Breaking The Walls: Somnium Space partners with Prusa Research and Vrgineers to develop open source VR headset

Somnium Space announced partnerships with Prusa Research and Vrgineers to continue development of the Somnium Space VR ONE, a revolutionary, open source VR headset.

Somnium Space, the open, persistent and blockchain based VR world is working on developing their own headset. This was first announced during the Somnium Connect conference in Prague last year. The announcement from the company is another step towards a revolutionary, open VR headset platform.

Open Source VR Headset

Many software and hardware companies produce closed ecosystems. It allows them to control user experiences, prohibit use of non-approved soft- or hardware and generally just lock the owner or user, who is heavily discouraged to exit. This in contrast to open systems.

This is where the Somnium Space VR ONE headset comes in, which will be fully modular, open source, modifiable and programmable. It finally puts the owner and user in charge when it comes to consumer headsets. It will accelerate development and allow users to truly own their gear and not feel trapped in any way; Somnium Space wants you to stick around because they have the best product and the best VR platform, not because you find yourself within a walled garden.

Somnium Space VR ONE Headset current development design

Another unique feature of the Somnium Space VR ONE will be that you can print its parts.

Each user deserves to fully own hardware they buy and be able to customize, repair and enhance it anytime. We would like to provide an unrestricted hardware and software environment to all VR enthusiasts around the world. 3D models of the headset parts will be available so that any user with access to a 3D printer can print them out. Android OS source codes will be in a public GIT, this is the freedom for metaverses, where we plan to spend much more time in the future – Artur Sychov, Somnium Space Founder & CEO.

CEO of Prusa Research, Josef Prusa, has the same approach towards open-source.

We would like to see other products, such as virtual reality headsets, follow the same open-source, community approach as our Prusa printers. Anyone will be able to download a 3D model of the Somnium Space headset from Printables.com and print them at home on their printer.

Vrgineers is a manufacturer of professional grade headsets, and their technical know-how will be instrumental in the development of VR ONE.

This project is based on a solid foundation of Vrgineers technical expertise in manufacturing virtual and mixed reality headsets for professionals and backed by direct investments into Vrgineers by Somnium Space and Prusa Research. – Polcak, Vrgineers CEO.

Specifications

CPU Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2

8 GB RAM LPDDR5

512 GB UFS

Wifi 6e

Display 2x 3.2inch 2880RGB*2880 Fast LCD

Horizontal FOV 120 °, Vertical FOV 100 °

MiscroSD card extension

Wireless PC VR Streaming

Tethered USB-C PC streaming

Native wired PC Mode (lossless)

HMD Native SteamVR support (working on native SteamVR tracking and controllers)

Integrated high quality stereo microphones

Headphone jack

Inside-Out 6DoF tracking Support for controllers

External battery pack using USB-C (no accumulator inside)

2x USB-C 10 Gbps for external accessories (USB 3.2 Gen2) +1 charging UBS-C (USB 2.0)

OS Android 11 AOSP port opensource Direct open access to sensors and cameras

About Prusa Research:

Prusa Research is a 3D printing company based in Prague, Czech Republic. It was founded in 2012 as a one-man startup by Josef Prusa, one of the core developers of the open source project RepRap, and has grown to a team of over 700 now. His open-sourced Prusa i3 design is the most used 3D printer in the world. The company ships more than 10,000 Original Prusa printers per month to over 160 countries directly from Prague.

About Vrgineers:

Vrgineers, Inc. is a leader in delivering next-generation virtual and mixed reality pilot training systems (Synthetic Training Environment, STE) to professional and military clients. Vrgineers’ pilot training solution includes portable trainers ready to be packed and taken on missions; reconfigurable classroom simulators that support almost all platforms, from the T-6 Texan to the F-35; and custom 1:1 simulators that are built specifically for any type of helicopter, jet-fighter, or airliner, and include a fully-functional cockpit replica. Vrgineers was co-founded in 2017 by CEO Marek Polčák and currently employs an international team of 50 specialists that combine a high level of technical skills (mostly Ph.D. & Engineer graduates) with industry professionals.