Sulon Technologies is working on an ambitious Android-based HMD console for virtual reality and augmented reality gaming. The company is creating a platform capable of generating dynamic game environments based on the player’s physical environment.

The video above is of course just a concept video, but it shows what Sulon is aiming for with their AR/VR HMD console, the GVX.

sulon-gvx-hmd-virtual-reality-augmented-reality-consoleThe company is working on a dev kit of the GVX based on the Snapdragon 800 computing platform. They plan to pair the system with a high capacity battery, 6-inch 1080p glasses-free 3D screen, and a stereo camera, all running Android 4.2. This part of the GVX (called the GVX Player) will be a standalone handheld device (sans cellular radios) which could be used just like any Android device. Once connected to the head mount, Sulon says that GVX will turn into an all-in-one AR/VR HMD console.

Sulon intends to support two styles of gaming with the GVX: Active Gaming, where the environment around you is digitized to become your virtual game world, and Surface Gaming, an AR approach that creates a tabletop-like augmented reality game in front of you on a flat surface, similar to what CastAR is aiming for.

Surface Gaming will work with a pass-through video system using the 13MP stereo cameras on the GVX Player which have a 160 degree field of view, designed to match the field of view seen through the HMD itself.

For Active Gaming, Sulon told me that the GVX uses a proprietary 360 degree depth sensor that can scan the geometry of a room in 30ms down to 10mm accuracy. As the player walks around their environment, the system builds up a map of the space to be used in virtual reality gaming.

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sulon-gvx-controllersGame control will be done through a dual-wand controller with magnetic tracking technology from Sixense, dual analog sticks, buttons, and triggers.

The company is working on an SDK which will be capable of providing the environmental map to me utilized in games. Sulon says that game distribution will most likely happen through a dedicated store similar to that of the Google Play app store, and that the company plans to make some dev demos to help developers start making games for the system.

Sulon has a prototype of the GVX and is now exploring ways to fund a dev kit. They tell me that they’re learning toward venture capital but crowd-funding is not off the table. Meanwhile, timing and pricing are understandably unannounced.

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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."
  • John

    I’m defiantly a proponent of the dedicated device without being tethered to a computer. Last night I played around with the Durovis game “The Height” on my iPhone VR headset. It was very fun. Right now, I’m aware of 4 Stereoscopic games for iOS, not including the HasbroMy3D games, but more are sure to come. While my iPhone VR goggles are just a prototype, they cost far less than what the Sulon would cost. Combining the technology of the Poppy headset with the VR goggles, and you have your stereo camera as well! I have a video of making my goggles embedded at http://www.bluegimbal.com

    • Darshan Gayake

      OCULUS RIFT is really going to face nice competition. This is what they are planning for RIFT V2.0
      Now i think if this product going to be competitively priced. Who will wait for OC RIFT 2.0