Whatever Happened to Virtual Reality?

I havent heard anything new lately but I was curious as well. 95ish we did
have the (I dont recall the name)320X240 goggles but the technology hadnt
caught up to the idea quite yet.

You would think small high-res LCD's are getting cheap enough nowadays for
just such a device.

A couple of say 16x9 4" LCD's running at 1024x768 in a goggle type
configuration using a system similar to TrackIR for the movement.

Heck this isnt PC only either. I can see something similar for the
consoles.

Mitch


"HockeyTownUSA" <magma.DeleteThis@killspam.comcast.net> wrote in message
news:15qdnUwpkcuIczffRVn-iw@comcast.com...
> Now that I have been extensively using my TrackIR it got me wondering
> whatever happened to virtual reality headsets? I think the TrackIR is the
> next best thing, but problem is that you still have your eyes focused
> straight ahead no matter where your head is turned. I remember plahing
> some virtual reality games 5-6 years ago in Las Vegas and figured by this
> time (5-6 years later) it'd be an affordable peripheral for PC's. But
> nothing exists. It would be much more cool, IMHO, to be 100% immersed in
> the environment by donning some virtual reality goggles that all you could
> see was the in-game environment. They could probably even make it with
> wider peripheral vision too. I'd pay $300-$400 for a good set if it were
> available, and compatible with most flight and driving games. Hell, even
> first person shooters it would be pretty cool too.
>
> Anyone know if such a thing exists or is in development?
>

Mitch_A wrote:
> (...)
> A couple of say 16x9 4" LCD's running at 1024x768 in a goggle type
> configuration using a system similar to TrackIR for the movement.
>
> Heck this isnt PC only either. I can see something similar for the
> consoles.

I am surprised too that this hasn't materialized yet in the $300-$400
range. The technology is readily available and there is a huge
potential market (hordes of quakers, doomers, and the occasional
sim-buff). So, there must be other issues but I wonder which ? Motion
sickness ?

I guess that when (if?) mass-produced VR helmets become available, it
will be for consoles first.

Somewhat related was the announcement (two years ago ?) of an
headphones-like thingy that would emit very low frequency noises to
trick the internal ear into an illusion of motion. I was rather
skeptical at the time, though.

Regards,
Mr. S.

Check out the eDimensional 3D glasses: www.eDimensional.com

<michael.epstein DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
news:1118691016.144474.203370@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> Check out the eDimensional 3D glasses: www.eDimensional.com
>

Problem is, it just converts your monitor image into 3D. It's not true
virtual reality. The TrackIR is more virtual reality than that.

"HockeyTownUSA" <magma DeleteThis @killspam.comcast.net> wrote in message
news:rfOdnU4UtMgxvDPfRVn-pw@comcast.com...
>
> <michael.epstein DeleteThis @gmail.com> wrote in message
> news:1118691016.144474.203370@f14g2000cwb.googlegroups.com...
> > Check out the eDimensional 3D glasses: www.eDimensional.com
> >
>
> Problem is, it just converts your monitor image into 3D. It's not true
> virtual reality. The TrackIR is more virtual reality than that.
>
>

Has anybody ever tried to stick a TrackIR reflective dot onto 3D glasses??
If you set the TrackIR to move as much as your head, shouldn't this give you
as close to reality as possible??

K.

I had one of these in the days

http://tinyurl.com/azjba

it was frekin fantastic. The best was US Navy Fighters and Doom.
You could sit in your cockpit on the carrier deck and look around the place in
your chair before you took off. Awesome.

Would hook up friends with Doom and when they were running around, they would
hear the enemies running towards them. They always shout loud because the ear
phones sealed out so much of the sound.

HUGE DRAWBACK is that no one would ever write the drivers for the program that
were coming out. VFX-1 began begging people to write the drivers for the new
games. New game developers were responsive to include the drivers in their game
if VFX supplied it to them. Better resolutions started coming out and more
complex games. If you have no freakin drivers to have it work in the game then
all you end up having is a pair of LCDs in front of your eyes but the motion
tracking didn't work.

Great concept, not enough brains behind it to keep it going. They even had a
version that was 3DFX when the Diamond 3DFX cards started coming out.

Made you dizzy though if you were flying a plane, turning the plane in any
direction while sitting in your perfectly level and not moving computer chair
while looking in another direction. Body keeps telling you that you are not
moving but everything wrapped around your head was telling you different. Glad
I was able to experience it.

"Germ" <element RemoveThis @pe.ke> wrote in message
news:bbmsa1tv4ng37dgj2k0s3bnbr1b9bv295i@4ax.com...
>I had one of these in the days
>
> http://tinyurl.com/azjba
>
> it was frekin fantastic. The best was US Navy Fighters and Doom.
> You could sit in your cockpit on the carrier deck and look around the
> place in
> your chair before you took off. Awesome.
>
> Would hook up friends with Doom and when they were running around, they
> would
> hear the enemies running towards them. They always shout loud because the
> ear
> phones sealed out so much of the sound.
>
> HUGE DRAWBACK is that no one would ever write the drivers for the program
> that
> were coming out. VFX-1 began begging people to write the drivers for the
> new
> games. New game developers were responsive to include the drivers in
> their game
> if VFX supplied it to them. Better resolutions started coming out and
> more
> complex games. If you have no freakin drivers to have it work in the game
> then
> all you end up having is a pair of LCDs in front of your eyes but the
> motion
> tracking didn't work.
>
> Great concept, not enough brains behind it to keep it going. They even
> had a
> version that was 3DFX when the Diamond 3DFX cards started coming out.
>
> Made you dizzy though if you were flying a plane, turning the plane in any
> direction while sitting in your perfectly level and not moving computer
> chair
> while looking in another direction. Body keeps telling you that you are
> not
> moving but everything wrapped around your head was telling you different.
> Glad
> I was able to experience it.
>
>

That could be the problem then, nausea and dizzyness. So why don't they
integrate something into the earcup to mimic pressures exerted on the ear
during these maneuvers. However I know in turning, it isn't as much pressure
as fluid flow (Bernoulli's) that gets the body feeling that sensation. It
would seeem that there would be a way with slight pressure variations that
one could make this somewhat realistic, and less prone to confusion (that's
hard with me standing still though .

Where are the flying cars?
I was promised flying cars!
:^)

Mark Lee

"Mark Lee" <markwlee.RemoveThis@bigpond.net.au> wrote in message
news:9G0se.17901$F7.5962@news-server.bigpond.net.au...
> Where are the flying cars?
> I was promised flying cars!
> :^)
>
> Mark Lee
>

It is. Order yours for a mere $500,000.00 today!

http://www.moller.com/skycar/

or

http://www.popularmechanics.com/science/aviation/1559477.html

for thrill ride.