QPORIT

In a Press Conference before the E3 Convention, Oculus discussed the current state of the OCULUS RIFT.

The Oculus Rift appears to be the most advanced VR system, informed by the utmost attention to detail, and built on the most meticulous research into what makes a fine VR platform.

We have noted some of the most important items discussed at the Press Conference below.

But first, we do need to discuss some of the shortcomings, and some of the omissions at the Press Conference.

As a performance, the Press Conference did not have the energy or the quality of keynotes at leading developer conferences (like Microsoft BUILD, Apple WWDC or Google I/O) and, frankly, they need a writer/director/producer skilled in live events to create an event worthy of their product. (To be fair, of course, talking to a Press Conference filled with skeptical reporters is not like addressing a Keynote audience filled with partisan developers and seeded with cheering employees.)

The Press Conference did not discuss the details of the all-important specs for the final product, such as resolution (expressed as total pixels or pixels per degree), nor its FOV (Field of View), nor did they discuss the requirements for the host computer and the interface between the computer and the headset.

They also did not discuss GEAR VR, the mobile VR platform developed in conjunction with Samsung. They also made almost no mention of any possible applications for the Oculus Rift other than games.

For me, the biggest void in the Oculus Universe is the absence of any developer relations office in New York. They have a job opening for “Publishing and Developer Relations” in London, but not in NY!


Here's what was revealed:


HEADSET

• The headset will be light and comfortable
• will adapt to the size of the head and the distance between the eyes
• will allow glasses to be worn comfortably
• will have surround sound that can be placed in 360 degree 3D space
• will ship with the XBOX One wireless controller
• will include earphones
• (which can be removed and replaced with the user’s custom earphones)

OCULUS

• will be natively supported by Windows 10 and DirectX 12
• will include the Constellation Tracking system
• a device that senses the user’s position (that was not described in any detail)
• can be used seated or standing
• will include a management system called Oculus Home
• it will support flat/2D or VR management of Oculus content
• it will support purchases

OCULUS TOUCH

• a controller called Oculus Touch is in development
• it consists of one controller for each hand - each contains
• movement / controller buttons
• a trigger for grabbing
• a trigger for shooting
• a sensor that can identify
• finger pointing
• thumbs up gestures
• other gestures
• it features haptic feedback (simulating the mass of real objects)

GAMES

• games that will be released at launch will include
• first person and third person games
• sports games, etc
• XBOX One games will stream to the Oculus Rift

ALSO

• Oculus is working with small and large developers
• Oculus is creating a $10M developer support fund.

OCULUS RIFT
https://www.oculus.com/en-us/

E3 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO JUN 16-18, 2015
https://www.e3expo.com/home

OCULUS CONNECT 2 SEP 23-25
https://www1.oculus.com/connect/

Labels: Connect 2, E3, FACEBOOK, Oculus Rift, Oculus Touch, Virtual Reality, VR, Xbox One