An update on the Kickstarter technology hit, Oculus Rift.
The company behind the Oculus Rift never imaged how popular their new virtual reality device would be. "When we launched our Kickstarter campaign in August, we hoped to sell a few hundred kits to game developers and virtual reality enthusiasts around the world. Instead, we were blown away by the overwhelming response from a community of almost 10,000 backers, who raised nearly $2.5 million dollars to help us develop the Oculus Rift. Designing, sourcing, and manufacturing thousands of developer kits is no small feat. Since our Kickstarter, we’ve been up against the wall, working around the clock to produce and distribute over 7,500 units in just 4 short, crazy months. We’ve had to modify our original design for mass-manufacturing and, at the same time, balance additional features with our tight schedule," they said.
Developers will be able to get their hands on the dev kits soon. "We’re happy to be able to finally announce that the Oculus Rift developer kits will begin shipping in March 2013" "We want to thank everyone for their patience and support. Know that we’re pouring our hearts into this project. We’d like to share a few details about why we’ve pushed the estimated delivery and what we’ve done behind the scenes to improve the Rift since our Kickstarter’s launch" they said.
It seems that one tough part of developing a VR headset is finding the right display. They had to find a new display because of the previous unit being discontinued. "When we set out to find a new display, there were a number of key factors to consider for the best experience." The ideal screen would have a refresh rate of least 60 Hz, a resolution of 720p or better, a low response time, and a viewing area between 5.5’’ and 7’’ diagonally. We tested every available (non-proprietary) display we could get our hands on. Surprisingly, there aren’t many available screens in a 5.5’’ – 7’’ form factor that meet our requirements." Oculus said.
