Augmenting Reality

Trends

Today, most existing immersive consumer-level devices are virtual reality devices. Google Glass has not been as successful as hoped. Magic Leap is not commercial yet. Microsoft Hololens kits are shipping to developers, but are not priced for consumers yet.

With time, augmented-reality headsets will become consumer products. AR products share many of the needs of their VR cousins. They need abstract interfaces. They need to turn data into information. They need high-performance rendering and flexible sensing.

OSVR Implications

The OSVR architecture supports AR just as it supports VR. Because AR and VR have so much in common, many components are already in place.

AR devices are less likely to tether to a Windows PC. The multi-platform and multi-OS capabilities of OSVR will be an advantage. Wherever possible, I hope to continue and see a consistent cross-platform API for OSVR. This will allow developers to tailor deployment options to the customer needs.

Summary

We designed OSVR to provide universal connectivity between engines and devices. OSVR makes hard things easy so developers can focus on fantastic experiences, not plumbing. It is open so that the rate of innovation is not constrained by a single company. I expect it to be invaluable for many years to come. Please join the OSVR team and myself for this exciting journey.

Learn more about Sensics’ work in OSVR.

Disclosure:​ At the time of writing, OSVR is running advertisements on Road to VR.
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Road to VR
  • Get Schwifty!

    One thing for open development to remember – polish it up!!! Too many times consumers have an adverse reaction to Open Source development because the end result works (often barely), but feels janky like it’s half done. The idea of Open Source is great, it’s getting the discipline out of folks to do the last 10% on things that often cripples the effort.

    • Bryan Ischo

      The hard part about that is that the last 10% is usually a lot of effort and most of it is drudgery, and people who are not paid for their time would rather do the fun bits.

      It’s all open source though, anyone who doesn’t like “janky half-done” projects can put their time and effort towards improving the project.

  • Bryan Ischo

    I’m not going to click your ad link.

  • dev

    If you “would like to see OSVR expand” then provide some incentive to devs rather than insults to devs from your Razor-assed proprietary partners!

  • Jan Herca

    Most miportant in a VR system is tracking system because that is going to limit the rest of the devices (HMD, controllers, etc).
    Because that a VR system must start in the tracking system. Oculus has Constellation. Valve has Lighthouse. They are two opposed systems in the way the operate, the aren’t compatibles.
    And because that there cannot be a mix-and-match system.
    OSVR is just another way to sell a VR system using the word “Open” as a marketing “buzzword”, but as soon as it standarize a tracking system for it will be as close as any other VR system.

    • VRguy

      OSVR supports Oculus tracking, Lighthouse tracking and over 100 (yes, 100) different tracking systems. See http://osvr.github.io/compatibility/ for a full list. OSVR is justified in calling itself ‘open’ because it is open-source so anyone can add, change or modify the tracking cost or almost any other piece of the code.

      • Steve

        I have rewritten some of those drivers because they were too buggy, and I am not putting that work out there for free!

        • VRguy

          We’d appreciate it if you put out some of your fixes, or at least file a bug report. By working together, the community can make progress faster.

          • Jobz

            Oh yeah, to make things easier for your Razor tongue buddies to make sick games spread further!

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