Oculus Rift is a new virtual reality (VR) viewing
accessory that is designed to give VR gamers a new level of user experience.
The device development was initially financed by Kickstarter, and demonstrator
units are now available for developers, together with a software development
kit (SDK). Linden Lab is looking into porting this VR experience to Second Life
© (SL) users, but there is still a way to go before we can expect the first
avatars to enter SL using an Oculus Rift viewer. Stareyes Galaxy had the
opportunity to test the demonstrator.
The technology behind the Oculus Rift is quite
straightforward. It uses a 6” liquid-crystal display (LCD) and enlarging optics
for both eyes. A personal computer (PC) is used to send the viewable content to
the display. The user then sees a stereoscopic view of the VR content, as both
eyes get their own view, separated by the perspective. The optics focus on the
display surface itself, but the perspective seems to be set in infinity. The
rendering for the display is done by means of the software, for each eye
separately. The viewer uses the same content that is rendered on the PC screen.
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