Acer Mixed Reality HMD Doesn’t Do Mixed Reality

[scolaner]

As far as we can tell, and as far as Acer would say, the company’s mixed reality HMD is actually just a VR HMD with inside-out tracking.


Acer Mixed Reality HMD Doesn’t Do Mixed Reality : Read more

 

[bit_user]

We also know that the Acer mixed reality HMD has an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and proximity sensor.

The first three are the standard ingredients of an IMU. The last is probably to warn you before bumping your head into something, I'd guess.

In a demo, we saw that at the very least the Acer mixed reality HMD has no passthrough capabilities, and it’s a fully occluded headset, so you can’t see through the lenses, either. It also doesn’t do any sort of “merged reality” like Intel’s Project Alloy does

Maybe it was originally intended to support passthrough, but the quality just wasn't there. This might not have been a very painful feature to cut, since I think the use cases for tethered AR are probably rather few.

Anyway, did you try it? Reactions?

 

[alextheblue]

It might not be mixed reality, but if it's a more affordable VR headset that has competent tracking without the need for external cameras, I'm interested. High-end headsets get the ball rolling but more affordable mid-range units will make the tech mainstream - and thus aids the cause of VR for all users.

 

[Dosflores]

Maybe they say it supports mixed reality because it does have cameras on its front, so you could use them to render the real world on the HMD screen, and then add some virtual objects. That's something the Rift certainly cannot do by itself, so you could say the Rift only supports VR and these new HMDs support mixed reality.

 

[Ross_30]

Pretty Awesome this!

 

[KirbyKirby]

The lack of a mixed reality option is a bummer. I always assumed it was a tethered device, though.

 

[hdmark]

Is there a guess price for this? and is this going to be a comparable experience to the rift/vive? Im itching for a vive but the price is still a bit too high. Hoping this round of products would be solid

 

[scolaner]

We also know that the Acer mixed reality HMD has an accelerometer, gyroscope, magnetometer, and proximity sensor.

The first three are the standard ingredients of an IMU. The last is probably to warn you before bumping your head into something, I'd guess.

In a demo, we saw that at the very least the Acer mixed reality HMD has no passthrough capabilities, and it’s a fully occluded headset, so you can’t see through the lenses, either. It also doesn’t do any sort of “merged reality” like Intel’s Project Alloy does

Maybe it was originally intended to support passthrough, but the quality just wasn't there. This might not have been a very painful feature to cut, since I think the use cases for tethered AR are probably rather few.

Anyway, did you try it? Reactions?

You may well be right that the passthrough just ended up being too iffy. The Windows Mixed Reality supports it, though, so hopefully other devices will offer it. I don't disagree about the tethered AR, either...but then I do object to the suspect nomenclature.

Derek tried it, I didn't. His thoughts are forthcoming.

 

[scolaner]

Is there a guess price for this? and is this going to be a comparable experience to the rift/vive? Im itching for a vive but the price is still a bit too high. Hoping this round of products would be solid

As we wrote here (scroll down to the table in the "Range Of Specifications" section), these lower-end HMDs are supposed to "start at" $300. http://www.tomshardware.com/news/mainstream-vr-hmds-intel-microsoft,33217.html

This HMD has a mix of the higher-end and lower-end features listed in that article, so I wouldn't be shocked to see it go for $400. But Acer won't say, so that's pure speculation on my part. They need to severely undercut Rift, Vive, and even PSVR.

We'll have more on the experience later.

 

[scolaner]

Maybe they say it supports mixed reality because it does have cameras on its front, so you could use them to render the real world on the HMD screen, and then add some virtual objects. That's something the Rift certainly cannot do by itself, so you could say the Rift only supports VR and these new HMDs support mixed reality.

No, no--see, that's what I presumed as well. But those aren't cameras in that sense. They don't do passthrough of any kind. They're *just* for tracking.

But I suspect (and bit_user suggested this as a possibility as well) that other HMDs built around the Windows Mixed Reality platform could offer that kind of passthrough. The platform supports it, in any case.

 

[scolaner]

It might not be mixed reality, but if it's a more affordable VR headset that has competent tracking without the need for external cameras, I'm interested. High-end headsets get the ball rolling but more affordable mid-range units will make the tech mainstream - and thus aids the cause of VR for all users.

Completely agree. The lack of any real MR capabilities is, to me, a gut punch because I was expecting those features (because of the name). But you're right--get me decent, room scale VR that can run off of my bloody Ultrabook? Yes please! Now we're talking an investment of only about $300-$500 all in. I *already* have the PC; I *just* need to buy the HMD and controller(s). And it does room scale tracking, so there's no annoying sensors to buy. I find that compelling.

 

[Dosflores]

Is there a guess price for this? and is this going to be a comparable experience to the rift/vive? Im itching for a vive but the price is still a bit too high. Hoping this round of products would be solid

I'm sure it will be a lot cheaper than Rift/Vive, but there's no way it can properly support tracked controllers, so it's not going to be a comparable experience. Well, tracked controllers aren't necessary for many game types, so it's an interesting new option.

 

[scolaner]

Is there a guess price for this? and is this going to be a comparable experience to the rift/vive? Im itching for a vive but the price is still a bit too high. Hoping this round of products would be solid

I'm sure it will be a lot cheaper than Rift/Vive, but there's no way it can properly support tracked controllers, so it's not going to be a comparable experience. Well, tracked controllers aren't necessary for many game types, so it's an interesting new option.

Actually, I believe it *can* support tracked controllers. The platform certainly does, and I believe this specific Acer HMD may be capable of it, too. For now it's just got a gamepad controller, though.

 

[Dosflores]

No, no--see, that's what I presumed as well. But those aren't cameras in that sense. They don't do passthrough of any kind. They're *just* for tracking.

But I suspect (and bit_user suggested this as a possibility as well) that other HMDs built around the Windows Mixed Reality platform could offer that kind of passthrough. The platform supports it, in any case.

I guess the HMD can't do passthrough on its own, but I find it hard to believe that applications can't capture video from the cameras. Even a Gear VR can do that. It's not nice, but I don't think any HMD can offer both a nice VR and a nice AR experience, anyway. Mixed Reality is just a name to let you know that Microsoft's platform supports both VR and AR.

 

[Dosflores]

Actually, I believe it *can* support tracked controllers. The platform certainly does, and I believe this specific Acer HMD may be capable of it, too. For now it's just got a gamepad controller, though.

The platform indeed does. There's a Rift-like HMD already announced for the platform. I was talking about this Acer HMD. I don't see how it could support tracked controllers. It can support motion controllers like the ones Daydream and Gear VR use, which aren't comparable to Vive or Oculus Touch. Just like the Daydream and Gear VR HMDs themselves aren't comparable to head-tracked HMDs like Rift, Vive and PS VR.

 

[scolaner]

No, no--see, that's what I presumed as well. But those aren't cameras in that sense. They don't do passthrough of any kind. They're *just* for tracking.

But I suspect (and bit_user suggested this as a possibility as well) that other HMDs built around the Windows Mixed Reality platform could offer that kind of passthrough. The platform supports it, in any case.

I guess the HMD can't do passthrough on its own, but I find it hard to believe that applications can't capture video from the cameras. Even a Gear VR can do that. It's not nice, but I don't think any HMD can offer both a nice VR and a nice AR experience, anyway. Mixed Reality is just a name to let you know that Microsoft's platform supports both VR and AR.

Actually, I believe it *can* support tracked controllers. The platform certainly does, and I believe this specific Acer HMD may be capable of it, too. For now it's just got a gamepad controller, though.

The platform indeed does. There's a Rift-like HMD already announced for the platform. I was talking about this Acer HMD. I don't see how it could support tracked controllers. It can support motion controllers like the ones Daydream and Gear VR use, which aren't comparable to Vive or Oculus Touch. Just like the Daydream and Gear VR HMDs themselves aren't comparable to head-tracked HMDs like Rift, Vive and PS VR.

This one does: Still the best MR HMD we've seen : http://www.tomshardware.com/news/vrvana-totem-mixed-reality-ces,33348.html

 

[scolaner]

Actually, I believe it *can* support tracked controllers. The platform certainly does, and I believe this specific Acer HMD may be capable of it, too. For now it's just got a gamepad controller, though.

The platform indeed does. There's a Rift-like HMD already announced for the platform. I was talking about this Acer HMD. I don't see how it could support tracked controllers. It can support motion controllers like the ones Daydream and Gear VR use, which aren't comparable to Vive or Oculus Touch. Just like the Daydream and Gear VR HMDs themselves aren't comparable to head-tracked HMDs like Rift, Vive and PS VR.

"There's a Rift-like HMD already announced for the platform." Which one?

 

[Dosflores]

This one does: Still the best MR HMD we've seen : http://www.tomshardware.com/news/vrvana-totem-mixed-reality-ces,33348.html

It does look nice, and a lot more expensive than the Acer one I didn't expect the Acer HMD to have hardware support for Mixed Reality like that. I still think it can have some sort of software support, but it would be up to application developers to achieve something acceptable.

 

[Dosflores]

"There's a Rift-like HMD already announced for the platform." Which one?

http://3glasses.co.uk/

 

[Fiqar_]

"Regardless whether or not the Acer mixed reality headset has an accurate name or not, this is not the mixed reality headset you were looking for."

These are not the droids you're looking for.