Hi Pimax,
After the the 8k releases commercially, can you look into auto-IPD and strap/harness fitting adjustments?
I have always been a proponent of automation, even for simple things such as putting on a watch. For example, when putting on a watch, the device should know that you wish to wear it and wrap around the wrist automatically. Sure, it is a bit more work and makes the device more expensive, but the value-added convenience automation provides and the feeling of owning futuristic technology would make the consumer choose the automated watch instead of the manual watch when the time comes to upgrade or re-buy.
One of the worst experiences in VR is using the HMD without the proper IPD adjustment. It decreases usability by causing eye strain and nausea, and generally provides a bad VR experience for the user that has the potential of turning them off. The user has to know, or to the best of their ability, measure their IPD, and hope that it correlates to the HMD’s measurement of IPD.
One way to counter this is to introduce automatic IPD measurement and adjustment in the headset. This can be integrated in the eye tracking module. 'Another reason why it is a good idea for the eye tracker to have a tracker per eye. Each tracker will have a known distance from the other, and with enough detail from the camera can automatically measure, and adjust as necessary, the distance from the outside of one pupil to the inside of the other.
Automatic IPD adjustment will be huge in VR! It is akin to getting power/automatic windows and seats in cars, and will eliminate one less hassle for VR adaptability.
I cannot speak for everyone, but I dislike how the HMD is mounted to the face. I hate wearing glasses because of the sensation of something ever pressing on my face. The same is true for VR headsets. To make sure the headset has a secure fit and to remove light bleed, the headset has to be suctioned to the face. Imagine a squid latching onto your head with a death grip, or the alien thing from the Alien ™ franchise jumping out of its pod to latch onto the victim’s face.
I have an idea for a new type of active harness that not only reduces the hassle of putting on the HMD, but eliminates the pressure of the headset mounted on the face. It entails active, mechanical, articulated fingers, and a shroud around the headset’s portal to prevent light bleed.
Imagine picking up the headset from the front and placing it near your face. Sensors detect that the headset is near a face and the mechanical fingers activate to wrap around the head, holding the headset about a centimeter from the face. The shroud then extends and gently seals the gap between the headset and the face, preventing light bleed. At this point the headset beeps to let you know that it has latched on, then begins to automatically, and continuously shift weight around to balance the headset in-front of the face so there is no pressure on the face, itself.
Yes, I know it still evokes the image of the alien egg creature leaping out and face hugging its victim, but in this case, there is no alien embryo and the pressure on the face is relieved.
Automating mundane things, in this case, the manual and imprecise effort to adjust the IPD, or putting on the headset itself, reduces VR adaptation. If it is a pain to put the headset on and adjust the IPD, VR would not be used as often. But if the mundane effort of putting on the headset and adjusting the IPD is automated, then using the headset becomes as simple as putting on a pair of glasses and forgetting that they are there.
