According to reports, Japanese startup Diver-X is planning to launch a SteamVR headset that takes inspiration from an immersive metaverse. The heavyweight hardware features an interesting design for a VR headset.
Known as HalfDive, the Tokyo-based company claims it uses the sleeping position to “enable human activity at the lowest energy level possible.”
Worn in a prone position, the creators say it is free of many of the design constraints of conventional VR headset makers, including crepe optics and microdisplays. Since the weight isn’t on your neck, it doesn’t need to be light or thin.
With a dual 1,600 * 1,440 pixel-per-eye display and a stack of 10 aspheric lenses, HalfDive boasts a 134-degree field of view (FOV) and “dramatically improved image quality.”
Because HalfDive is to be an essentially stationary experience, users won’t be able to physically move beyond turning their heads left and right. The company named this concept “4.5DOF (degrees of freedom),” further describing it as “virtual 6DOF”.
Immersion in the metaverse.
HalfDive says its products will support avatar motion simulation in the metaverse, as well as SteamVR base station tracking. It can be used by its controller, which has yet to be announced.
However, Diver-X has revealed surprisingly little for such a unique concept. From what we know so far, locomotion will also be a passive method. Foot-worn controllers attached to the ankles will allow users for motion-control.
A blurry image released in late September suggests that it will be similar to Valve’s SteamVR controllers (aka “Knuckles”).
To fully immerse the other senses, HalfDive also features four speakers, two more than most existing VR headsets. Additionally, the company announced a “wire-based force feedback module” that will give users a sense of touch.
HalfDive will begin its Kickstarter campaign on December 6th. The company will unveil three different headset versions: A basic ($700) model without varifocal lenses, a bundle package ($1100), and a varifocal version ($3,900).
For MetaNews.