CTO on Future of the StarVR Headset: Roomscale Tracking, Input, Eye-tracking, and More

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At E3 2016 I got to sit down with the CTO of Starbreeze Studios, Emmanuel Marquez, to learn about the company’s ambitious plans for their StarVR headset. The headset, which sets itself apart from others with a massive 210 degree field of view, is designed for high-end virtual reality experiences in the out-of-home market.

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After my hands-on with the latest StarVR ‘1.4’ prototype at E3 2016, I was impressed with the progress the company has made since the headset first debuted a year ago. But there’s still a number of improvements and additions to be made to the device before it’s ready to be deployed. In and interview at E3 2016, Starbreeze CTO Emmanuel Marquez outlined the company’s plans for the headset between now and then.

Emmanuel Marquez, CTO at Starbreeze | Photo courtesy Gizmodo / Sean Hollister

The StarVR prototype I tried at E3 2016 was tracked using Sixense STEM, but Marquez tells me that the company is working on its own roomscale tracking system for StarVR which is based on different tech than Oculus’ ‘Constellation’ or Valve’s ‘Lighthouse’ systems. He wouldn’t go into detail beyond saying that it’s an ‘outside-in’ tracking system, though he did mention that its range may exceed roomscale (which is roughly 12×12 feet).

Which of course leads to the question of what kind of input users will have when using the system. Marquez says the plan is to attach a tracker to different props as needed by individual experiences (like the shotgun used in the Walking Dead experience), but for more universal input, the company is building their own VR controller similar to Oculus Touch and the HTC Vive controllers.

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While the StarVR 1.4 prototype has noticeably improved visuals compared to the prior version, the displays are still lacking low-persistence, a feature which greatly reduces blur during head movement. Marquez is aware of the importance of low-persistence and says it’s a priority.

“Obviously we’re working on low persistence, and we’ll have that ready pretty soon, we know we need to go there so there is no question,” he said.

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Starbreeze says the prototype’s many cables will be condensed down to just one for the finished product.

Marquez also reaffirmed plans for integrated eye-tracking in StarVR to allow the headset to automatically detect and set IPD (hardware and software adjustment) and support foveated rendering. Foveated rendering is a technique by which only a small part of the scene corresponding to the user’s gaze is rendered in high fidelity while surrounding areas are rendered at lower resolutions. Done correctly, foveated rendering can go unnoticed by users while reducing the computing power required to render the scene. This is especially attractive for the StarVR headset because of its monstrous 5120×1440 resolution which requires significantly more power to fill than the 2160×1200 resolution of major consumer headsets.

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See Also: Acer Partners with Starbreeze to Design and Manufacture StarVR Headset

Marquez also elaborated on the positioning of the StarVR headset, saying that “for the moment we play pretty firmly in the location-based and enterprise market,” adding that the company has no plans at this time to make StarVR into a consumer headset. Instead, Starbreeze has partnered with IMAX to create ‘IMAX VR Centers’ which will use the StarVR system as a platform for proprietary pay-per-use VR experiences.

He compared the model of the IMAX VR Centers to movie theaters, saying that customers would come to the centers and have a choice of different VR experiences. And while IMAX is known for film-based entertainment, Marquez says that content in the VR arcades will include gaming content, interactive content, interactive movies, and more. The first IMAX VR Center pilot location will open this year in Los Angeles, and Starbreeze plans to expand to six centers by year’s end, he said.

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Ben is the world's most senior professional analyst solely dedicated to the XR industry, having founded Road to VR in 2011—a year before the Oculus Kickstarter sparked a resurgence that led to the modern XR landscape. He has authored more than 3,000 articles chronicling the evolution of the XR industry over more than a decade. With that unique perspective, Ben has been consistently recognized as one of the most influential voices in XR, giving keynotes and joining panel and podcast discussions at key industry events. He is a self-described "journalist and analyst, not evangelist."
  • Alkapwn

    Excellent interview Ben! Best questions in the game!

  • wheeler

    I’m curious if a larger FOV makes artificial locomotion more likely to induce motion sickness

    • MattsVRworld

      It does, but blacking out the peripheral vision while moving has proven to lower motion and like foveated rendering is not noticeable.

  • JordanViray

    “for the moment we play pretty firmly in the location-based and enterprise market,”

    Ouch. What is on the horizon for wide FOV headsets?

    • Tim Suetens

      Nothing. Sadly.

  • DiGiCT Ltd

    Indeed a good interview Ben, thank you !

  • Tim Suetens

    No plans for a consumer model? I have zero interest in this, then.

    • El_MUERkO

      likewise

    • Dragonbait

      Well that sucks :(
      What a great way to exclude your largest potential consumer base!
      I could understand being commercial only in a few years time once VR is a household thing, but at this point in time the only user base are home users so good luck selling this to companies.
      I get you might be able to sell this in some settings such as theme parks etc, but really that’s such a small market currently and there are already custom HMDs in that market.

    • ossian

      it basicly just means they will not market it as a consumer product!?!? im sure it would be purchasable allthough probably quite expensive?? The huge competition from the other bigger manufactorers probably makes this a smart move for them, also considering their partnership with IMAX. If it becomes a success they will get more credability and you can be sure to see consumer models in the future.

    • David Alexander Opperman

      yeah. buh bye

  • Rico S Mario Melchert

    Awesome interview Ben, thanks for asking tough questions :D

  • Jean Thompson

    Thanks ben! I’m sad this won’t be a consumer headset though.

  • VRDRUMMER

    I know Star was gearing their HMD for the corporate pitch. But I thought for certain that they would release a consumer model….. O’well…. Someone or the Rift 2, VIVE 2 will definitely jump to 210 FOV.

  • So many VR headgear choices,… when the platform hasn’t gained any profitable consumer traction yet. lol

  • towblerone

    Why even talk about this if it won’t be accessible to most people? What a waste of a product.

  • Nicholas Perry

    No consumer product? What? What’s the point then? I’ve been excited for this since it was announced. Larger FOV, higher res, eye tracking.(Hopefully less Color alignment issues compared to other HMDs)

  • Josephine Gibbs

    I could see a promising application of this technology in ecommerce, which will allow consumers to try before you buy anything you can imagine.

  • superdonkey

    crap

  • WhiteSkyMage

    I don’t really think they would screw us all over. They will sell it to consumers, it is just that you will not have that much content to view…well…maybe content from steam but I guess it won’t be as in HTC vive…there will be problems.

    Speaking of which, I am really crazy about getting one of those as soon as Star Citizen announces support for VR. It isn’t on their priority list at the moment, which is understandable, and it worries me, because I really want to play Squadron 42 with VR headset on.