How we made an analogue of Oculus Rift

2015 was quite a stormy year in terms of events and announcements of virtual and augmented reality devices from major manufacturers such as Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Sony PS4, Microsoft Holo Lens, etc.
Anticipating the stormy interest in this area, at the end of 2014 I decided to start exploring this area.
As a result, over the course of the year, we, a small team without external support and funding, were one of the first to develop a solution that allows you to run applications and games for Oculus Rift DK2 in conjunction with the latest versions of Oculus Runtime.



But first, let's talk a little about sad things ...

Difficulties with the organization of high-tech production of consumer goods in Russia

It so happened historically that from the USSR we got a lot of internal luggage in external problems, including in the production sphere. In the 90s, all spheres of the economy and production underwent collapse, and the flow of imported goods poured into the market. We were not able to produce high-quality consumer goods, and this became unprofitable. Left without work, people preferred to engage in speculation and sales. However, as now. A quarter of the country with an engineering degree, but more than half of the working age population is engaged in sales. Thus, everything was left to chance, and Russia became out of competition. For more than 30 years, the field of microelectronics has stepped forward, thanks to countries such as China, South Korea, Taiwan and others. As a result, Russia in fact lacks infrastructure, logistics and climate, necessary for the effective organization of mass production. Recently, of course, attempts have been made to change the situation for the better, however, to fully do so will not be easy. Until now, many people have a principle in their head - why should I do something if I can buy cheaper and sell more? While the country lives mainly at the expense of petrodollars, sales are our scourge. We forgot what it means to work with our hands and head for the most part. Although, if you look at China, then in every way production is encouraged at the state level. sales is our scourge. We forgot what it means to work with our hands and head for the most part. Although, if you look at China, then in every way production is encouraged at the state level. sales is our scourge. We forgot what it means to work with our hands and head for the most part. Although, if you look at China, then in every way production is encouraged at the state level.

However, the market is gradually putting everything in its place. A programmer, a doctor, a builder and even a teacher becomes profitable.

Opinion: venture capital does not support small and even medium production

Venture capital investments are designed to return from 1 out of 10 companies. At the same time, the level of income should be higher than that received by the bank on deposits. In this regard, strict conditions are imposed on the invested projects: the cost or profitability of such companies should be estimated at least tens of millions, or even hundreds of dollars in the long term. Thus, companies that aim to organize small or even medium production with less profit are simply not interested.
How in this case to organize a business or production is a big question. However, it is precisely such companies that should form the basis of the economy.
As a rule, in response to a similar question, one can hear the opinion that the founders should rise at their own expense or their relatives, friends, bank loans, etc.
Another nuance: investors are not interested in copying, they need a billion-dollar product that has no analogues. However, everyone forgets that China, for example, is actively practicing copying, and, in general, they are already doing pretty good at it, and the economy probably already has no equal.

Virtual mirage

So, the Russian helmet of virtual reality, can be considered a mirage, a hallucination?
They say that if you think about something for a long time, then this item materializes. And so it happened.
The first experiments with virtual reality I began to deal with a little more than a year ago. At first it was various experiments with a stereo image: cut out glasses from cardboard, plastic, used those lenses that I could find in the nearest optics. Then he began to complicate the design, found screens, a debug board for sensors, and assembled the first working helmet prototype.
By this time, a start-up tour organized by Skolkovo, IIDF and other participants was taking place in our city. I decided to just show the project and listen to an opinion on where and how to move on.
As a result, I didn’t even hear criticism, but questions about why I am doing it, while in their opinion China and giant companies will do it anyway and will not leave a chance for the rest, having ousted all small players from the market. Of course, there is always a risk, and it is big, but does this mean that you should not do this at all?
Paradox: just recently, one of the already well-known Russian companies for the production of virtual reality glasses with the aliexpress network was announced. And this is despite the fact that competition from Chinese eyewear manufacturers is already going off scale. Where is the logic? And the logic, I think, is that many large corporations want to have their own project in this area. VR is the trend and future of multimedia.
In general, then I did not argue with people who are undeniably much more experienced than I am in these matters. I just needed support, at least moral. But I didn’t get it either. Which, however, only strengthened the motive to implement the project. It can sometimes be helpful to get angry to move a lying stone. When you understand that no one can or does not want to help you, then you rely only on yourself, and this makes you stronger.

Wheel

Sitting idle and waiting by the sea for weather is the worst thing you could imagine.
So I decided to team up with two more developers I knew and continue to research.
As a result of joint efforts, VRD appeared:



It turned out to be not as simple as originally planned. Of course, a number of mistakes were made, both technical and organizational - where without it. Given that you still need to earn a living, the project was given as much time as possible. I personally had to master the skills of installing SMD components and even coding for STM32. Often we gathered at the end of the working day and sat out until 10-11 o’clock in the evening, solving various problems.
Personally, my emotions throughout all 9 months were like a sinusoid. Sometimes it seemed so complicated or bad that thoughts came to close the project. However, after some time, through many attempts and joint efforts, a solution was found, problems were solved and the project moved on.
VRD is a wheel that is spinning and has already gained momentum. Sometimes, after some time, problems can be solved if you come in from the other side, they contact you, offer something, you open up new opportunities, etc. The process is running, the wheel is spinning, even if sometimes with a creak, but it works ...

Hi Oculus!

Perhaps we have chosen not the easiest way, having decided to develop our own solution for the sensor board. But it was this path that allowed us to understand and understand how this all works.
In November, we were able to make the tracker board and helmet identify and work as the Oculus Rift DK2 in conjunction with the latest versions of Runtime. The situation with the DK2 format is covered in a veil of secrecy and it is possible that it will never be publicly advertised. In Russia, perhaps this is the only solution of this kind so far. It is hard to say how things are in China, but we personally were asked from the Middle Kingdom to sell them a solution.

Total

As a result of all our efforts, the VRD helmet supports applications and games for the Oculus Rift DK2 / DK1.

Video of the helmet with the latest versions of Oculus Runtime (0.8):

Use for developing VR applications:



Intriguing Back to Dinosaur Island:



The famous demo from Epic Games Shutdown VR:



Fallout 4 (VorpX) in all its glory:


To summarize, in 2015, many events took place. We are a little tired, gained some experience, but are happy with the result.
I would like to believe that the future of VR is already close, and 2016 will bring even more surprise and turns in this area.
I personally thank my colleagues Roman and Nikolai, who made a huge contribution to the development of the project, sacrificing personal time and money. Andrey and Arthur - your help was also needed to the place.
Special thanks to all our first customers who supported and believed in the project.
Alas, I have nothing to say to our state, representatives of various foundations and businesses ... Alas
, we will work with KRITBI in the new year, I hope this will bring some results.

That's all for now, see you in the new 2016!

PS: he exists ...