Standalone Google Daydream: HTC, Lenovo Make VR Headset That Won't Need PC or Mobile
Google will launch the standalone Google Daydream platform which will be used by HTC and Lenovo to create virtual reality headsets that will not need PCs or other mobile devices to operate.
This week, Google held their annual event for developers called the Google I/O and one of the highlights was the announcement of the standalone Google Daydream platform. Some of the first manufacturers to take advantage of the new VR platform are HTC Vive and Lenovo.
Shortly after the announcement of the standalone Daydream platform, HTC Vive said in a statement, "We have been working closely with developers and consumers to define the best VR experiences over the past few years, and we are perfectly positioned to deliver the most premium standalone headset and user experience."
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They also promised that other details will follow "soon" but already hinted that the standalone HTC Vive headset will be "simple, easy-to-use and with no cables to connect."
The standalone Daydream project appears to be in full swing for some time now as it has been reported by Backchannel that Google already has a "reference model," running with the Snapdragon 835 system-on-chip and created with help from Qualcomm.
A key development to achieve the standalone VR platform is what Google calls the WorldSense technology that, in an introductory video, is being marketed to let users "move naturally in VR."
Currently, VR headsets work by detecting actual movements of its users through several sensors built in on controllers, external cameras or other device. However, with WorldSense, a bunch of sensors will be incorporated in the actual VR headset.
Clay Bavor, vice president of Virtual and Augmented Reality at Google, said in a blog on Medium the WorldSense "enables positional tracking for VR, and VPS — a 'visual positioning service', like GPS, but for precise indoor location."
As for the price, the same Backchannel reports suggests that these VR headsets would cost somewhere around the "mid-hundreds range," similar to the currently available products from HTC Vive and Oculus which are between $600 and $700.
