Next-gen VR/AR Technology at AWE 2023. New Glasses, Headsets, Optics, and Haptics
Augmented World Expo 2023 embraces the unity of AR and VR technologies under one XR banner, together with a big revival in haptic solutions.
June is traditionally a big month for the XR industry, allowing all the experts, developers and investors a chance to meet and network at what we can safely consider the biggest VR and AR industry event, the Augmented World Expo. And indeed, this year’s edition did not disappoint, with new hardware, new solutions and new announcements. It was also reportedly the largest AWE in history, with over 6,000 guests, 450 speakers and 300 exhibitors. So let’s have a look at what’s brewing and what generated the most excitement.
Talks and Panels
As always, AWE 2023 asked its visitors to divide their time between the expo floor and numerous presentations and panels happening across meeting rooms. Talks provided information and insight but also helped amplify the excitement, with speakers enthusiastically discussing their XR achievements in the space as well as various aspects and prospects relating to immersive computing.
This excitement is what AWE founder and CEO Ori Inbar tried to encapsulate in the opening keynote. Starting his speech as an AI-driven hologram, he then appeared in person, reminding everyone that XR is not only important and relevant, but on the rise. He summarized all the latest developments in XR, highlighted the growth, pointed to continued upwards trajectory and ridiculed critics who keep prophesying XR’s death. He assured those trembling in the face of AI hype that they need not worry. He was then joined by Neil Stephenson — the author of Snow Crash and the term Metaverse. For those interested, all the panels and talks are now available online at awe.live and on YouTube.
Expo Floor
Excitement could be also felt on the show floor, with long lines to some of the more popular booths. It’s generally quite difficult to divide time between talks and demos, and from my experience, attendees at AWE tend to be divided into ‘listeners,’ those who predominantly focus on talks or presentations, and ‘walkers,’ those who spend most of their time roaming the expo floor. Unfortunately, I too had to make these difficult, weighty decisions. Should I lose my place in line and potentially miss out on a demo or miss a panel I was looking forward to?
The amount of innovation happening in the AWE showrooms is truly something to behold. I was determined to see and experience as much as possible and was lucky enough to see most of the major exhibitors. After the show, however, I realized there were many more booths I missed or even failed to discover, which speaks volumes about the scope of the Augmented Reality Expo. Truly, there is no other gathering like it.
As always, the large stands mostly belong to big names. Long lines could be seen in front of Magic Leap’s booth as their team was demoing Magic Leap 2, as well as in front of the XREAL quarters. XREAL, who just recently changed their name from Nreal, did a bit of a marketing push to make sure this change doesn’t go unnoticed, giving away swag with the XREAL logo. Vuzix was also there, showcasing their Ultralite glasses that weight only thirty-eight grams. It’s clear that AR dominated among Big Tech this year.
Meta also had a strong presence, but in the absence of Quest 3, there was not much to be seen there and many were investing their time elsewhere. Snap Inc showcased its entire suite of AR tools and community lenses, and it was the same for Niantic, who were busy explaining their new compatibility tools, software integration and their ARDK libraries.
Without wasting any time, here are some of the main surprises and less obvious trends that I spotted.
Display Solutions: Hypervison 240° FOV, Ant Reality’s 120' AR, CREALS’s Light-fields
This year’s AWE was teeming with advancements in optics solutions. Israeli company Hypervision demonstrated their human eye field of view display capable of achieving a whopping 240 degrees. This impressive number is achieved by using four pancake lenses. The image inside maintains consistency, there are no distortions or artifacts. The seams (points where the lenses connect) are somewhat perceptible if you actively look for them. However, it only took my brain ten seconds to filter those out and stop paying attention. Compared to multi-monitor gaming setups or other similar stitching solutions, they are barely visible.
Vertically, Hypervison displays achieve 95 degrees, which is less than human eye’s 135 degrees. This means that above and below there are still dark areas not covered by the display. Because of that, you still feel like you’re wearing a headset, but horizontally, the image wraps your entire vision. The Hypervision team mentioned the possibility of foveated rendering or perhaps fixed foveated rendering in the case of standalone and I can’t wait to see their tech being put to use in commercial headsets.
The Ant Reality team were busy demonstrating impressive progress in the development of their mixed waveguide optics system called Crossfire. The founder, Zheng Qin, even claimed they have finally cracked the code and he brought receipts in the form of different prototypes. Depending on the purpose, these could range from a 120-degree field of view to 56 degrees (but with a 6mm display for higher clarity).
I was most impressed with their Crossfire Max design, which offered a 120-degree field of view, a number pretty much unheard of in the world of AR. Despite large lenses, the image (which Ant Reality claims is 3K in resolution) was sharp and their demo reel featured everything from work and office solutions to movies and gaming. Even more impressive was the fact that both Crossfire and Crossfire Max had hybrid capabilities and could dynamically switch from AR to VR. Despite the AWE show floor being extremely bright, the VR mode was still completely black — a very impressive feat that I have not seen anywhere else. Without going into the details, this is what harnessing the power of Mixed Waveguides looks like.
On the opposite end of the expo floor, CReal was harnessing a different type of power: the power of light via light-field displays, commonly referred to as holograms. Light field technology has been used in specialized displays and panels but this is the first time someone managed to put LFDs in a headset.
The quirk of light-field technology is that it captures the direction of light, making it possible to display proper three-dimensional images to all the observers regardless of their position relative to the image, making it perfect for group viewing — no glasses necessary! But having LFD inside a headset can be beneficial too, for example, allowing to solve the vergence accommodation conflict, creating natural focal depth, producing “ocular parallax” and, in turn, making the AR image blend with the real world more convincingly. It can also digitally adjust to user’s vision without the need for an optical diopter or prescription lenses.
Light-field technology can be quite mind-bending, so while the headset might seem a bit clunky, innovation is what matters here. It opens up new possibilities, many of which are still yet to be discovered.
Resurgence of Haptics: WeArt, Fluid Reality, OWO and many more
There were so many haptic-related products and companies at AWE 2023 that it became a bit of a theme for this year. There was a real explosion of brand-new startups and new concepts. Combined with the known and established players displaying showcasing their progress, it made haptics feel omnipresent.
One such new entrant is Fluid Reality with their pressure haptics solution that relies on electroosmotics — generating pressure through the use of an electric field. This might sound a bit odd, but the effects are quite mind-blowing. Fluid Reality demonstrated a tiny strip of material, the size of a fingertip, that was capable of simulating 40 pressure points! Pressure points were then arranged and animated in various complex patterns, highlighting the versatility of their solution.
Pictures don’t do this technology justice. Considering its ridiculously small form factor, it could easily be incorporated into gloves, controllers, trackpads or other input devices. Possible solutions include everything from fingertip feedback to non-XR uses cases, such as braille scrolling. Fluid Reality’s CEO Craig Shultz says his company is just getting started, but what they have already demonstrated this year is nothing short of a paradigm shift and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
WeArt
WeArt is another newcomer. Last year was their first AWE US and this year they were back, presenting a whole new set of tools and features. Their product called TouchDiver is a form of a finger glove, with three haptic trackers that wrap around your fingers, plus a wrist-mounted battery.
The system can simulate textures, feeling of touch or even force as you feel slight resistance when grabbing or holding objects. It can also simulate temperature changes. That last part is what gave WeArt some virality and online attention, and indeed holding my virtual hand above the flame felt very real. However, the touch and force sensations were just as impressive. They were strong enough and responsive enough to provide a genuine increase in immersion.
In fact, calling the WeArt product a glove might undersell one of its strengths: it’s easier to put on than a haptic glove and less cumbersome, too. Finger-mounted parts are easy to adjust for that tight fit you need to achieve a strong sensation and the team had all the sizes ready. In my case, I decided to change my middle finger tracker and it only took a couple of seconds. Finding that perfect glove size to get a good haptic experience is usually much trickier. The team does emphasize the lack of wires or any mechanical parts, but it is only when you give their product a go that you realize how small the friction is compared to market standards.
Another haptic device that I couldn’t wait to try was the OWO Vest. If you haven’t heard of it, it’s a gaming-first wearable shirt that simulates feedback using electroshock. Within the vest are embedded high-conductivity electrodes that use electrical impulses to zap you in various ways. This can include high-precision impulses, like a puncture or a more general sensation of wind, heaviness, or even something as abstract as being low on health. And yes, if you really want to, you can take it past your personal comfort zone and into the realm of what people describe as pain.
OWO showcased their haptic, now retailing at $499. This consumer-friendly vest offers a broad spectrum of haptic sensations using electrical impulses. It can provide intense feedback, including what some would describe as discomfort or pain. Testing it with their drone demo and the VR game Pistol Whip was exhilarating. This unique, silent vest not only heightens in-game immersion but also holds promise as a leading consumer choice for XR gaming. For a detailed perspective, check out my first impressions article available here.
Mixed with the new entrants into the space were bigger, more established players: Bhaptics with their new TactGlove, SenseGlove’s Nova and Contact CI’s Maestro, as well as the most elaborate industrial solution out there: HaptX.
I did not have a chance to try Maestro, but both SenseGlove and HaptX felt a bit underwhelming. In theory, they offer what other haptic devices cannot, full resistance force feedback (20 Newtons for SenseGlove and 175 Newtons for HaptX), but the way it’s done feels very mechanical and artificial. Feedback felt binary and not adaptive. The gloves would suddenly lock in place, and the shape of the object or the force I had to use to perform the action did not correspond to what I was seeing in VR.
It’s a clear indication of how important it is to nail the fidelity and responsiveness of the product. The raw power of feedback is not relevant if it feels disjointed from the experience. TactGlove by Bhaptics was even less impressive with haptics feeling completely detached from what was happening in the headset.
Having said that , it is important to appreciate big players like HaptX for the research and investments they bring into space. Innovation doesn’t happen automatically and when it comes to research into haptics, exoskeletons and other high-end solutions, their contributions are more than significant.
Locomotion taking a step back
While haptic solutions seemed to experience a period of renewed hype, the same cannot be said for locomotion solutions. Treadmill manufacturers were nowhere to be seen, same with six-degree seats or other forms of simulator equipment.
The two notable exceptions were the wonderfully quirky Exit Suit, which won this year’s AWEsome Award, and the Freeaim Shoes.
The Exit Suit allows for full body support, suspending you slightly above the ground and allowing for flying, swimming or walking in virtual reality. The walking is done by air cycling, but the full version promises some form of resistance feedback and motion capture. For now, responses vary, and I heard one person mention they could not get the suit to strap on properly, so this is more of an early proof of concept than a one-size-fits-all solution.
The Freeaim shoes are a form of roller shoes that let you slide as you walk, in what looks like an infinite moonwalk. Again, it’s a new company and it will be interesting to see how they progress.
ThinkReality VRX
Lenovo finally did a public demo of their new ThinkReality VRX headset. Announced last year, it’s now available in selected locations for $1,299. From my short time with it, I can say it checks all the necessary boxes. Pancake lenses provide good visual clarity, the sweet spot is large and its 2280 x 2280 resolution is noticeably crisp and sharp.
Moreover, it felt like the most comfortable standalone headset out there, especially when compared to similar enterprise-focused devices like the Quest Pro or Vive Focus 3. Weight distribution felt just right and the face cushions were very comfortable. This, paired with the aforementioned visuals and large sweet spot, made it a very frictionless headset.
I had a chance to try the headset both in passthrough mode, using the OpenBrush painting app, and in fully immersive VR. My face felt unusually fresh when inside the headset and the Lenovo team told me this might be because of an active cooling system that “channels heat from the display away from the wearer’s face.” It’s a very discreet solution that does not involve blowing fans or any other perceptible distraction. Not sure what the trick is but it makes you feel like the headset is almost air-conditioned and I found this solution to be another clever way to increase comfort.
But wait there’s more
While making my rounds at AWE, I noticed Wolvic showcasing their open-source VR web browser and I had to stop for a chat. It’s a privacy-focused and WebXR-focused alternative to generic browsers that’s available on the Meta, Pico and Vive platforms. I see their work as important for the whole ecosystem, so it was nice to see their presence being formally recognized.
Equally worth mentioning is BRCvr. After the metaverse app AltSpace suddenly closed down, the team had to transplant their entire extensive world of Burning Man onto a new proprietary platform. It was a mammoth undertaking, but it seems to have worked and the team won the Auggie for Best Indie Creator for their efforts.
It was a long time coming, but I finally had the chance to try out the Tilt5 tabletop AR system. My impressions were positive. According to specifications, its FOV is 110 degrees and I immediately appreciated how large it is. You can see the entire reflective mat without the objects being cut off. It’s also worth noting that this is a finished, complete and quite inexpensive product. Most AR devices shown at AWE were either devkits or prototypes, but Tilt5 comes with plenty of use cases and games available out of the box.
I also had a chance to try Spacetop AR laptop and published my first impression in a separate ARpost article. I came away underwhelmed but you can read the linked article if you want to know more.
Ultraleap announced their new and improved hand motion controller, Leap Motion 2. Ultraleap’s secret sauce is their software and nothing has changed in that respect. What has changed is the hardware, which is now thirty percent smaller, more efficient and has better, wider tracking cameras. I tried it and everything works as expected — flawlessly. They say better is the enemy of the good but not in this case. The best in class just got even better.
Among all the new, shiny and original products, I also spotted a company called EmdoorVR, which unabashedly advertised their cheaper knock-off versions of headsets that looked oddly familiar. Rather than feeling concerned or uneasy, I decided to take a closer look, for any healthy market will always have to deal with imitations. Their A836 looked and felt like the Pico 4, whereas the 3-dof AX139 could be easily mistaken for the Oculus Go. The price depends on various customizable elements like resolution, eye tracking and so on, but as one can imagine, it was very competitive.
AWE 2024
Next year, AWE is moving to Los Angeles. As Ori Inbar said in his closing keynote, it seems AWE has outgrown its original expo halls in Santa Clara and looking back, I can understand why. Despite my extensive exploration, I was only able to see a fraction of the booths on display. I missed the opportunity to try out Etee controllers, peer into the Looking Glass displays and try out Lynx or Holokit. Hopefully I will be able to do all of that and more next year. For now, that is all from AWE 2023. It was a pleasure to be there and leave an imprint, no matter how subtle, with my presence.
