11 Jan Virtual Reality at CES 2023
We ventured to Las Vegas the first week in January to attend CES 2023. It was a big year for virtual reality and immersive technology. As always, there is way too much to see in just a few short days, but we did our best to demo the VR hardware that we have been looking forward to seeing in person! Here are just a few highlights from CES.
HTC Vive XR Elite
The XR Elite is the latest to join the lineup of HTC Vive headsets. It’s a standalone headset with full color passthrough to allow for mixed reality experiences. We tried out two demos; the first was a drawing experience where you could use the controllers to draw on a canvas or in 3D space, all while seeing your physical space using the passthrough. The clarity of the camera’s passthrough was good enough that we could read text on a phone screen. And the second demo was a Sci-fi action-adventure game called Hubris that utilized the virtual reality capabilities of the headset. The headset battery is removable and hot-swappable, which is excellent news for those who want to play for hours at a time.
Pimax Crystal
The Pimax Crystal headset can be used as a standalone headset or plugged into a PC. They were running Half-Life: Alyx for the PC-based demo in the expo hall. The reflections on the water and glass bottles were some of the most realistic-looking reflections in a headset that we’ve seen. The headset is quite a bit larger than other headsets on the market, and it was noticeably heavier in weight; however, the straps distribute the weight well enough to make it comfortable to wear for the duration of the demo. It is a headset designed for VR enthusiasts.
Ultraleap
Ultraleap offers hand tracking technology that can be integrated into virtual reality headsets. They were showcasing demos on a few different headsets at CES. The Varjo and Lynx headsets had Ultraleap built into the device, and the Pico Neo 3 Pro used the Ultraleap hand tracking accessory attached to the front of the headset. The technology has come a long way in the past few years. The tracking has a 170° field of view for a wider capture range, it does not track behind your head so you must physically turn around to interact or grab objects behind you. The sensors now track your hands and extend up to the forearm, meaning more accurate tracking and placement in the virtual space because the computer has more information to calculate the position of your arms. The showroom floor was well-lit, but apparently, it tracks well in low-light environments. We’re looking forward to testing the full capabilities when we get it in the office.
PlayStation VR2
We went to this booth early in the day and were unable to book a slot because they were all booked up. That goes to show you how excited people are for the upcoming release of the gaming VR headset!
We saw so much more than we can fit into this wrap-up! If you want to hear more, schedule a time to talk with us by filling out the contact form.
Bonus: Delta Keynote
CES is the premier spot for many companies to make big tech announcements. This year we saw Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta, announce that Delta will be offering free WiFi to everyone on their flights with a SkyMiles account starting February 1. We had an opportunity to meet Ed Bastian after his talk.
