Oculus Rift is working on the wireless VR headset which able to track players' eye-movement. The new device will be able to do both AR and VR, but how can it compete against HTC Vive and PlayStation VR?
Speaking in the Oculus Connect event on Thursday, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Oculus is currently working on the wireless headset that uses "inside-out tracking" from an internal camera to track the user's position, Ars Technica. This technology will enable Oculus Rift to omit an external camera or a connection to outside hardware to track player movement.
"This is the kind of thing we believe will exist, a completely new category of virtual reality product," Zuckerberg said. He also said that the new technology of 'inside out tracking' is one of the toughest problems in computer science. Nevertheless, he said Facebook has made a progress to solve the issue, with the milimeter scale accuracy.
Meanwhile in a competition against other VR headset, Oculus Rift has to make its mark to match the strength in game console from Playstation VR, and the ability to move around in VR device from HTC Vive. According to the comparison made by GameSpot, the $600 Oculus Rift only works for PC and support both head tracking and controller tracking. But Oculus Rift comes with an Xbox One controller, a sensor, and free copies of two games, Eve: Valkyrie and Lucky's Tale.
Its competitor HTC Vive is the one that offer a completely different VR experience. The most expensive VR device with a $800 price tag, HTC Vive allows its users to stand up and move around. The device is equipped with the IR emitters to allow a wide range of physical movement, and front facing camera to give its users a view of the surrounding real world.
HTC Vive comes with headset, two wireless motion controllers, two base stations, a link box to connect to your PC, and a pair of Vive earbuds. Similar to Oculus Rift, HTC Vive only works for PC as well.
The last major competitor is PlayStation VR which is the only one specifically design to work on a PS4 console. The $400 VR headset supports head tracking, controller tracking, and mobility tracking. It comes with headset, a processing unit, and connection cables.