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butterdrinker t1_iy2yrpt wrote

Optics technology can't improve exponentially like raw calculating power

Look at cameras - lenses technology its practically the same since forever. What has changed was mainly software and whatever surrounds it.

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apinanaivot t1_iy3e1w7 wrote

Camera tech is progressing very fast. You can now have a similar quality camera in a 200€ smartphone that you would have had in a 600€ camera 10 years ago. The resolution of camera sensors is also increasing at a steady pace. Lenses aren't really the bottleneck, so they don't need to be developed as fast.

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butterdrinker t1_iy3f33a wrote

> You can now have a similar quality camera in a 200€ smartphone, that you would have had in a 600€ camera 10 years ago.

No way, camera sensors are and were too small in smartphones

What has improved was, as I said, the software post-processing those images - allowing even low quality cameras as those in phones to take decent photos

Lenses are the bottleneck when a high quality one, required for a good VR visor, costs 200 dollars each

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apinanaivot t1_iy3fypj wrote

Except thanks to new lens technology, that's no longer the case. The industry is moving from expensive fresnel lenses towards pancake lenses, the Quest Pro and Pico 4 headsets that were released a few months ago already feature such lenses.

The pico 4 costs 400€, and has a built-in mobile gaming computer, batteries and two 2K displays, there is no way the lenses cost anywhere near 200€, and on top of that the new pancake lenses fix all the issues frensel lenses had, such as terrible light glares, distortion, requiring thick headsets, and no adjustment options for people with myopia (now you don't need to wear glasses in VR anymore).

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botfiddler t1_iy3rjfc wrote

>(now you don't need to wear glasses in VR anymore).

Aaahhww, good to know, thanks. This was the showstopper or delay for me.

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earthsworld t1_iy3pnwk wrote

and? It's still a headset and no one is going to be leaving their house wearing one. Nor will people be sitting around on their couch for hours doing the same.

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apinanaivot t1_iy3qsa3 wrote

> It's still a headset and no one is going to be leaving their house wearing one.

That's not the point of VR, which is for "escaping" the real reality. What you are describing would be AR (augmented reality).

> Nor will people be sitting around on their couch for hours doing the same.

There are literally tons of people right now who are spending more time in virtual reality than in actual reality, I recommend checking this video out. I personally have spent over 500 hours in VR, and the only thing stopping me from playing more right now is the shortage of high-quality VR experiences.

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butterdrinker t1_iy5mson wrote

Are you sure its a new type of lens? By a quick search pancake lenses were also present in the 70s.

I mean, yeah companies are trying different techniques to build better VR visors - but its not there are major technological breakthroughs in the optics research side

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