If there is something that all virtual reality offerings have in common, it is that they focus on personal experience. Once all the rough edges are smoothed out, virtual reality should focus on group experiences, and we can already find some companies working on that. The people at Catopsys have presented Immersis, an advanced projection system that in part reminds us of IllumiRoom from Microsoft Research.
From Personal to Shared Experiences
In the past, the time a person had available in front of a computer was very limited. Teachers and students, experts and enthusiasts had to share that scarce amount of resources and not waste anything. Over the years, the computer stopped being “group” and became “personal”, and the same happened with other technologies. Today, something like the reverse process is happening. With the intervention of social networks, mobile devices are a simple extension of something much bigger. If we take this to virtual reality, we can say that it is still halfway. Virtual headsets, personal and unique, still have to reach the market in their final versions, however, there is no rule that limits virtual reality to a single pair of eyes.
https://www.youtube.com/embed/ZILzs6DY2a4That is exactly what the people at Catopsys want to conquer with their Immersis system. Virtual reality experiences must have a high level of immersion, and at the same time be flexible enough to share with friends, or why not, eat a pizza in the process. In other words, Immersis is a projection platform that turns an entire room into a virtual helmet, expanding the content beyond the original screen. The projector specifications tell us about a 1080p resolution, visual fields of 180 degrees on the horizontal axis and 120 on the vertical, a brightness of 3,000 lumens, a 50,000 hour lifespan for the LED light source, a contrast ratio of 100,000 to 1, and both HDMI and DVI connectors for greater compatibility. Immersis will also offer an SDK through which all interested parties can create and adapt content, providing a superior immersion.
Kickstarter users have already granted Immersis the one hundred thousand dollars it needs to continue its development process. All initial purchase options are sold out, and the current price of the system is $1,200, with a discount of more than 50 percent. The first deliveries will take place in October of this year.
