How do you know that your PC is VR ready?

With Facebook launching its own Meta version for Virtual Reality, it has created a huge buzz around the Virtual reality domain. So, a lot of people and companies are planning or will be delving into this domain in the coming days so if you too are a tech enthusiast, then you should try to implement something in Virtual Reality or Mixed Reality. For that to happen you must know a few PC specifications and compatibilities to work on your laptops.

Let us delve a bit deep into them. The first and foremost thing is the display, naturally without a doubt since that is the main attention seeker. So that brings us to the display and other hardware specifications that your Personal Computer will need for you to enjoy the rendering process.

    1. Your PC should have a GPU that runs on no less than 90+ FPS rate.
    2. Since these days, there a lot of VR headsets available in the market, one should be very sure of which hardware will suit the PC and not have unnecessary complications happening while working.

There are a few standard recommendations for each of the headsets, that now will be looking into at a bit more depth.

Oculus Rift S

Oculus Rift S Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
  • Video Output: DisplayPort
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Oculus Rift CV1 Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1500X or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or greater
  • Video Output: Compatible HDMI 1.3 video output
  • USB Ports: 3x USB 3.0 ports plus 1x USB 2.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10 (Windows 7/8.1 no longer recommended)

 

Valve Index Recommended VR Specifications:
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD equivalent or greater
  • CPU: Quad Core+
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0 port (USB 3.0 required for camera passthrough), 1x DisplayPort v1.2
  • OS: Windows 10, SteamOS, Linux

Vive Cosmos Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590/AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Cosmos Elite Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590/AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Pro 2 Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / Quadro P5000 / AMD Radeon Vega 56 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2 or newer
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 3.0 port or newer
  • OS: Windows 10
Vive Focus 3 Minimum VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD Radeon RX 480 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD FX 8350 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB RAM or more
  • Video Output: HDMI 1.4 / DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Ports: 1x USB 2.0 port
  • Wired Streaming: 1x USB Type-C 3.0 cable (5 Gbps)
  • Wireless Streaming (routers): Wi-Fi 802.11ac or Wi-Fi 802.11ax (5GHz)
  • OS: Windows 10

WMR & HP

General Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1060 / AMD RX 470/570 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-4590 / AMD Ryzen 5 1400 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: HDMI 2.0 or DisplayPort 1.2 (may vary based on specific headset)
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0
  • OS: Windows 10 (Note: Not supported on N versions or Windows 10 Pro in S Mode)
  • Bluetooth Some headsets require Bluetooth 4.0 for controller connectivity
HP Reverb G1 and G2 Windows Mixed Reality Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 / AMD RX 5700 or greater
  • CPU: Intel Core i5, i7 / AMD Ryzen 5 or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.3
  • USB Port: 1x USB 3.0
  • OS: Windows 10 (may require latest updates)

Pimax VR headset

Pimax 8K X Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card
    • Upscale Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2060
    • Native Mode: NVIDIA RTX 2080
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 8K Plus Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA RTX 2060
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 5K Super Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1080 Ti
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.2
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10
Pimax 5K Plus Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1070
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 8.1
Pimax Artisan Recommended VR Specifications
  • Video Card: NVIDIA GTX 1050 Ti
  • CPU: Intel Core i5-9400 equivalent or greater
  • Memory: 8GB
  • Video Output: DisplayPort 1.4
  • USB Port: USB 2.0 or greater
  • OS: Windows 10, Windows 8.1

All of these are the standard recommendations that are expected to be in place before you start working with Virtual and Augmented Reality projects. Since these are one of the hot trending technologies, whatever your interest is, we recommend to at least have a couple of projects under your belt to be able to have a complete and competent skillset.

If you have come to our space for the first, then we recommend you to check out our blogs section. We are Twin reality, a VR/AR web and app development startup based out of Gujrat in India. Though we are young, our young team has had a fair and vast experience of creating VR models across a wide range of industries from education to retail to manufacturing industries.

This VR headset is designed for use in bed

The Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality market has risen very fast and exponentially, especially in the months of COVID-19. Who would have thought that exhibitions, galleries, portfolios, and other outdoor activities, will become a matter of pure on-screen interaction and user-immersive experience?

There are various other companies that have brought the latest and most updated headsets and web and mobile applications over the past year and a half.

Today, we will be speaking of one such Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality headset, that is specifically designed for use while you lay in bed. There have been very few headsets that one can use while comfortable laying in bed and using. The one which we read in-depth today will work for the same reason.

HalfDive_1

There is a Japanese firm, which is called as Diver-X. this company is making a headset that is named as HalfDive BMD, or in a more expanded way, HalfDive Bed-Mounted Display. This campaign for marketing is all slated to start this November, that is in a few months. This headset is a bit larger than your regular ones. However, it is completely stable and stationary, which will allow you to rest your head smoothly over a couch or a bed. Now, for those who are a bit lazy or nosy, would love the fact that they no longer have to stand and run around while playing a game.

Given below, is a rough sketch of how that headset will look like, when one wears it:

Well, there is another crux to this matter. If you know that there is a sudden rise in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality based sex games, you should be knowing why! There is also another chance of people who fall asleep as soon as they hit the bed.

The headset might turn attention for its weird features, but it is equally powerful. Among the other features it has, are a pair of coolers, or fans on the sides of the virtual reality headset. If people think that the noise of these fans is disturbing to them, they might as well shut them off from the settings panel.

 

leg sensors

Another pair of cool sensors that these are equipped with are the force feedback sensors, placed at the bottom of the feet, with which the headset is connected to. Say for instance, if you are playing the game of Car or an F1 Racing game, you will actually feel pressing of the brake or the gas pedal against your feet. Similarly, if you are playing a game that involves fighting, or physical activity, you might feel those as well on your feet. Now, isn’t this some next-level user immersive experience?

Now, software developers are in for a huge surprise. What if we say, that this headset has an open-source software? Interesting right? Which means it is highly customizable according to the needs and necessities of the user.

The headset is compatible with all types of Steam VR content due to the unique driver and emulation systems of the device. Getting into the hardware at a little more depth, the headset has a couple of 1600 x 1440 resolutions. That too at a fantastic frequency rate of 90Hz, and a 134-degree field view, which is amazing and cool to imagine.

The device also has variable (or adjustable) focus lenses, with aspherical lenses. Now coming to the price of the device. On an average, for a headset which is not fully loaded with features, it should cost you somewhere around USD 800. The highest piece is placed at USD 4000. The average price is around USD 1200, which is slightly on the higher side, for mixed reality devices.

Are you someone who enjoys reading and keeping a tab on the trending technologies of Mixed, Augmented and Virtual Reality? Then, you have come to the right place. We, Twin reality Technologies, are a startup based in Ahmedabad. Our engineers provide a host of services in the domain of Virtual Reality Web and App development.

Even though, we are young, we have had a huge and diversified client base and experience. We would be glad to serve you, and you can get connected with us over our social media handles. Until the next blog post, have a nice day!

Xiaomi has unveiled their new smart glasses.

Xiaomi smart glasses

The market and the competition for smart glasses for Augmented and Virtual reality is getting heated up. In a matter of months, we have Apple, Facebook, Ray-Ban, and other traditional giants of the software eye a place with their products. But now, we have a smartphone manufacturing giant, step up into this domain. Xiaomi is a relatively new player in the domain, but that should not be taken as a disadvantage or inexperience. It has put in a lot efforts and time to lunch its very own version of Smart Glasses!

Xiaomi is still in the planning stages of the product and hasn’t had any plans of launch in the near future as of now. The company has released a sort of a trailer, where a few components of the smart glasses can be observed. The glasses have a 5MP camera, speaker, and a micro-LED display. The display is used as a notification feature. An important point to note is that even though MicroLED technology is a bit expensive for Virtual Reality in commercial use, still the company is keen on using them. All highlights, information, incoming calls and caller’s information, maps, photo, text and video translations are available on the device, as and when you choose. To summarise, these glasses have a simple structure to deal with and a longer life-span. They also have a Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connection modules.

Now, delving a bit more into the hardware. The processors: Xiaomi uses an ARM based quad-core processor. It is compatible with Google’s Android. The chips in these glasses are roughly the size of medium-ranged rice grain. The size of the pixels is roughly 4 micrometres. The major click here is that, while Xiaomi’s competitors have full solid colour displays, this company only focuses on showing thing on a green colour monochrome display. The glasses will have an LED light at either of its sides, and when the glasses are in function, the lights would blink, giving people around the user, an indication.

This product, if and when launched, would be one of the lightest smart glasses in its category. It weights only about 50 grams. The weight of probably say two pencil cells, we normally use in television remotes. The glasses won’t be acting as an extended screen or a secondary viewing device for the work being done on the mobile phone. The glasses will be powered by Xiaomi’s own voice assistant, named as XiaoAI voice assistant. This voice assistant will convert text to speech and vice-versa. The smart glasses will have a touchpad too.

Are you someone who is intrigued by the technological advances in Augmented Reality and Virtual reality? Then you should definitely consider following our blog where we regularly write about all the happenings in this domain. In case we have met for the first time, we are Twin Reality technologies. A start-up that focuses on building web and app development software for AR, VR, mixed reality applications. You could have a look at our portfolio and consider getting connected with us over our social media handles.

Oculus Space Sense feature! Now you could avoid collisions when immersed in virtual Reality.

Oculus Space Sense feature

Oculus has been the go-to brand hardware for virtual reality headsets. It has been a market leader for quite a while and with every update it releases, it only cements its legacy and reputation further.

 

Often people might have seen or experienced, that while wearing your AR/VR headsets, people bump into each other, thus not having an amazing virtual playing or work experience. So, to solve this problem, Oculus Quest has come up with an amazing update. Let us talk about it in a more detailed fashion.

Space Sense feature update is a part of the bigger set of a software update that Oculus Quest 2 has been working on, more commonly referred to as the v33 update. Here, it enables you to see the figures of people who are in your range, while working with the headsets. Once, you figure them out, you could pause your task, and have your area cleared and then again resume with your task. Sounds interesting right? Yes, it is. A win-win situation in places where the movement of people is more or important.

This feature of Oculus Quest 2 is available for a distance of 9 feet. However, like all things, there is a small disadvantage with this too. That is, whenever, a person comes from behind, your Oculus headset won’t be able to detect the movement and alert you. Since this is outside the sensors field of view. Even though the update does not fully control the problem of people or pets or objects entering your range of work or play, yet it still solves a lot of issues for people having objects in the vicinity or pets.

This is an optional feature. In case, you aren’t comfortable or can do without the update, you could turn this feature off from the settings panel anytime. There is a bit of time before Space Sense is launched. A similar feature was added to the Guardian of Oculus, two years back in 2019. In that, one could figure out static objects like furniture. However, it could not detect moving objects like people and animals.

Like, we said before, even if the headset does not solve the problem of head-on collisions in virtual reality space, still, it is a logical step for the safety of users. Looking at this update of Oculus, many other headsets manufacturers may also include features like these in their next update iteration.

 

If you loved reading this article, consider following our blog, where we regularly write about the trending technologies in the domain of mixed reality. We, Twin Reality Technologies, are a startup based out of Ahmedabad, India. With a young team of talented engineers, who work on virtual reality app development. We have a vast experience in working in various domains, from real estate to education to exhibitions. We would be glad to get connected over our website and other social media hands!

A sneak peek into how Facebook’s Aria glasses work, and present a wonderful opportunity into AR!

Facebook’s Aria glasses

Facebook, is no longer the same company that only runs its social media presence. Facebook has come far from that mould and it is now rapidly experimenting with different cutting-edge technologies and investing thousands and millions of dollars into research and development into novel technologies for people around the world.

Today’s article is one such piece into the company’s technology, a technology that is no longer connected with social media. It is a revolutionary technology that brings people together and let them experience certain situations in a virtual environment. It is about VR/AR.

The company has recently been a lot in news about its products in the Virtual Reality domain. Initially, it developed the headsets of Oculus and its related web software. Now it is for the VR/AR glasses developed by the company. The project is called Aria and is being projected as a research idea on the types of sensors and their study to use them in smart AR/VR glasses.

Let us have a short tour of the project layout, components and the technology that is used. We won’t delve into many details, but for those who are interested, a detailed user manual is available on this link.

The hardware of the project, which makes it the backbone of the project is called the Gemini Engineering Valuation Test. These are a set of few hardware glasses and other hardware equipment that is being built for testing and prototyping, before mass production. Another point that has to be clarified is that this project is not full-fledged software development, but more of hardware research and study. Hence it is mostly concentrated on collecting and analysing data, and not displaying it like on Oculus Headsets.

These glasses are just similar to the reading glasses that most people wear while reading or working to avoid eye strain. Thus, people with defective eyesight cannot wear it. The glasses have four cameras on them in different places and angles to capture videos and photos. The glasses are being developed by a leading eyewear manufacturer Ray Ban. They are powered by Qualcomm chips, have LED’s which change colour according to the mode they are operating in. They also have a separate power button and a USB-powered charging cable and port.

Since these glasses can be categorised into the smart category, and store data, they need a platform where the analysis, displaying and other interactive activities happen. It is for the same reason that an app called Ariane is being developed.

Ariane app is a one-stop app for all the interactive and immersive experiences of the glasses. All features like getting connected by Wi-Fi, battery levels, sensory data, notifications and other stuff will be processed. The app is still in the beta stage. Although a lot of reviews that have surfaced online say that the app has incredibly simple UI.

So, in a nutshell, this project looks more like hardware and data collecting experiment rather than an AR/VR project.

For more such articles about the trending technologies in the domain of Virtual and Augmented Reality, make sure to follow us on our website Twin Reality. We also specialise in creating virtual reality web and app development for our clients. We have a huge client base with amazing projects, showcased in our portfolio. We would be glad to get connected with you!