Oculus-Alike: Build Your Own Virtual Reality Headset 23
Hesh writes "With the impending arrival of the first batch of Oculus Rift VR headsets to developers, Rod Furlan put up a very detailed guide on how to build your very own headset with off-the-shelf parts and a few hours of spare time based off of the original design of the headset from the forums where it all started. This is a very exciting time for VR, and DIY headsets will allow everyone to try out new tricks and form factors while finally being able to test with a whole new world of compatible software that is about to be released very soon."
But what is the point? (Score:4, Insightful)
Okay, sure, it'd be kinda cool to hack together your own helmet, but you'd be paying about as much just for the parts as for a complete Rift, and the result would be a kludge of a headset which will almost certainly be heavier and less comfortable, and whose optics and sensors will be (maybe not so) slightly different, meaning you'll lose out on a lot of the last-mile fine-tuning of the experience.
I do really hope these guys don't get all anal about locking down their SDK to only work with their helmet or charging outrageous licensing fees to developers, so many promising technologies have been stillborn because of such shenanigans. They have the first-mover advantage, as long as they don't sit on their laurels as competition emerges there's lots and lots of money to be made, *if* the technology takes off. Competition and low/zero licensing fees will help that happen, and as the producers of the de-facto standard SDK they'll have an ongoing advantage when it comes to expanding the feature set to be even more immersive. Independent screen for each eye for a wider FOV in a slimmer profile. Integrated Kinect-style scanner to track hand motion and provide obstacle alerts. Lots of interesting possibilities going forward. IF it takes off.