Posted on August 24, 2017
Wires and cables will twist you up if you're not careful when you move around in any virtual environment, and there's nothing quite like a cable wrapped around your neck to take you out of any immersive experience. While some of our readers might actually enjoy adding a kinky element like that to their experience, for most those cumbersome wires are a distraction from the action right in front of you. Whether you're flying through virtual space or watching a gorgeous girl strip to her skivvies, cutting the wires between PC and headset has some definite advantages and it's been the dream of VR enthusiasts since they got their hands on the first Rift.
While a variety of cardboard style headsets are available, both in the cheaper actual cardboard form like the Google Cardboard, and a more stylish molded plastic like the Samsung Gear VR, these all rely on a Smartphone and lack the capabilities of PC based headsets like the Rift and the Vive. With only 3DoF smartphone based VR cardboard headsets lack the capabilities of their higher end PC counterparts. In answer to this a partnership between Google's Daydream, Lenovo, and HTC Vive has been working to create standalone headsets with PC-like capabilities that you can take on the go to experience virtual reality virtually anywhere.
How Will Standalone's Work?These new headsets are being developed with WorldSense technology, a variation on Google's Tango 3D mapping system technology that enables position tracking without any need for external sensors. WorldSense enables headsets to use six degrees of freedom (6DoF), a technology that enhances the VR experience by detecting both translational and rotational movement, allowing the body to move between fixed viewpoints in the VR world. So far that's something that's only been available with a PC-based headset and the use of external sensors like Vive's Lighthouse. Current smartphone based cardboard alternatives like Samsung's Gear VR can only bring 3DoF, a technology that can create an immersive experience, though it still lacks the ability to let you truly move and experience your environment with more than your head.
If it all seems a bit overwhelming, try watching this video from Google that explains the difference between three and six degrees of freedom. The video breaks it down into simple terms and shows you the difference using a dodge ball game. With 3DoF you can dodge the ball only with your head, but with a full 6DoF you can move your entire body to dodge the ball's path. It's quite a difference to the experience and creates a more realistic and immersive experience.
When Will They Be Available? These new standalone VR headsets aren't available quite yet and haven't announced an MSRP, we're still hoping that they'll be available for the holiday season or shortly thereafter in the beginning of 2018.
For those that can't wait for the release of these Daydream headsets, HTC has released a standalone version of the Vive but it's only available in China. Partnered with Qualcomm and powered by the Snapdragon 835 VR platform, it's the same system that's used in the Daydream VR headset and promises a similar experience to the soon to be released Daydream Vive.