XR Devices (HW1)

Introduction

With the advent and booming of the XR technologies and applications based on them, numerous companies including the big names had launched their advanced XR (AR/VR/MR) devices. In this post, I list several of them and give my personal recommendations on device choosing.

I covered the following devices in this post.

VRARMR
Oculus Quest 2
Oculus Rift S
PlayStation VR (PSVR)
HTC VIVE(Pro)
Magic Leap One
Epson Moverio
Google Glass Enterprise Edition
Vuzix Blade AR
Hololens 2

VR Devices

Virtual reality (VR) is an artificial environment that is experienced through sensory stimuli (sights and sounds). It is a simulated experience that can be similar to or completely different from the real world and can be applied to most of the scenarios.

Till now, I suppose that the most successful application type on VR is still entertainment, as I am a real zealot of the game experience, thus I focus on the devices that are widely applied in the game scenario. I listed the popular three VR devices with their specs below:

Product:Oculus Quest 2Oculus Rift SPlayStation VR(PSVR)
HardwarePC optionalPC requiredPlaystation (PS5, PS4)
Tracking6 degrees6 degrees6 degrees
ControllersRedesigned Touch Controllers(add thumb rest)Touch ControllersPlayStation Move controller, DUALSHOCK 4 wireless controller
HEAD STRAPSoft StrapHalo HeadbandHeadband
OPTICSFast-switch LCD Display 1832 x 1920 Resolution Per Eye 60, 72, 90 Hz Refresh Rates Supported Glasses-compatibleLCD Display 2560 x 1440 Resolution 80 Hz Refresh Rate Glasses-compatibleResolution: 1920 x RGB x 1080 (960 x RGB x 1080) Refresh Rate: 120hz, 90hz
SOUNDPositional Audio(3D)Positional Audio(3D)Positional Audio(3D)
GamesOculus Quest StoreOculus Rift StorePlayStation Store
STORAGE64 GB | 256 GBN / AN / A
PSVR

My Favorite

Previous VR devices all have a good configuration as well as good support for the game service on different platforms. Among them, the PSVR is the newest and may have the best performance on the PS platform. However, I highly recommended the HTC-Vive (Pro), which is the most powerful and professional VR device, which I used to play with before.

First, it has the most powerful screen. With

  • 2880 x 1600 615 PPI
  • 37% PPI Increase
  • 78% Pixel Increase

It also has an Optimized Ergonomics

  • Optimal Center of Gravity
  • Adjustable Eye Comfort Setting (IPD)
  • 24% Increase in Face Gasket Surface Area for Lowered Stress
  • Adjustable Headstrap with Soft Padded Foam

Moreover, its available movement space is much larger than the others

UP TO 100 m²

In a word, much more powerful when compared with others.

Comment

I only used Vive before, but it can really perform well in numerous games such as lights saber, half-life Alyx, and fruit ninja. The game experience it brought is quite immersive and charming.

AR Devices

Augmented reality (AR) is an interactive experience of a real-world environment where the objects that reside in the real world are enhanced by computer-generated perceptual information, sometimes across multiple sensory modalities, including visualauditoryhapticsomatosensory, and olfactory

AR basically is virtual later provides additional information, thus MR devices can also provide the ability of AR, as well as many cellphones. Most of the existing AR-specific devices are glasses, as I illustrated below(source https://www.softwaretestinghelp.com/best-augmented-reality-glasses/):

Headset NameMagic Leap OneEpson Moverio BT-300Google Glass Edition 2Vuzix Blade AR
Resolution
(Pixels)
1300 pixels per eye1280 x 720 pixels720p video capable640×360
1
Field of view (degrees)50238010
Refresh Rate (Hz)12030
Tracking and controlEye and hand, with hapticsEye and handEye and handEye, with haptics
Battery Life (hrs)3682
Others-Haptics
-8GB RAM
-Drone AR
-Android
-GPS
-Voice command
-Haptics
-Mobile OSs
Pricing ($)22956991167599
Car Heads-Up Display

MR Devices

Mixed reality (MR) is the merging of real and virtual worlds to produce new environments and visualizations, where physical and digital objects co-exist and interact in real-time

Very few products, or in other words, only the product of Microsoft, Hololens, really produced an integrated hardware device in this field. Now it launched its second version with more powerful functionalities.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/hololens/hardware#

Side-angle view of HoloLens 2 headset with light reflecting off visor

Technical Specs

Display
OpticsSee-through holographic lenses (waveguides)
Resolution2k 3:2 light engines
Holographic density>2.5k radiants (light points per radian)
Eye-based renderingDisplay optimization for 3D eye position
Sensors
Head tracking4 visible light cameras
Eye-tracking2 IR cameras
Depth1-MP time-of-flight (ToF) depth sensor
IMUAccelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer
Camera8-MP stills, 1080p30 video
Audio and speech
Microphone array5 channels
SpeakersBuilt-in spatial sound
Human understanding
Hand trackingTwo-handed fully articulated model, direct manipulation
Eye-trackingReal-time tracking
VoiceCommand and control on-device; natural language with internet connectivity
Windows HelloEnterprise-grade security with iris recognition
Environment understanding
6DoF trackingWorld-scale positional tracking
Spatial MappingReal-time environment mesh
Mixed Reality CaptureMixed hologram and physical environment photos and videos
Compute and connectivity
SoCQualcomm Snapdragon 850 Compute Platform
HPUThe second-generation custom-built holographic processing unit
Memory4-GB LPDDR4x system DRAM
Storage64-GB UFS 2.1
Wi-FiWi-Fi: Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac 2×2)
Bluetooth5
USBUSB Type-C
Power
Battery life2–3 hours of active use
ChargingUSB-PD for fast charging
CoolingPassive (no fans)

MyFavorite & Comments

Future, is, Hololens!!!!

For me, Hololens is the only but the most powerful MR device. It can create a workplace in which you can visualize anything you need on-demand, with relevant data available at the jab of a finger.  I used this device before and surprised by the button control without a controller. The immersive experience of the galaxy exploration overwhelmed me.

With the HoloLens 2, Microsoft is looking to build on the handful of enterprise successes it has carved in the last five years, based on customer and user feedback. Specifically, the firm has looked to address ergonomics, immersion, and what it dubs time-to-value’. — ITPRO

Though from my experience of this device, the tracking accuracy of the movement still needs a lot of improvement, this product really demonstrates what the future can be.

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