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I'm sick of phones as the basis for VR. I tried Cardboard, it has real problems. The battery life is bad when you're doing 3D things, the phone gets very hot on
by Sir_Cmpwn 10y ago
I'm sick of phones as the basis for VR. I tried Cardboard, it has real problems. The battery life is bad when you're doing 3D things, the phone gets very hot on your face, and the GPU is underpowered for pretty much every purpose including rendering a realistic enough scene for VR immersion.
- krastanov 10y agoTo counter: VR on the smartphone is great for visualizing preprocessed data. I love being able to view 3D research data on a comparatively cheap device and that I can share the visualization with everybody that has a phone, not only labs that have decided that it is worth it to buy a dedicated headset. Moreover, setup of the Cardboard is trivial compared to other headsets (no matter how easy it might be, you can not beat "just launch this youtube video").
- thearn4 10y agoOut of curiosity what sort of data and data visualization strategies would VR be particularly well suited for over more traditional visualization methods?
- krastanov 10y agoA good pitch would be: Medical diagnostics/pathology professionals are really exited about VR as (according to those I have spoken to) the 2D presentation of 3D data impedes making precise diagnosis (which VR solves).
- imtringued 10y agoDisplaying the result of a CT scan maybe?
- thearn4 10y agoMedicine does seem like a good possibility, though I'm not very familiar with the problem space.
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- increment_i 10y agoIn my mind, there's no other way for VR to go mainstream except for mobile. Average people will not buy a multi thousand dollar gaming rig, and the big software companies want to see how big of a whale this thing really is. If VR is going to go beyond the high end gaming niche, people are going to have to be able to access it through the computer in their pocket.
- hood_syntax 10y ago> If VR is going to go beyond the high end gaming niche Why should it? Frankly, that seems to be the main use case. VR that can fit in a phone isn't worthwhile VR, it would be incredibly underpowered.
- increment_i 10y agoLike I said before, I imagine the large platform companies want to see how much a revenue generator it can become if it reaches mass appeal. This can only really happen on mobile.
- rifung 10y agoI think it will be a big use case but the main one? I'd guess that goes to.. (note NSFW) http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/07/japan-vr-porn-festival-shut-down/ http://arstechnica.co.uk/gadgets/2016/07/japan-vr-porn-festi...
- drzaiusapelord 10y agoI have a Vive and have tried VR porn. There's not a lot of say. You get some pretty bad uncanny valley issues and having a first person view of porn is weird and unatural and frankly unsexy. Porn that 'happens to you' doesn't really work. I don't think porn VR is the killer app people think it is. Perhaps in a few generations especially in conjunction with tele-dildos or robot sex dolls or somesuch, but that's a lot to ask when ordinary 2D photos and videos get the blood flowing with much less hassle.
- ececconi 10y ago
- jonknee 10y agoOn the other hand you don't need a powerful gaming rig and aren't tethered by cables. That's big.
- ipsum2 10y agoThat's the point of "Daydream-Ready" phones - to have adequate enough specs for a VR experience.
- mklim 10y agoRelated quote: >We are working with a number of smartphone manufacturers to create a specification for Daydream-ready phones. These smartphones enable VR experiences with high-performance sensors for smooth, accurate head tracking, fast response displays to minimize blur, and powerful mobile processors. [1] ------------------------ [1] https://blog.google/products/google-vr/vr-google-jump-expeditions-and-daydream/ https://blog.google/products/google-vr/vr-google-jump-expedi... (Disclaimer: work at Google, but not speaking as a representative of the company.)
- 1_2__3 10y agoGiven Google's track record of being able to deliver hardware they actually had available for a demo at their product and service announcements I don't hold out much hope for this ever happening.
- inputcoffee 10y agoWon't most of this be solved if you wait a year? (Or maybe the new generation is already there). It just seems easier to add functionality to the $1000 investment you already made.
- Fricken 10y agoHere's betting that the first killer app for phone VR will be viewing fpv videos made with those silly snapchat glasses. I mean, aside from porn. And watching movies in bed without disturbing your SO.
- jshevek 10y agoWatching videos while working out on a machine at the gym is also a great use case.
- ryandamm 10y agoI've actually played around with this (used to make 'immersive' 2D videos for fitness equipment; [1] is a former startup of mine). We tested existing footage in VR: completely nauseating. That is, it's nauseating if you're trying to imagine that you're running or biking through an area, because the movement doesn't match your movements. There are a few exceptions. Our content was live action video, but massively stabilized (it almost looked like CG; many partners assumed it was). So I'm not optimistic that standard video would work for this, at all. Just my two cents, though it's a pretty well-informed couple of pennies. [1] http://www.vafitness.com/ http://www.vafitness.com/
- jshevek 10y ago>if you're trying to imagine that you're running or biking through an area I mean videos in the general sense. I watch 2d videos (while using fitness equipment) on a VR headset and find it enjoyable. The best part is blocking out all of the visual distraction from my environment. I look forward to getting a higher resolution headset.
- e12e 10y agoAre you implying that the primary use-case for those silly snapchat glasses will be something other than making amateur porn?
- rdiddly 10y agoI keep thinking it's a joke dreamt up by Mike Judge. Especially with Cardboard. A little bit less so with this though, so hey I guess that's progress!
- Kiro 10y agoI know nothing about the hardware behind VR so a quick question: if the GPU had enough power, could the experience be the same as HTC Vive/Oculus or is there something hardware wise on those that simply doesn't work on a phone? For example I thought there was some kind of special screen in real VR headsets, different from phones.
- haydenlee 10y ago- Positional tracking, being able to move around in your environment rather than just move your head (will be solved eventually on mobile, see inside-out positional tracking) - Custom made screens for VR, Rift/Vive have 90hz refresh rates, I believe Daydream phones will be 60hz (same as GearVR)
- Kiro 10y agoThanks!
- deleted 10y ago[deleted]
- sixdimensional 10y agoAlso, is it bad having the blue light from a cell phone pouring directly into your retinas? Or do these types of VR goggles filter the light somehow?
- vkou 10y agoI believe that blue light is generally fine (Outside of trying to fall asleep) - UV light is what damages your eyes.
- forrestthewoods 10y agoGearVR is pretty good. When mobile soon gets positional tracking it'll be great.
- BHSPitMonkey 10y agoYou do realize that Daydream is meant to be a huge iteration over Cardboard, right?
- lnanek2 10y agoI'm sure Daydream VR is still like that, just like Gear VR was at first. I'm finding the 2016 GearVR much improved, however. It has a separate power jack for the headset, for example, so you can prevent the phone from having to do everything and burning up.
- danielbln 10y agoEh, phone VR is fine, though cardboard kind of sucks. No low persistence, no full usage of the phone's resources, no additional IMUs to help with tracking. GearVR is a lot better in that regard, though the missing positional tracking is really what is missing. I wish Google would productize Project Tango properly already.