Former Oculus VR head scientist to join Huawei
BUSINESS
By Jin Zixiong

2016-12-30 23:09 GMT+8

Steve LaValle,  former chief scientist for Oculus who's now a professor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, said on his Facebook page that he will join Huawei as the chief scientist of VR/AR/MR,and will be in charge of global research and product development.
He Gang, the head of Huawei Technologies' smartphone unit, confirmed to "The Paper" on Thursday that LaValle will join Huawei. In June, He also said that China lacks VR/AR talents and Huawei plans to recruit top technical experts from across the world.
Steve LaValle wearing Huawei Uniform
Oculus, a famous VR equipment maker, was acquired by Facebook in 2014. Steve LaValle started working with Oculus VR in September 2012, and was the chief scientist of Oculus until January 2015.
He developed head tracking methods based on inertial measurement units (IMUs) and computer vision, led a team of perceptual psychologists, and provided solutions for virtual reality calibration system and user experience comfort design.
He is also a co-inventor of Oculus SDK and helped Oculus develop two core technology patents.
LaValle said Huawei is a global business company, and China is a burgeoning VR/AR market.
"Our visions of the future closely align, which is that a holistic approach to VR/AR research and product development is absolutely necessary, and must tightly integrate hardware, software, human perception, and neuroscience," said LaValle.
LaValle also shared a photo on his Facebook page in which he is wearing Huawei's uniform.
Huawei Consumer BG CEO Yu Chengdong also confirmed that LaValle will join Huawei. Yu said he interviewed LaValle in person for the position.
(Story from China Daily)

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