The widely beloved iPhone has so far missed the main currents of smartphone-based virtual reality, thus playing second fiddle to the likes of Samsung’s Gear VR headset or Google’s Daydream. But with the newly released iPhone-only Bridge headset from Occipital, it’s now the focal device in one of those most promising headsets we’ve seen to date.
The overall concept is familiar enough: You take an iPhone 6, 6s, or 7 and slip it into a slot on the front of the headset and then strap the device on your head. (Sorry, the “Plus” size versions of these aren’t compatible.) But it’s Occipital’s Structure Sensor that makes the Bridge unique.
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Image: Occipital
With multiple sensors and a lens that extends the iPhone’s camera view to 120 degrees, it maps out physical objects in front of the viewer in great detail. The resulting positional tracking then allows viewers to enjoy a form of mixed reality that recreates real-world surroundings as a projection and lets users interact with virtual objects within it. It’s thus a little like the HTC Vive and Microsoft’s HoloLens wrapped up in one neat package. It’s not a perfect realization of that combo yet—it’s bulky, for one, and it can only project images from the iPhone at a resolution of 640×480 for each eye—but it’s close enough to warrant some attention.
The battery-powered Bridge can act as a traditional virtual reality device, and its positional tracking lets users walk around in virtual environments without worrying about tripping over wires. Yet its greatest potential lies in mixed reality.
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Source: Motherboard Vice