Qualcomm has already built a working 6dof controller for MobileVR headsets, that lets you have hand presence in MobileVR
Qualcomm intends to bring a 6dof motion controller to mobile VR headsets (products like the HTC Vive Focus, and the Lenovo Mirage Solo) starting with the Qualcomm reference design.
Via Micah Blumberg reporting from VRLA for Silicon Valley Global News SVGN.io Qualcomm VRLA John Root
In the video above I filmed interviews with Said Bakadir (Qualcomm) and Anshel Sag (Moor Insights) regarding the Robin Hood VR demo and the Qualcomm Reference VR Headset.
At VRLA 2018 I finally got the try the Qualcomm VR Headset Reference Design. It’s really clear from trying this that in a sense the HTC Vive Focus, the Google Daydream based Lenovo Mirage Solo, and the Facebook Oculus Go products are all in a sense Qualcomm products because at the heart of each is the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor which is really what is making this new generation of mobile all in one headsets possible. What was great about the Qualcomm Reference Design was getting to try the newer much more powerful Qualcomm 845 Chipset which is 30 percent faster than the 835 Chipset found in the Vive Focus and Mirage Solo. It really shows that in the Robinhood demo, at the end, when the game demo was over it was revealed that the game was taking place inside a virtual movie set, that I could walk around inside, and at that point I felt chills down my spine and my arms because I had very powerful sense of presence like I was actually there, it was amazing!
I previously wrote a story about how I wanted to improve the Qualcomm reference design which you can read here
but I think Qualcomm is really on the ball here, and it was exciting to experience technology working so well. The other time I’ve felt technology working so well was with the Oculus Santa Cruz product which is also built with Qualcomm Snapdragon technology and it features two 6dof mobile controllers. I really feel like the Oculus Santa Cruz hits the sweet spot and when I get one I will never again buy a headset that is tethered to a PC, because I know that the essence of everything that I love about VR is captured by the mobile Oculus Santa Cruz, at the time of this article that I wrote at Oculus Connect 4 it was the only mobile VR headset (besides the Pico Neo) that was promising to put your hands into mobile VR
At GDC 2018 I got to try to Vive Focus several times, and also the Oculus Go and the Mirago Solo and then right before VRLA I created a podcast and an article about the comparison between all three headsets, but a motion controller with 6dof, that lets you have at least one hand in VR would change the game. I think the Oculus Go is the best value for most consumers and its the best way to watch 360 video, and its really the only VR headset that is meant for watching video on your back lying in bed because the headstrap is so soft whereas the Mirage Solo and the Vive Focus have really hard plastic headstraps that you can’t wear comfortably in bed or in a chair pressing your head back against a headrest. So Oculus Go is really the best way to watch 360 movies.
The Qualcomm VR Headset reference design isn’t meant for production, but instead it’s meant to inspire it’s hardware partners like HTC, Lenovo, Oculus and others to bring new products to the market based in part on its designs, in combination with the unique design created by each of their partners.
It’s really interesting that Qualcomm said they have a 6dof controller and not two 6dof controllers. That could indicate that the future Vive Focus or Daydream Mirage Solo products may feature just 1 motion controller which would effectively allow you to have just 1 hand in VR, that would be great, but it’s different from the intention we have seen from Oculus regarding the Oculus Santa Cruz headset which features 2 6dof motion controllers so you can have 2 hands in VR effectively.
That’s very interesting and also odd if the future is going to be split between 1 handed VR headsets and 2 handed ones.
I’m betting on that Oculus Santa Cruz personally.
Clay Bavor tells CNET that 6dof motion controllers won’t make their way to the current Mirage Solo product.
But thanks for my interview with Qualcomm we know that a 6dof controller will be coming to future Mobile VR products based on the Qualcomm reference design and that may include future Google Daydream VR products.
The following photos are from the Qualcomm talk at VRLA 2018 about the partner products that incorporate Qualcomm technology and Qualcomm designs along with their own technology and their own designs.
