowdfunding campaign for the system has gone live via Indiegogo (the originally stated Kickstarter campaign has hit some delays apparently).

ViveNchill Indiegogo

VivenChill uses a dual fan coling system that, instead of venting hot air from the inside of the HTC Vive headset, blows air over the top of the user’s head. The idea is that the solution dissipates heat from bloody circulating around the rest of your face and, in theory, alleviating sweaty faces and foggy lenses whilst you’re immersed.

I wrote at the time that I was a little sceptical, but the team at RedRotor behind ViveNchill are adamant that the final solution was born from “extensive testing” and that the entirely external design avoids dry eyes and poor air flow of their earlier vented prototypes. The new campaign page cites some studies which highlight blood circulation whilst the body exercises and “directing air at and over this crucial part of the body, the ViveNchill helps reduce your overall temperature.”

We can’t vouch for this in any way unfortunately, as we’re yet to arrange a review unit (we’re working on this) but given the early bird prices for a single unit are being offered via IndieGogo for $20 plus shipping, there are probably quite a few people out there willing to give it a shot.

Let us know if you’re thinking of backing the project and we’ll let you know when we get our hands on a unit to judge its effectiveness.

The post ‘Vive N Chill’ Soon to Double Crowdfunding Goal with 2 Weeks Remaining appeared first on Road to VR.

June 26, 2017

‘Vive N Chill’ is a Cooling Solution for HTC Vive Users With Sweaty VR Faces

ViveNchill is a new bolt-on cooling system comprising two angled fans that the creators claim will banish foggy, sweaty headset issues for good.

Unsavoury headline aside, the folks at RedRotor (a company previously specialising in drone components and accessories) have turned their hand to a problem which in truth still doesn’t have a universal solution – sweaty VR face syndrome.

Their prototype product, which the company plans to bring to Kickstarter soon, is calls ViveNchill and is a neat, if surprising solution which the company claim is born from extensive testing and the need to meet a strict set of criteria. The brief was to come up with a cheap, quiet and lightweight headset mounted system which was easy to operate and yet delivered effective cooling, dealing with heat buildup inside the HTC Vive while under heavy use or just a quick bout of summer VR.

The surprise? ViveNchill doesn’t opt for the most obvious approach of piping (or extracting) air from the headset itself, it instead uses dual tilting fans mounted atop the face interface, angling down towards the user’s forehead. The fans are powered from the Vive’s top-mounted USB port (which sits in the recessed area underneath the breakaway top section, near the other ports). It also includes a neat, accessible on/off switch mounted over the top head strap.

“We experimented with countless fan types and build iteration after iteration of prototypes that focus on piping air into the headset,” says Tony Tran, co-designer of ViveNchill, “It didn’t take long to realise that most user experience problems with dry eyes, high noise levels and low air flow. In the end, we discovered that dissipating the heat generated across the forehead provided a much more substantial benefit than forcing air into the headset itself.”

An interesting solution indeed and one, if I’m honest, I’m a tad sceptical of without having the benefit of trying it out. Cooling is only delivered to the top of the head, which sounds ineffective on the face of it (sorry). That said, assisting with heat dissipation across areas of blood flow around the area does make some sense to me, and if it does work, this could be a real game changer for those living in warmer climates or those VR user who like to exert themselves while immersed. We’ve been offered a review unit, so will try to see for ourselves if this is effective and let you know.

RedRotor are aiming for a low retail price of $25-32 for ViveNchill, with the fans specced to run at less than 23db, a level you won’t ever notice once immersed. At that price point, it may be worth a punt regardless. To that end, we’ll let you know when the Kickstarter goes live.

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