Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset: 450 Euro mit Windows Controllern

Asus hat auf einer Pressekonferenz zur IFA 2017 in Berlin sein neues Headset vorgestellt. Im Gegensatz zu Dell verzichtet Asus bei seiner eigenwillig gestylten VR-Brille auf einen Namenszusatz. Von den technischen Details unterscheidet sich das Headset zwar nicht von anderen Windows-Mixed-Reality-Brillen, interessant ist aber Preis: Zusammen mit den Windows-Controllern soll das Asus-Headset 450 Euro kosten und liegt damit aktuell auf dem gleichen Preisniveau wie die Oculus Rift.

Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset

Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset kommt mit Windows-Controllern

Auf den ersten Blick fällt das eigenwillige Prisma-Design des Headsets von Asus auf. Eine Neuerfindung ist es allerdings nicht, die Gestaltung kennt man bereits von den Rückseiten der ZenFone-Deluxe-Serie. Das Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset wiegt knapp 400 g und ist damit etwas leichter als die Oculus Rift. Wie auch bei den anderen bisher vorgestellten Windows-VR-Brillen lässt sich der Visor hochklappen, um schnell ohne die Brille abnehmen zu müssen einen Blick in die echte Realität werfen zu können.

Auch die technischen Daten sind bei den Windows-Headsets gleich: Die Brille besitzt zwei Displays mit je 1440 x 1440 Bildpunkten. Die Bildwiederholrate liegt bei 90 hz. Während die Auflösung etwas besser ist als bei der Konkurrenz aus den Häusern Oculus und Vive, muss man beim Sichtfeld leichte Abstriche machen. Mit 95 Grad ist es kleiner als bei der PC-Kontrahenten. In der Praxis dürfte das aber weniger auffallen. Die Windows-Headsets setzen auf Inside-Out-Tracking, wodurch man auf externe Sensoren oder Kameras verzichten kann: Zwei Weitwinkelkameras im Headset-Gehäuse übernehmen die Raum – und Händeerfassung.

Asus Windows Mixed Reality Headset Controller

Das Interessanteste an der Neuvorstellung ist aber der Preis. 450 Euro soll das Headset kosten, wenn es auf den Markt kommt. Zum Vergleich: die VR-Brille von Acer kostet derzeit 300 US-Dollar, der Visor von Dell soll 350 Dollar kosten. Allerdings werden dem Set von Asus die Microsoft Windows Controller beiliegen, woraus sich ein Preis von rund 100 Euro für die Eingabegeräte ableiten lässt. Einen Veröffentlichungstermin nannte der taiwanesische Hersteller noch nicht.

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Sensics Releases High Resolution VR Headset Built Specially for Arcades and Theme Parks

Sensic, a long-time player in virtual reality and co-founder of OSVR, finally released their VR headset destined to make its way to public venues such as theme parks and arcades. Teasing the project late last year, the enterprise-facing headset is touted to be more hygienic, comfortable, and pack a higher resolution display than consumer devices.

Sensics, a co-founder of Razer’s OSVR initiative which produced the HDK headset, has a pretty specific approach on how out-of-home VR headsets should differ from their consumer counterparts.

pre-production model, image courtesy Sensics

Firstly, there’s hygiene. Sensics includes a machine-washable, hypoallergenic face mask that physically separates from the display, allowing for arcade-goers to strap in, get comfortable and have a chat (or selfie) before clipping into the display portion of the headset. This essentially cuts down the amount of lead time by letting customers prep before heading into their VR experience. More importantly, Sensics says the inexpensive strap can be set aside after each guest is done and sanitized for later use. If you’ve ever tried a VR headset after someone sweat in it, soaking right through the spongy foam gasket and headstrap, you can imagine how bad it would get in a facility that sees multiple customers daily.

That said, customers are going to sweat, and mitigating these effects during the experience with dual fans, which Sensics says are silent, helps remove excess humidity from the headset, keeping lenses clear from fog.

As for resolution, the company maintains the screen door effect (SDE) is diminished with the headset’s dual 1440×1600@90 Hz LCD displays, a 70 percent increase in pixels over consumer devices like Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. We haven’t had an opportunity to substantiate the reduction of SDE, but the company provides as comparison chart between its lower tier dual 1080×1200 OLED, which happens to be the same resolution as Rift and Vive.

Arcade and park owners can also opt to include embedded hand/finger trackers like Leap Motion, which sits flush inside the unit behind a window that’s transparent to IR.

pre-production model, image courtesy Sensics

The public VR headset is also said to work with “hundreds of peripherals including wide-area tracking systems.” The press release announcing the headset doesn’t make specific mention of what positional tracking system it employs, saying only that it integrates a 9-axis orientation tracker, something headsets use for basic head-tracking only. Aftermarket solutions like OptiTrack’s IR-reflective positional tracking system, which uses traditional motion capture tech, would be a likely candidate for large-scale, out-of-home facilities looking to use Sensics system however.

IR motion capture for VR, image courtesy OptiTrack

Pre-production units are currently on sale on the OSVR Store in two flavors: a $2,590.00 headset with 2880×1600@90 Hz LCD display, and the lower tier $2,160.00 headset with 2160×1200@90 Hz OLED display. Large quantities of the final device are slated to ship later this year.

Specs

  • A choice of two screen options: 2880×1600@90 Hz LCD, or 2160×1200@90 Hz OLED including diffusion film for reduced SDE
  • Removable face-plate
  • Built-in dual silent fans to comfort and ventilation
  • Front IR window for optional embedded Leap Motion controller
  • High-quality 100-degree optics with adjustable focus
  • Integrated 9-axis orientation tracker
  • On-unit buttons for user interface (disabled in pre-production units)
  • Ergonomic and adjustable head strap
  • Supports direct mode and asynchronous time warp
  • Supported by all major game engines including Unity, Unreal and more

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Researchers Induce Artificial Movement Sensation in VR Using Four-Pole Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation

Shown as part of the Emerging Technologies installations at SIGGRAPH 2017 this week, the GVS RIDE experience demonstrates the effects of four-pole galvanic vestibular stimulation combined with a VR headset. The technology is pitched as a potential alternative to a motion platform, with its ability to “induce tri-directional acceleration” and “enhance virtual acceleration”.

GVS RIDE is the result of years of studies into galvanic vestibular stimulation (GVS) from researchers at Osaka University in Japan. The demonstration, as described on the Emerging Technologies page of the SIGGRAPH 2017 website, is presented in two parts: firstly, the user has a typical VR experience by watching a conventional VR video without GVS, followed by watching it again with the GVS circuit enabled, which is said to induce a “higher sensation of presence”.

GVS technology has cropped up regularly in VR discussions over the years, and is generally approached with a healthy dose of trepidation and skepticism. Passing electric current through the head is, in itself, a rather alarming concept, which is then compounded by its ability to manipulate our precious bodily sensors. When controlled precisely however, it has the potential to enhance motion sensations, and assist in resolving certain nausea-inducing VR effects. The basic concept is surprisingly simple – electrodes placed behind the ear (on the ‘mastoids’) pass current through the vestibular system (parts of the inner ear), affecting balance. By controlling the current paths, it is possible to induce different balance and acceleration sensations.

Image courtesy Dr. Aoyama et al, Nature

A two-pole GVS setup, with an electrode behind each ear, is able to induce lateral movement or ‘roll’, and a three-pole GVS, which fits an additional electrode to the forehead, can induce anteroposterior movement or ‘pitch’. The four-pole GVS system developed by the Osaka University team lead by Dr. Kazuma Aoyama, places two electrodes on the mastoids, and another two on the temples. This is able to induce directional virtual head motion around three perpendicular axes. In other words, they’ve managed to evoke roll, pitch, and yaw sensations.

Dr. Aoyama’s work detailing four-pole GVS was detailed in a report published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature in 2014. I asked him what had changed since that initial publication, and he explained that they now have six-pole GVS, which can induce four directions: “lateral, front-back, yaw-rotation, and up-down”. This advanced system uses six electrodes (two extra on the neck, “5 or 6cm below the mastoids”), used to enhance the vertical acceleration sensation, but for GVS RIDE as shown at SIGGRAPH 2017 they are just using the four-pole system to manipulate three directions.

Dr. Aoyama avoids describing the ‘lateral’ and ‘front-back’ directions as ‘roll’ and ‘pitch’, as it is difficult for a human to differentiate between an actual roll rotational head motion and a linear lateral movement through vestibular stimulation alone. However, this is apparently advantageous, as the interpretation of both movements can be “easily controlled by visual flow”. As such, Dr. Aoyama believes that GVS can suitably align with both rotational and positional tracking in VR.

It’s unclear when or how GVS might be incorporated into a consumer device (although there have been promising GVS experiments with headphones), but the Osaka team believes their lightweight solution can be “easily adapted to conventional VR systems.” The biggest concern is surely the consumer acceptance of such ‘intrusive’ technology and the variability in its effectiveness across a wide range of people. (For example, there are many reports of GVS tests causing discomfort as a result of variable skin sensitivity.)

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HP’s New Commercial VR Backpack PC Smartly Docks to Double as VR Desktop

Scheduled for release in September starting at $3,300, the HP Z VR Backpack G1 Workstation is aimed at the commercial market, with high-performance components including an Intel Core i7 CPU and Nvidia Quadro GPU. It features a smart docking design for use as a VR backpack computer as well as a VR desktop, and includes two hot-swappable batteries for continuous tether-free VR use.

Unlike their gamer-centric Omen X VR Backpack (which was introduced last year as a concept and is now about to launch as the ‘Omen X Compact Desktop‘), the new Z VR Backpack adds to HP’s family of VR-Ready workstation-class PCs, making it suitable for business applications such as product development and employee training. Announced at SIGGRAPH 2017 this week, the system is described as “the most powerful wearable VR PC ever created”, and “the world’s first professional wearable VR PC”.

The professional-grade specifications centre around the vPro-enabled Intel Core i7-7820HQ processor, and Nvidia Quadro P5200 GPU with 16GB VRAM. The system can be configured with up to 32GB RAM and a 1TB M.2 SSD.

Despite the seemingly imminent wireless VR revolution, HP believes there is still a market for this form of wearable solution, perhaps for applications where it is unsuitable or difficult to mount a wireless transmitter, or where many VR users are operating in close proximity.

The aggressive cut in the video between dock and backpack in the footage perhaps highlights the rugged design of the system, which has been built for “extreme durability with 120,000 hours of HP testing” and is designed to pass MIL-STD 810G tests (a US Military Standard).

Image courtesy HP

Much like the recently-announced Omen X Compact Desktop, part of the Z VR Backpack’s appeal is the dual-purpose design, meaning that it can quickly transition between desktop dock—which is capable of dual 4K monitor output—and backpack, for untethered, high-end VR. That makes it a much more practical purchase than an expensive VR backpack PC which would otherwise require lots of plugging and unplugging each time you want to switch between backpack mode and use as a regular computer—not to mention that mounting it upright saves plenty of desk space.

A full overview of the system and its specifications is available on HP’s website.

“Virtual reality is changing the way people learn, communicate and create. Making the most of this technology requires a collaborative relationship between customers and partners”, says Xavier Garcia, vice president and general manager, Z Workstations, HP Inc. “As a leader in technology, HP is uniting powerful commercial VR solutions, including new products like the HP Z VR Backpack, with customer needs to empower VR experiences our customers can use today to reinvent the future.”

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Using Apple’s ARKit, This Company Built Inside-Out Tracking for a VR Headset

Nexus Interactive Arts, an immersive media division of VFX production studio Nexus Studios, have used Apple’s ARKit working on an iPhone 7 in an experiment that creates basic inside-out positional tracking and pass-through AR for a Google Cardboard headset.

Announced last month at Apple’s annual Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC), ARKit is an iOS 11 tool allowing developers to create AR applications thanks to the device’s computer vision capabilities. With ARKit, iOS 11 devices are able to map surfaces in real time, and allow users to superimpose digital objects onto the physical world—replete with interactive animations and dynamic lighting.

Using ARKit, the team reports their inside-out positional tracking solution clocks in “at around 60 frames per second,” or right around mobile VR’s current target framerate. This, according to the team, means Apple has created the foundations for a cheap, but still ultimately reliable positional tracking solution for mobile VR headsets.

In the video, they demonstrate inside-out positional tracking for VR and pass-through AR by touring a conceptual ‘art museum’ in a park. When in VR, walking close to a boundary like a tree results in a point cloud materializing into the otherwise closed-off experience—essentially acting as a guardian system to keep you from bumping into things as explore the infinite (or sufficiently large) tracking volume afforded by the device’s machine vision. In the AR demonstration, the digital skybox is lifted to reveal digital scenery affixed to the park’s trees and landscape.

The AR headset capabilities presented in the video, while an impressive use of ARKit, are less useful in this case because of the lack of stereoscopic vision afforded by the iPhone 7’s monoscopic rear-mounted camera. The developers aren’t couching this as a verified AR headset solution however, but rather showing the versatility of ARKit itself.

Allowing developers free reign to create applications for AR—and thanks to this experiment, now free-roaming VR experiences currently puts Apple back into competition despite its lack of discrete AR/VR headsets.

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Report: Facebook to Ship a $200 Standalone Mobile VR Headset in 2018

According to a report by Bloomberg, Facebook is working on a wireless, all-in-one VR headset said to target the $200 price range. Citing “people familiar with its development,” the report reveals the Oculus-branded headset, code named ‘Pacific’, will ship sometime next year.

The headset is said to be more compact than the company’s PC VR headset the Oculus Rift, and lighter than Gear VR, Samsung’s mobile VR headset that accepts a number of flagship Galaxy phone variants including the new S8, S8 Edge and S8 Plus among many others. While the headset is still in its design phase and features aren’t finalized, the report says, there’s no denying the appeal to a high-quality mobile VR experience at such a low price point.

SEE ALSO
Oculus: ‘Multiple VR titles have made more than $1M in the Oculus store alone’

According to Bloomberg’s unnamed sources, Oculus plans to partner with Xiaomi, one of the world’s largest mobile phone manufacturers, to produce the new Oculus-branded headset for global distribution. A custom variant featuring Xiaomi branding and software will be produced for the Chinese market.

Oculus Rift, image courtesy Oculus

Oculus head Hugo Barra came to the company early this year, working previously as Xiaomi’s Global VP.

A Snapdragon mobile chip from Qualcomm is said to power ‘Pacific’, reporting that its gaming power is “superior to that of the Gear VR, but unlike the powerful Rift device, will not include positional tracking technology.” Bloomberg reports that the new headset will have a similar interface to Gear VR and will be controlled by a wireless remote.

The news comes hot on the heels of Oculus’ recent price drop of the Rift, bringing the headset to $400 including Touch, the platform’s motion controllers.

Oculus provided the following statement to TechCrunch via a spokesperson:

We don’t have a product to unveil at this time, however we can confirm that we’re making several significant technology investments in the standalone VR category. This is in addition to our commitment to high-end VR products like Oculus Rift and mobile phone products like Gear VR

The story is breaking. We’ll update as more information comes in.

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This is Your Last Chance to Buy an Oculus Rift on Sale for $400

Oculus has given the Rift & Touch their biggest discount yet: $400 to get you both the Rift headset and the Touch controllers, and a slew of bundled content. The company now confirms they’ll be ending the sale on September 4th, making it your last chance to get the headset and controller bundle before it returns to the new price of $500.

Update (9/4/17): Oculus today announced in a blogpost the ending date and time of the ‘Summer of Rift’ sale, which has seen the Rift + Touch bundle slashed to $400. After September 4th PT, the Rift + Touch bundle will return to a new price of $500. The end of sale period has prompted Oculus to do an ‘End of Summer Flash Sale’ on games and apps. We’ve got a breakdown of all the deals in the flash sale.


Update (8/10/17): An Oculus spokesperson confirmed to Road to VR that the company plans to extend the Summer Rift sale by “a few weeks”. The following statement was provided:

Due to high demand, and the resulting switch to the all-in-one Rift+Touch package, Oculus is extending the sale by a few weeks to make sure everyone can take advantage of the Summer of Rift promotion.

The sale was originally said to last six weeks, which would have had the deal ending on or about August 21st.

When the sale started, Oculus was shipping separate Rift and Touch packages (as it had since launch), but part way through the company announced a new Rift + Touch bundle which combines both together into one package and also removes some of the things that came with the former separate packages (like the Xbox One gamepad). When the sale ends, Oculus has announced that the Rift + Touch bundle will be priced at $500 ($100 less than the cost of the separate Rift and Touch packages prior to the sale).

Original Article (7/10/17): At the start of 2017, the Oculus Rift + Touch controllers cost $800, the same as the HTC Vive. Starting today, as part of the ‘Summer of Rift’ sale, the headset and controller bundle is going on sale for just $400, a huge 50% price drop from what you would have paid just six months ago. Oculus had dropped the price to $600 earlier this year, and after the big sale, will be returning the price to $500. A new all-in-one box will be replacing the previous bundle, which shipped in two separate boxes. This new all-in-one box critically excludes the Xbox One controller and Oculus Remote.

In The Box

Here’s everything you’ll be unboxing in the new all-in-one Rift + Touch bundle:

Photo by Road to VR

This price drop comparatively puts the Oculus Rift + Touch in the same range as the latest gen consoles such as the PS4 Pro ($400) and the more expensive Xbox One X ($500). While you’ll still need a capable computer to run the Oculus Rift, you’d be surprised at just how little you can get away with nowadays. It might be as simple as dropping in a low-ish cost NVIDIA GTX 1060 or AMD Radeon RX 480 into your computer. Check out this handy guide to see if your computer is VR Ready.

SEE ALSO
Two Ways to Play Non-VR Games With the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive

Helpful Info

Considering jumping on this deal? We’ve got a number of articles you may find useful to make your decision.

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This Startup Aims to Deliver a VR Headset with ‘Human Eye Level’ Resolution

Varjo Technologies, a Helsinki-based startup now out of stealth, recently demonstrated what it calls the world’s first human eye-resolution headmounted display. Intended for its own swath of Varjo-branded headsets, the new display configuration promises “unprecedented resolution of VR and AR content limited only by the perception of the human eye itself.”

According to a hands-on by Tech Crunch, the headset packs a pair of high-resolution Sony MicroOLED displays measuring 0.7 inches diagonally that boast 3,000 pixels per inch (PPI)—a significant jump from Oculus Rift of HTC Vive’s 447-461 PPI. Microdisplays don’t typically provide an acceptable field of view (FOV) for the purposes of VR, but Varjo is combining a few methods to provide the pixel-dense picture to an entire 100 degree FOV.

As reported by Tech Crunch, these microdisplays “fill up about a 20-degree field of view which is reflected off of mirrors in the headset while the wider scene is displayed on a more normal resolution display in the background.”

Codenamed 20|20, Varjo (meaning ‘shadow’ in Finnish) built their early prototype inside of a hacked Oculus Rift by a team of optical scientists, creatives and developers who formerly occupied top positions at Microsoft, Nokia, Intel, Nvidia and Rovio.

Billed as a “bionic display,” the prototype shown to Tech Crunch featured a “fixed focus display” that was set at the center point of the users vision, but the company says its currently building systems that will dynamically adjust the microdisplay-reflected image to your gaze thanks to the future addition of integrated eye-tracking technology.

conventional VR resolution (below), Varjo’s resolution (above)| image courtesy Varjo

For now, the headset is destined for professional users, as the technology will no doubt require a top-in-class computer due to the graphical constraints of delivering rendered images that can make use of the display’s high pixel density. It’s also difficult to say how a hardware-based solution will stand up to everyday use since it requires lenses to physically move every time your eye shifts position.

Comparative matrix Effective resolution Field of view
Varjo 20|20 70 MP 100°
Oculus, Vive 1.2 MP 100°
VR in 5 years * 16 MP 140°
HoloLens 1 MP 32°
ODG R9 2 MP 50°
Meta II 1.8 MP 100°
* Prediction 2016 by Oculus Chief Scientist Michael Abrash at Oculus Connect 3

“Varjo’s patented display innovation pushes VR technology 10 years ahead of the current state of-the-art, where people can experience unprecedented resolution of VR and AR content limited only by the perception of the human eye itself,” said Urho Konttori, CEO and founder of Varjo Technologies. “This technology, along with Varjo VST, jump-starts the immersive computing age overnight – VR is no longer a curiosity, but now can be a professional tool for all industries.”

The high resolution display technology will be shipping in Varjo-branded products specifically for professional users and applications starting in late Q4, 2017.

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Developer Videos Show Valve’s Knuckles Controllers in Action

New footage of Valve’s new ‘Knuckles’ controllers has emerged over the past few days, as developers begin to test out the new device. The ‘next-gen’ SteamVR controller prototypes represent a major advancement over the current Vive motion controllers, with five finger tracking and an ‘open hand’ grip.

The new controllers have been shipping to select developers, with prominent VR studio Cloudhead Games being one of the first the receive packages, which they’ve been keen to share on social media. A short video (heading this article) was released to their YouTube channel, presented by Cloudhead’s CEO and Creative Director Denny Unger, showing the simple package and intuitive hardware design.

Unger points out that you can grab and use them just like the Vive controllers, but the “magic happens” when you pull the cord to tighten the cinch that allows the user to fully release their grip. This short clip from Cloudhead shows the sort of advantages that can bring:

Playing around within the default SteamVR Home environment using a ‘five finger’ hand model option for the avatar, Unger highlights the capacitive sensors on the grip that allow for individual finger detection, and the trackpad that offers a more granular control of the virtual thumb position. The studio has been closely associated with Valve’s new design from an early stage, having been asked to create a demo for the first prototype hardware at its announcement at Steam Dev Days last year.

Other short clips of the controllers in action show developers rolling their fingers across the grip and ‘flipping the bird’, along with reactions and ‘unboxings’ from other notable VR studios such as Owlchemy Labs, Radial Games and Vertigo Games; see a collection of these Twitter ‘Moments’ here. Valve have not revealed their plans for a consumer version of the Knuckles controllers at this time.

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Valve Reveals More Detail on ‘Knuckles’ Motion Controllers

Valve has lifted the veil somewhat on its Knuckles controllers, first revealed as a prototype last October at the company’s annual Steam Dev Days conference. In a blog post today, Valve showed off some specs of the Knuckles dev kit alongside a button-map of the device, revealing the controllers will have multiple capacitive sensors to allow for some basic 5-finger tracking.

Like HTC Vive’s motion controller, Knuckles is positioned in 3D space by Steams’s Lighthouse tracking system, but Valve has designed its prototype motion controller to offer a greater sense of presence than its ‘closed hand’ predecessor. By creating a device that clamps onto the back of your hand, Valve hopes to let users ‘let go’ of the controller while in use, allowing virtual objects to be grabbed and thrown naturally.

As an ‘open hand’ controller, Knuckles will also hone in on virtual hand presence by including a number of capacitive sensors, detailed today in a developer blog post. Located in different areas on the controller, these sensors, much like the ones in Ouclus Touch, will help detect the state of the user’s hands by sensing when your finger in on a button, or particular part of a controller.

Capacitive sensors are under each physical button including the trigger surface, outer face button surface, inner face button surface, and system button surface. There are also separate arrays of capacitive sensors in the controller’s grip, which is designed to enable grasp and un-grasp actions and determine which finger is resting where.

While this isn’t what you’d call ‘full’ finger tracking, which would ideally involve a way to calculate exactly where your fingers are at all times, the Knuckles controller is promising to provide a more basic tracking solution that can tell if your fingers are on or off discrete parts of the controller, like sitting on a button or curling around the grip. In fact, because capacitive sensors only allow for an on and off state, Valve recommends devs perform some smoothing when designing virtual hands for the controller to keep the finger motions from looking “too mechanical.”

It’s not ideal, but besides aiming to provide better hand presence, it also hopes to make social VR a little more human by allowing users to show natural hand positions.

image courtesy Valve

It also has a handy strap-tightening system that lets you fit the controller snug, and release with a single hand.

Some is sure to change before commercial release of the Knuckles controllers. Developers currently need to calibrate finger tracking, as dev units provide “very poor” tracking when operated in an uncalibrated state. Valve says however the need for an explicit calibration procedure “should be considered a temporary measure that will only be required for these dev-units.” Dev kits currently have a 3 hour battery life that draw current from a rechargeable 500mA battery, charging via a USB micro-B connector.

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