Microsoft, third-parties unite for ‘mixed reality’

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‍Microsoft unveiled several third-party virtual reality (VR) headsets on Tuesday, with the aim of establishing their Windows 10 operating system as being the best way to explore artificial worlds.

The devices include a Samsung headset called the HMD Odyssey. The headset requires a connection to a PC running on a Windows 10 update being released October 17. It will cost 500 US dollars and begin shipping early next month.

Microsoft Technical Fellow Alex Kipman holds an HMD Odyssey virtual reality headset. /AP Photo

PC makers Dell, HP, Acer and Lenovo also will be making VR headsets designed to work with Windows 10 machines. The prices for those headsets start at about 400 US dollars.

Microsoft also disclosed it’s buying a startup called AltspaceVR to develop technology for holding business meetings in VR.

The PC-driven headsets that Microsoft is embracing demonstrate the dividing lines among some of the world’s most powerful technology companies, which are all trying to hook consumers and businesses on products and applications that blend the real world with digital versions of it.

Both Apple and Google are focused on bringing a slightly different format called “augmented reality” (AR) to smartphones running on their software. AR projects digital images into real-life scenes usually viewed through the device's camera lens.

AR is to project digital images into real-life scenes. /Reuters Photo

VR, on the other hand, completely immerses people into fake worlds, and usually requires wearing a headset that blocks out everything else.

Microsoft is trying to develop technology that straddles both VR and AR, prompting the company to label its approach “mixed reality.” It began its push into the area two years ago with an expensive headset called the “HoloLens” that so far has primarily been used by businesses.

Now, Microsoft is trying to broaden its mixed reality strategy by working with PC makers to design and sell headsets that work with the upcoming Windows 10 update.

Facebook, another company without its own smartphone operating system, also is betting on VR that works on standalone headsets built by its Oculus subsidiary. The Oculus headset also requires a connection to a high-powered PC. Oculus is expected to reveal the latest updates to its VR products at a conference next week.

Google's Daydream View virtual-reality headset /AP Photo

Google, meanwhile, is expected to unveil the next generation of its Daydream VR headsets for Android-powered phones at a showcase Wednesday.

Source(s): AP