Technical Notes | About the Metaverse (2)

International technology giants are currently developing VR/AR-related technologies and services. According to the level of investment and information disclosed by the leadership, the more well-known conservative technology companies are as follows.

APPLE

Apple CEO Cook once said the classic cold water line in an interview: " Don't talk about the metaverse, it's AR ." However, he also predicted that AR technology is " critical " to Apple's future, but Apple's first VR+AR mixed reality headset will be launched as soon as next year (2022), and the price will be " Very expensive.” It is also rumored that the selling price may be as high as about US$3,000 (about NT$83,500), which will be the highest price among related products on the market.

It is almost certain that Apple will use this headset to launch its own virtual service platform . "Apple must be a closed market, and it is a complete set of software services and hardware bundled together." Apple's attitude is that humans still live in the real world , AR/MR technology is just a technology that strengthens the connection between virtual and reality.

According to foreign media reports, in 2015, Apple acquired one of the largest AR companies in the world (Metaio); in 2017, it launched a dedicated AR development platform ARkit); in 2018, it acquired MR film production startup Spektral for $30.89 million; 2019 In 2008, it also secretly acquired the Israeli AR company Camerai) and the most recent NextVR. Although Apple has not launched VR-related products at present, Apple is actually very interested in VR and AR .

Key Products

Apple Glasses / Mixed Reality Headset

Apple Glass has been rumored for several years, but it will be one of Apple's most important new products in 2022. The head-mounted device that has been rumored in the market before, the real face is the Apple Glasses with augmented reality function. The biggest feature of this product is , that is, the virtual reality image can be projected on the glasses lens through the micro projectors at both ends of the glasses, and combined with the real environment image, so that the wearer can pass through the Apple Glass to achieve the effect of augmented reality.

original link

Apple is rumored to have a secret team of hundreds of employees working on virtual and augmented reality projects.

https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/apple-glasses/

Google

Pichai, Google's current chief executive, has been pushing the company deeper into cloud computing and artificial intelligence (AI) since taking over in 2015, while facing increased regulatory scrutiny. In the interview, Pichai listed Google's key growth businesses, including the cloud, its YouTube video service and its app store, and said artificial intelligence (AI) investments were the "foundation" of every business.

Eric Schmidt, the former CEO of Google, said that the metaverse is not necessarily a good thing for human society, because artificial intelligence may one day replace real human relationships.

However, Google is also planning to join the battlefield, and will reorganize the operation of Google Labs, focusing on the development of augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). This Google Labs reorganization includes the existing AR and VR business, Project Starline (holographic video calls) and Area 120 internal incubators and other "high-potential, long-term" projects.

Key Products

Google Cardboard

Google announced Google Cardboard at I/O 2014. Basically, Google Cardboard is just a simple shell, plus an open source software development kit (SDK) that can turn a smartphone into a simple virtual reality headset display, adhering to Google's consistent style, The team made the Cardboard solution open source, and anyone can download and make their own carton glasses. Some institutions estimate that at least 100 million sets of this kind of carton glasses have been sold worldwide, which can be said to be the "first experience" of VR for most people in the world. However, this product quickly attracts users, but cannot retain them.

Daydream View

At the 2016 Google I/O Worldwide Developers Conference, Google's head of VR, Clay Bavor, said that he had launched a platform called "Daydream VR" and released its solution, which The platform consists of three parts: the core Daydream-Ready mobile phone and its operating system ( Android system ), the helmet and controller used with the mobile phone, and the applications supporting the Daydream platform ecosystem. Adhering to the style of Google, openness is another feature of it, and the specifications are all available to third-party manufacturers.

The purpose of this set of standards is to standardize what kind of Android hardware supports what kind of Daydream VR platform. The limitation of hardware standards directly excludes Android smartphones with poor experience from Google VR. The optimization of Android N software is further optimizing the VR user experience. At the same time, together with the Daydream controller, it constitutes an interactive solution for mobile VR.

However, the Daydream View headset and Daydream VR platform, and the later mobile VR, perhaps due to poor experience, did not become a trend, so Google decided not to sell Daydream View externally, and announced the transfer of resources to ARCore augmented reality. development.

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Metaverse is ramming, Google CEO does not follow suit: the next growth point is still Internet search services

https://www.bnext.com.tw/article/66248/google-search-instead-meta-yet

While the market talks about the metaverse, Google wants to use AR to change the real world

https://technews.tw/2021/11/23/google-cn-developer-summit-ar/

Daydream (Google VR Platform)

https://baike.baidu.com/item/Daydream/19680773

The last nail in the coffin: Google Daydream VR platform will not support Android 11

https://www.eprice.com.tw/tech/talk/1185/5565315/1/

Sony

For Ken Kutaragi, who is known as the "Father of Sony PlayStation", he does not seem to recognize the "Metaverse" very much. In addition to being the designer of Sony PlayStation, he has the title of honorary president after retiring. , the Sony portion is quite heavy.

Key Products

PlayStation VR2 / PlayStation VR2 Sense

The 2022 CES exhibition was officially unveiled on Wednesday (5th), and Sony (6758-JP) accidentally released a new generation of VR headset "PlayStation VR2". Sony said that the PlayStation VR2 is equipped with a 4K HDR OLED panel with a maximum refresh rate of 120Hz. And with a dedicated controller called "PlayStation VR2 Sense", it can be used with the PS5 host through a USB-Type C cable, but Sony has not announced the appearance, price and release date of the new headset. detail.

original link

PS5 VR (PSVR 2): Everything we know so far

https://www.androidcentral.com/psvr-2