Razer OSVR Open Virtual Reality Platform

Even now, 2.5 years after the demonstration of the first Oculus Rift prototype and the successful Kickstarter campaign, virtual reality helmets / goggles still remain a hot topic and attract attention. For example, at the last CES exhibition, many companies presented developments in this area. Entering the stage of the Razer company did not surprise anyone. But the surprise was how they came out.

Razer OSVR (Open Source Virtual Reality) is positioned not as a regular product, but as an open and free virtual reality platform, a kind of “Android for VR” (these were the words the executive director formulated the idea at the presentation).

Razer OSVR is the fruit of four years of development. Now the concept is sold as an OSVR Hacker Dev Kit for $ 200. Acceptance of pre-orders began at CES.

This is not a competitor to Oculus Rift, but a completely different business model. The source code for the software components and the hardware design of Razer OSVR are open and accessible to everyone for study and experimentation.









Razer OSVR does not have its own operating system; the device works with Android, Linux and Windows.

Another point - no specific gadget models are planned. It is assumed that there will be hundreds and thousands of them, just like on the Android platform. That is, the exhibition showed just a basic prototype. Everyone can download files from the official site, change the configuration and arrange the release of their own devices. At the same time, third-party modules and extensions promise him (from input devices to game engines): OSVR will support anything.



The platform is open, so it makes little sense to cite the technical specifications of the “hacker" prototype. The device for $ 200 has a “panoramic” FOV of 100 ° (90 ° horizontally and 90 ° vertically), a 1080p (401 ppi) screen with a refresh rate of 60 fps, USB 3.0 interfaces.

At the same time, Razer promises to develop and maintain a free platform for the common good, as Google with Android does. Already, there is a lot of work with game developers (Techland - Dying Light, Gearbox Software - Borderlands), creators of game engines (Unreal, Unity), equipment manufacturers (Leapmotion, Sixense).

The first "test drive" and an independent review of the Razer OSVR, see here .



The open sale of the Razer OSVR is scheduled for June 2015.