When Apple launched its Vision Pro earlier this 12 months, it joined a crowded virtual reality headset market that features entries from Meta, Playstation, HTC, and extra.
That market bought a bit extra crowded this week as Varjo, a Finnish firm, launched its XR-4 headset. And whereas it might be just like the opposite headsets available on the market, there’s one large distinction.
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The brand new VR headset, which carries a price ticket of $3,990, capabilities very similar to fashions from Apple and Meta. It has a 120-degree subject of view, twin 20-megapixel cameras, two 4K shows, and a gaze-driven XR autofocus system — all specs that rival the Vision Pro.
However Varjo’s machine is aimed squarely at companies as a substitute of shoppers. And with dozens of Fortune 100 corporations utilizing VR in myriad methods — from coaching astronauts and pilots to reconfiguring manufacturing processes to advancing medical analysis — there are many functions to be discovered.
Whereas most VR headsets spotlight 2D makes use of with some blended actuality, the XR-4 focuses on blended actuality.
Along with the bottom model, there is a “Focal Version” that options considerably improved passthrough (and a considerably greater value at $9,900) and a “Safe Version” that gives what Varjo describes as “government-grade compliance” and “pilot-grade visible constancy.” (No value is listed for this model, solely a message to “Contact us for pricing.”)
The Safe Version is probably probably the most intriguing, because it’s designed to work with high-end coaching software program like VBS Blue IG from Bohemia, Prepar3D from Lockheed Martin, Unity’s Unreal Engine, OpenXR 1.0, and FlightSafety Very important. In August, the corporate was chosen to supply head-mounted shows for the US Military’s Reconfigurable Digital Collective Coach Air Program, a transportable program used for pilot coaching in numerous helicopters.
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Among the functions Varjo has in thoughts seem to lean towards army pilots and flight coaching. (The corporate does describe the headset as enabling “extremely efficient and cost-efficient coaching situations.”) Nevertheless, contemplating the excessive degree of blended actuality this headset delivers, it is easy to see the way it could possibly be utilized in different environments the place safety is paramount — say, for making a map of a constructing’s inside that may be interacted with and even weapons coaching.
And in contrast to different headsets, the largest distinction is that the Safe model Version of the XR-4 would not require on-line connectivity.
For the reason that XR-4 is meant for enterprise, and the very best model is meant for safe authorities functions, there is a fairly slim likelihood that the majority shoppers will ever get their arms on one. However, the truth that a headset like that is hitting the market is vital, in that it exhibits the place VR for the typical client might finally go and it showcases the potential of VR far past leisure.
