Varjo, a Finnish virtual reality (VR) headset manufacturer for the enterprise market released its latest model, the XR-1 Developer Edition in December, offering companies the chance to switch between VR and mixed reality (MR) depending upon requirements. Today, Varjo its next early access feature for the headset, allowing customers to utilise chroma key for the first time.
A process more commonly known as ‘green-screening’ and used quite often in broadcasting and film to create a range of CGI effects, using the XR-1 Varjo’s customers can mix the virtual with real physical objects in real-time.
Currently, one of the biggest issues MR technology has is occlusion; where a digital object can’t sit behind a real one, rather awkwardly overlaid. Using Chroma key, Varjo there’s no issue, allowing someone to walking into a scene you’re viewing on the headset or even seeing your actual hands rather than a digital representation.
Another part of the update is marker tracking where users can instantly anchor virtual objects to the real world using printable visual markers. This can range from placing and moving virtual furniture in a room to automotive designers sitting in a car replacing parts of the interior with designs that are not yet built.
“Since its commercial launch in December 2019, Varjo’s XR-1 Developer Edition has quickly become the most demanded mixed reality product for professional users, transforming the way companies train, design and conduct research in immersive environments,” said Urho Konttori, Chief Product Officer and co-founder of Varjo in a statement. “When our customers asked us to create a seamless solution for blending the real and virtual worlds, we immediately jumped to the challenge. We’re excited to introduce real-time chroma-keying and object tracking to our customers just three months after the first deliveries of the XR-1, enabling absolute immersion inside mixed reality.”
“With chroma key, Varjo took an industry-standard technique and turned it into a useful new feature for dynamic mixed reality simulations,” said Bob Vaughn, Product Manager at FlightSafety International, a worldwide leader in aviation training. “We look forward to further exploring the feature applied to a variety of simulation opportunities. We highly value our collaborative relationship with Varjo, and are excited to continue to push the boundaries of mixed reality.”
These early access features are available to all users of the XR-1 Developer Edition headset which retails for $9,995 USD. Take a look at the video to see the chroma key in action and for further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
via Mint VR