Written by sCessions
A headset that is built to last and liberate.
“VR headsets? What?! Wait.. Oh My God! WHY?!?” – Some people
“Because when you own a Somnium Space headset, you get to do things with this that you cannot do with others” – Artur Sychov, founder and CEO of Somnium Space
The VR landscape is ever changing. Many new VR, AR and Mixed-Reality products and experiences are being developed and are hitting the market. But one of the most exciting announcements came from Somnium Space. During the recent Somnium Connect 2021 in Prague they revealed the specifications of their very own VR headset.
The Somnium VR Headset is a virtual reality headset which is developed in-house with a new stem of growing partnerships including vrgineers, a producer of superior quality, professional grade headsets like their flagship product XTAL.
Standalone/Wired Modes and Tracking
The headset can function both standalone and in native wired mode. In wireless mode it does not require a PC or an external base station to use so that is a huge plus as far as easy of use is concerned. For the best experiences however it also supports native (lossless) wired mode.
It features HMD native SteamVR support and works with Lighthouse tracking and controllers, which is an inside-out positional tracking system. With such a system, the camera or sensors are located on the device being tracked (as opposed to outside-in, where the sensors are placed in a stationary location).
Tracking is based on 6DoF, which is short for 6 degrees of freedom. It builds on the rotations around the axis (3DOF) and adds to it translations. This means you can walk forwards/backwards, strafe down left/right and crouch and stand up
LCD Panels, Lenses, Processor and More
The device features two 3.2 inch LCD panels with a 2880 x 2880 resolution, 90Hz refresh rate (possibly up to 120Hz) and a 115-degree horizontal field of view (or more). The custom vrgineer lenses are similar to those used in the XTAL, which is a high-resolution headset for professionals.
The headset is powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 processor – which can be found in other hardware products like the Oculus Quest 2.
With the obvious (but not always available) headphone jack it is possible to attach any preferred device to further enhance the audio experience. And thanks to the charging USB-C (2.0) and 2xUSB-C 10 Gbps ports there are plenty of possibilities for connecting external accessories/charging devices.
With Android 11 AOSP, open for user customizations, this headset will also be a dream for developers.
The latter is significant.
“We have seen a trend where many companies, big companies, who were producing VR headsets started to close their ecosystems and creating silos, and we as the metaverse company, we cannot afford to risk that we will be dependent on those other ecosystems,” – Artur Sychov
Perhaps the most revolutionary specification of this headset is that it is highly modular, designed to be completely customizable by users on a hardware and software level. Owners are given unrestricted access to the controls and sensor inputs to make their own adjustments. Many of the modules can be replaced or upgraded which is a big plus for being able to simply plug and play instead of constantly sending it off to manufacturers, paying shipping fees, and wondering when it will be returned.
“We believe in modularity, and we want to have a headset which will last some time with you, which you can take and do things with, which truly can be your companion and your development partner or your gaming partner.” – Artur Sychov.
vrgineers
The Somnium VR headset is being made in collaboration with VRgineers, and features lenses similar to those in the XTAL headsets, which are custom made and crystal clear. Somnium Space hasn’t said what price it will be aiming for. Also, it won’t be running any super early pre-orders or funding campaigns. Currently, the goal is to release the first ones and have them ready for delivery by Q4 ’22. But in the next few months hopefully we will know more details on that and how much the device will cost.
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