Google Daydream View

[wco81]

Kind of lost in all the products that Google announced.

I don't know about the longterm prospects of the Pixel phones but I think if VR is going to have some measure of success, it's going to be mobile-based, not tethered to consoles or PCs by a birds nest of wires.

Any more than these pocket or handheld computers which we call smart phones would have taken off if they had to be always tethered to ethernet instead of Wifi and mobile networks.

Of course the experience isn't quite the same as a OR connected to a top-flight PC but if the cost of entry is that high, the experience will be pretty niche.

There is a Galaxy VR commercial showing what appears to be average people, several attractive young women, looking to be moved by the VR experience they just had.

But average people won't bother if the cost and setup of VR is too high and cumbersome to deal with.

OTOH, even if the best or most popular VR content turns out to be games, can mobile devices be "good enough" to drive good VR gaming experience on these untethered and cheap VR viewers?

 

[cheapchips]

The little capacitive markers that let the phone align the L/R viewports to the lenses is a really neat solution.

 

[eastmen]

apparently its just a shell + lenses and an NFC chip . So its interesting that its so much money.

The thing is gorgeous however and I hope it makes Samsung up its design game the more competition the better in this field

 

[Deleted member 13524]

So its interesting that its so much money.

Like pretty much everything that was presented by Google that day.

 

[Arwin]

There are two big problems with mobile based VR.

1. Power. You look at the compromised that have to be made on high end PCs and PS4 to get a decent and stable frame rate and now try to imagine doing that on a phone. I don't even have to mention heat or battery problems.

2. Controls. Even though watching movies and such is actually pretty good on mobile VR, even that is held back by that the whole phone experience depends on the touch screen. But the touch screen is gone once you use it for VR. Now you need a decent controller. It will be ages before anything decent is standard for this let alone enough people carry one.

So that Daydream at least comes with a simple controller by default is a good beginning. Apple will need to come up with a well supported standard solution at the OS level as well before it. Perhaps they can figure out a pen that also works in spatial movement, but it will be a while and will no doubt cost an arm and a leg.

PS VR right out of the gate has everything pretty much correct, so it is out last in a way, but immediately quite far ahead of the pack with the default controller not only working, but working really well because trackable, and its virtual representation in games is great. And the whole OS works in VR.

Google coming out with this is still a step up for the mobile world in that respect. It's low cost, lightweight, and if they have Android working with it natively (not yet perhaps?) that's a big plus.

 

[eastmen]

Arwin you do know that gear vr has a controller built into the headset right ?




as for tracking pens and what not a front facing camera set up ala Kinect would work fine.

 

[cheapchips]

Having a control pad on the HMD is pretty naff. Except for a Cyclops simulator. That'd be perfect.

An outward facing connect is to demanding on power for mobile at the moment.

I think Daydream's 3 axis controller is a nice compromise at this stage.

 

[eastmen]

Having a control pad on the HMD is pretty naff. Except for a Cyclops simulator. That'd be perfect.

An outward facing connect is to demanding on power for mobile at the moment.

I think Daydream's 3 axis controller is a nice compromise at this stage.

it works extremely well for passive entertainment like Netflix or hulu . For games not so much but the best controller is the one you have with you Oculus announced that you can use the xbox one controller with Bluetooth shortly on gear vr.

As for Kinect , well the phones already come with a camera so you'd just have to do some simple tracking of the hands.

 

[cheapchips]

I suppose that's why I'm happy with Daydream's specs insisting that the controller's include and that it's portable. The xbox controller isn't really.

The camera on phones is the wrong fov / pointing in the wrong place really isn't it?

 

[eastmen]

I suppose that's why I'm happy with Daydream's specs insisting that the controller's include and that it's portable. The xbox controller isn't really.

The camera on phones is the wrong fov / pointing in the wrong place really isn't it?

you could just build a wide angle into the casing the phone goes into.

I would think for optimal tracking you'd need to cameras the one on the Phone and on the head set angled down wards.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

As for Kinect , well the phones already come with a camera so you'd just have to do some simple tracking of the hands.

They wouldn't see your hands unless you're holding them up in front of your eyes.

you could just build a wide angle into the casing the phone goes into.

I would think for optimal tracking you'd need to cameras the one on the Phone and on the head set angled down wards.

Yes. You'd want a camera on the underside looking at the arms.

 

[eastmen]

They wouldn't see your hands unless you're holding them up in front of your eyes.

Yes. You'd want a camera on the underside looking at the arms.

yup but the two cameras should give you enough coverage of what a typical usage scenario would be. You wouldn't be able to go as complex as touch or the vive wands or even move. But you should be able to cover most usage types . You could put a cheap arm chip and sensor in the visor .

Optimal would be two cameras pointing out and down one of each side of the front of the umd or even on a corner with an angle to see some of the side and front . The two plus the one on the phone itself should provide the coverage needed

 

[CurtWhispers]

I think the possibility of VR going mobile is pretty slim in the near future. Like pretty much what everyone else said: lack of controller, lack of power and more often than not it would probably just overheat if it was confined to a mobile phone

 

[Arwin]

Where it does seem to work fine is media. VR movies and such work quite wel on mobile phone.