TheBolt

One of the most exciting technological advancements of the last few years has been the dawn of functional, high-quality virtual reality headsets. Products like the Oculus Rift or Samsung Gear VR hold the promise of truly immersive gaming and movie experiences. And while they have the optics and illusion of immersion down pat, they do tend to suffer when it comes to truly seamless integration of the user’s movements and the reactions of the displayed environment. Lag in the display compared to your movements, even if so slight it’s almost imperceptible, tells your brain that something’s not quite right. It breaks the virtual reality experience and is one of the leading causes of VR-helmet-induced motion sickness. This sophisticated motion-tracking system from IndoTraq promises to revolutionize the industry by offering uber-accurate, real-time motion tracking.

IndoTraq is accurate down to the millimeter, measuring the user’s position about 60 times a second. With the vast majority of displays running at a matching 60Hz refresh rate, the system ensures that what the user sees with every new frame matches their position in real space. Thanks to a miniature tracking tag that monitors 12 axes of information and transfers data over a variety of wireless protocols, the IndoTraq fits into an unobtrusive (relative to the giant goggles you’ll already be wearing, anyway) device that sits atop your head. Have a look at the video to learn more:

Image courtesy of endgadget.com 

It sounds like something from a Sci-Fi movie, but the Oculus Rift is anything but fictional, it’s a fully immersive virtual reality experience.  The Oculus Rift  has been in development since it’s inception years ago and during CES 2014 the latest prototype Oculus Rift Crystal Cove prototype has made a wealth of updates, making the new experience incredible.  The new “Crystal Cove” prototype is now slightly smaller and runs at 1080p resolution. The biggest improvement made, however, is the unit’s enhanced positional tracking and motion blur technologies. If you take a look at the image above, you will notice white dots around the front headset.  These white dots coordinate with the pre-positioned camera that will gauge where you look.  Depending on what you are doing in the game, if you need to look up, down, left or right, it will track that information and correlate it with your character’s movement.

On top of added technology, the headset shows viewers beautiful imagery, all in 1080p OLED that is both sharp and bright.  Oculus Rift has been in the hands of developers form every industry, from automotive, to even NASA.  As the technology continues to improve, look to see the unit becoming more affordable, more intuitive, and more mainstream.  Manufacturers are hoping this will hit the general public this year, but as with everything showcased at CES, only time will tell.

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