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Virtual reality and augmented reality technologies are evolving rapidly. Although Apple introduced AR capabilities last year with the iOS update, we haven’t seen any actual hardware from the Cupertino giant in this technological space, unlike other competitors (Google, Oculus, HTC, etc).
Now, according to the latest report from CNET, Apple is said to be working on a powerful wireless and standalone headset incorporating the capabilities of both – virtual and augmented reality technology – in a single chip.
Apple’s T288 Project for AR/VR Headset
According to inside sources, the VR/AR headset will boast two stunning 8K displays for each eye with a resolution far exceeding even the best TV’s available in today’s market. This means users will get some unprecedented VR resolution for watching high-definition VR porn stuff. The project codenamed T288 is still in its very early stage of development and could likely see the light-of-the-day two years down the line sometime around 2020.
Well, this is a lot of time and looking at the speed of growth in the AR/VR space this leap is quite achievable. Moreover, Apple CEO Tim Cook has also made his intentions clear saying: We don’t give a rat’s about being first, we want to be the best, and give people a great experience.
To make this standalone VR/AR headset, Apple is planning to build its own “dedicated box” leveraging the high-speed short-range wireless technology called 60GHz WiGig. The box would be powered by Apple’s own 5-nanometer processing chips which would be much more powerful than all of the company’s existing line of chips.
A source familiar with the matter said: “The future of VR is expected to be cordless devices — and Apple wants to bring its trademark simplicity to the setup. The box would use a wireless technology called 60GHz WiGig. A second-generation version, called 802.11ay, would boost speeds and range and make the technology more attractive for high-end VR headsets that aren’t tethered to computers.”
This AR/VR headset would also be hosting Apple’s own “rOS“, reports of which came a few months back.
Apple Published a New Patent for Eye-Tracking in VR
Along with this news, the Cupertino giant is also said to have published a patent last week in order to optimize the eye-tracking features of a VR headset.
Image: Patently Apple
The patent application reads: The eye tracking system may include at least one near-IR (NIR) eye tracking camera positioned at each side of the user’s face and pointed towards eye-facing surfaces of eyepieces of the HMD, an illumination source that emits NIR light towards the user’s eyes, and hot mirrors located between the eye-facing surfaces of the eyepieces and the user’s eyes. The hot mirrors reflect at least a portion of NIR light, while allowing visible light to pass. The cameras capture images of the user’s eyes reflected by the hot mirrors. Positioning the hot mirrors at or near the eye-facing surfaces of the eyepieces allows the cameras to be placed at the sides of the user’s face without having to image through the eyepieces.
Currently, there are other special techniques like foveated rendering that dedicated the resources of the graphics chip only to the area of focus instead of the whole screen, thereby considerably reducing power consumption and processing demands.
Looks impressive… But waiting till 2020 is a bit more
that’S COOL.
when I saw this news yesterday, i knew its gonna be here on the blog
Nice article, great to see Apple finally getting into the VR game