Agreed, and that’s one of the main reasons why the Apple headset failed (other than the price, and the fact that it’s a VR headset that can’t play VR games, of course).
Three things need to happen before outdoor VR/headset AR becomes mainstream:
It needs to look like a normal pair of glasses,
It needs a to have mainstream software support,
It needs to be affordable (less than $500, ideally under $300).
1 can never happen, at least if you’re defining “normal” as currently fashionable sunglasses. AR maybe, but VR needs full color displays at a certain distance so the eye can focus and it needs to block out other light sources. And then the power source and computer needs to connect somehow. Maybe, as in sci-fi maybe, we can develop a superdense high-definition display that beams directly into the retina while compensating for the lens, variable focus, and general motion of the eye so it can sit an inch away and look crisp, but I can’t imagine that being realistic this side of fifty years (and it doesn’t solve the energy or processing problems). VR is either not going to be mainstream in our lifetime or everyone is going to accept wearing a shoebox on their face for the experience.
2 and 3 are reasonable requests, there should be headsets that are as attainable and compatible as a standard monitor.
Well that’s at least an inch of electronics and lens and doesn’t address the focal distance problem. You’re putting the cart well before the horse here, automatically swapping from AR to immersive VR is the last thing to solve.
The stupid looking thing hanging off your face is still going to be a huge turn off.
Until they fix the form factor, VR isn’t going to be a real thing.
Agreed, and that’s one of the main reasons why the Apple headset failed (other than the price, and the fact that it’s a VR headset that can’t play VR games, of course).
Three things need to happen before outdoor VR/headset AR becomes mainstream:
1 can never happen, at least if you’re defining “normal” as currently fashionable sunglasses. AR maybe, but VR needs full color displays at a certain distance so the eye can focus and it needs to block out other light sources. And then the power source and computer needs to connect somehow. Maybe, as in sci-fi maybe, we can develop a superdense high-definition display that beams directly into the retina while compensating for the lens, variable focus, and general motion of the eye so it can sit an inch away and look crisp, but I can’t imagine that being realistic this side of fifty years (and it doesn’t solve the energy or processing problems). VR is either not going to be mainstream in our lifetime or everyone is going to accept wearing a shoebox on their face for the experience.
2 and 3 are reasonable requests, there should be headsets that are as attainable and compatible as a standard monitor.
https://www.evenrealities.com/en/g1
Add an electrochromic layer for VR.
Electrochromic displays don’t emit light or have anywhere near the color capacity necessary here.
The Electrochromic layer is to block/reduce the outside world for a better VR experience.
Where, then, is the display?
On the layer(s) before the Electrochomic layer (relative to the eye).
Well that’s at least an inch of electronics and lens and doesn’t address the focal distance problem. You’re putting the cart well before the horse here, automatically swapping from AR to immersive VR is the last thing to solve.
You can already get cheap enclosures that you can put your phone into to make it work as a VR headset.
And they kinda suck.