Key Technologies Driving Immersive Virtual Reality

Virtuality was founded upon the principle of delivering fully Immersive Virtual Reality to improve human computer interaction. This requires the development of Head Mounted Display technologies ( HMD ). The company’s scientists and engineers are focused upon the development of Head Mounted Display technology and reference designs that will lead to broader adoption of HMD’s in a variety of everyday applications including TV, information displays and VR.

Advanced Wide Field Of View Optics

Home use immersive virtual reality head mounted displays have traditionally suffered from a combination of poor performance and high cost. Typically such systems have failed to deliver the singularly most challenging of features “wide field of view” owing to design constraints in both the optical arrangement and display device. Virtuality has pioneered public use head mounted displays systems and from studies involving samples of its users worldwide, it has developed the critical performance requirements needed to satisfy a low cost head mounted display system.

While designing its home use HMD the design objectives of the VRV optical system were to provide:

a) a wide field of view,

b) a system that only used one LCD display,

c) a high quality clear TV image,

d) a lightweight robust package,

e) a design that satisfies all users interoccular pupilary distances,

f) a system that was easy to manufacture.

The proprietary technology (Pat. App. No. PCT/GB95/01891) VRV optical design is the result of over three years technical development work. It incorporates several complex optical elements set in a precision optical carriage manufactured to a very high tolerances (25 microns). State of the art materials such as liquid crystal polymers are used to achieve both lightweight design and very high stability. This has resulted in an abnormally low return rate for Virtuality’s licensed HMD partners that utilize the VRV optical system.
The system utilizes a complex, off center, three dimensional geometric design including beam splitters and asperic mirrors. Coatings and high grade polycarbonic materials are used to achieve the high optical transmissive qualities.
Although only one LCD display is used, the system has been designed with stereo display applications in mind. Virtuality will introduce such an upgrade in future models as 3D stereo image costs reduce to a point that makes high volume production justifiable.

The VRV optical systems sets a new standard in HMD optical design and is a world first in delivering low cost, wide field of view display to the head mounted display mass consumer marketplace.

Displays

Working in close partnership with leading worldwide corporations, Virtuality’s pioneering work in Virtual Reality leaves it well positioned to maintain it’s leading role in HMD design and development of both technology and custom solutions for its blue chip clients and OEM partners. Current clients include amongst others Kawasaki, Takara, IBM Europe, NEC Home Electronics and Winchester.

Virtuality are currently developing unique display technologies which will form the basis of its future Head Mounted Displays (HMD) products.

The Company’s newly established research facility in Palo Alto, California, aims to become a centre of excellence for hybrid sub-miniature, flat panel display technologies and solutions, focused on the needs of future HMD products.

Virtuality’s next generation immersive HMD specification comprises a formidable array of features that go significantly beyond current HMD solutions.

Wide Field of View (WFOV) up to 180 Deg
Low Cost
Portability
Stereo display
Head Tracking (for IVR)
Video transmission (POV)

Low power consumption
High Resolution
Privacy
Focus Tracking
Microphone
3D Sound Placement

Virtuality Inc developed consumer Head Mounted Display (“HMD”) for Philips, Atari and Takara Co.Ltd. In the case of Takara, they launched the HMD in the Japanese market at a retail price of Yen 38,800 (approx. US$360). The product performed well ahead of expectations, delivering exceptional clarity and unmatched resolution at this price point. It exceeded its initial first year target in Japan of 80,000 units. The Consumer HMD connected to various audio and video sources including home game consoles, video players and camcorders. It wias marketed by Takara through its distribution channels in TV games stores, electrical appliance outlets and camera stores. The Atari VR version, attached to the Jaguar console and used a custom 3DOF optical tracking technology including hand held controller.

3-D Tracking

V-Trak

V-Trak is a low cost, optical tracking solution suitable for a variety of consumer and industrial applications where high accuracy (resolution) and low latency (lag) are essential.

Many tracking solutions have already addressed the problem of six degrees of freedom, real time tracking. Six degrees of freedom (6DOF) is an industry term meaning the ability to return an X, Y and Z measurement simultaneously with an azimuth, elevation, and twist angular component. Whether measuring a users head or hand position in Virtual Reality applications or simply adding a pointing vector to a hand held game controller, the applications for this technology are many and various.

Several commercial solutions are currently available for 3D 6DOF applications but Virtuality believe they all fall short of the requirements for home operation. The most stringent requirements that provide barriers to commercial exploitation in the home are cost, repeatable accuracy for safe VR operation and tracking speed.

V-Trak effectively addresses these stringent issues. Initially demonstrated at E3 95 in Los Angeles, the V-Trak technology has been developed in close association with Seimens of Germany. The technology and techniques used in V-Trak technology are widely protected with granted patents.

Using the common infrared light spectrum, and low cost custom 3d LED detect components, the current reference design achieves high performance suitable for 2 degrees of angular tracking as required for home VR head tracking. A small 3D transmitter emits several multiplexed beams whose angles are detected accordingly by a similar 3D detector. The relative positions of the detectors are calculated in real time using a low cost $3.5 microprocessor including embedded ROM.

The system may be multiplexed allowing for multiple sources and sensors. The following is the specification for the prototype reference design which is demonstrable at Virtuality R&D facility in Palo Alto.