What will a 5G VR/AR headset do?
We all now understand the basics of what 5G will mean, faster speeds at a lower latency. But what does that actually mean?
In reality, it will be a while before you see 5G on your mobile devices, or 5G hubs in your homes. The technology is there, but it’s purpose leans towards business and the technology industry, not towards consumer consumption.
Put bluntly, 5G will dramatically improve and change the way we are entertained (think gaming, live theatre, holographics, complex live streaming), or improving navigation with augmented reality overlays providing additional information.
It’s a hard one to imagine the possibilities because many of the most famous use cases of 5G aren’t even thought of right now. Few people realised the Taxi industry needed changing until Uber came about, or navigation until Google Maps or Citymapper was developed. Deliveroo not only changed how people consumed food, it changed the restaurant industry (and thankfully kept it alive during covid-19’s lockdown).
In my previous article, I spoke on how 4G changed the world with apps like Uber, and how 5G might…
5G headsets
A new headset to the market is XRSpace’s Mova — a 5G mixed reality headset that aims to blend the capabilities of virtual and augmented realities. The 5G enabled device aims to focus on social reality, or put simply, multiplayer.
Multiplayer in virtual reality right now is fairly limited. You can comfortably play table tennis with another user, but mass multiplayer fast-paced environments outside of just gaming, like training and development simulations are tricky using the current technologies — especially wireless.
Wireless VR is the future and Oculus have set the benchmark for this with their 2019 Oculus Quest headset. Immersive experiences are successful when the user feels alien to their real-world environment around them, removing wires plays a huge role in achieving this.
But where the XRSpace Mova becomes really special is its ability switch between virtual reality, and augmented reality (known as Mixed Reality / MR).
The headset would be able to interact with real world objects (AR) and at the same time, provide a complete immersive experience that VR offers.
TechTerms describes MR as: “Mixed reality is a blend of physical and virtual worlds that includes both real and computer-generated objects. The two worlds are “mixed” together to create a realistic environment. A user can navigate this environment and interact with both real and virtual objects”.
What will 5G do for VR/AR?
With hand-tracking already possible with the latest Oculus Quest update, and eye-tracking solutions from Tobii slowing gaining traction, a hand-free future for immersive technology seems like the next leap, as are wireless headsets.
5G makes social reality possible, allowing for users to seamlessly interact with each other to collectively work on a project or build within the technology.
Just like how 4G solved solutions that we didn’t know needed disrupting, the same will be said for 5G and how it changes our interactions with technology.
You can read our other articles on eye-tracking and hand-tracking:
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