ℹ️November Dev Update: SomniumVR1, YouTubers (P)reviews, Somnium Connect & more!
Intro
As many of you know we have been hard at work since the last update in October and we have a LOT of news to share. After almost 2 years of development Somnium VR1 headset has entered final pre-production validation phase where we test and validate every part of the device, starting from face-masks, straps configurations, eye tracking & mixed reality final calibrations and much more. As we stated many times before, we DO NOT want to rush things and we want to make sure that people are going to enjoy every part of the device. That being said, we are ON time with our production schedule and no show-stoppers have been encountered and we do not anticipate to encounter any from this point on.
Additionally after more than 1 year of development we are just less than 2 weeks away from launching a public Alpha of Somnium 3.0 biggest platform update. We have updated absolutely everything — from visuals to SDKs, from Marketplace to Social System and much more allowing an absolute freedom of expression and creation for VR enthusiast and game developers. So as you see we have lots of updates, so let us dive in!
➡️RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT ⬅️ Be among first to receive VR1!
Somnium Connect 2023 / 2024 (date update)
As we have announced in a previous blog post, we are going to be organizing Somnium Connect where we will fully unveil all final details of Somnium VR1 + open pre-orders and make first deliveries for several fastest customers who reserved their spots. Additionally we will present all feature set of upcoming Somnium 3.0 platform update and open it to public Beta.
After long and deliberate discussions with venues, production and development teams we have decided to move Somnium Connect 1 month into the future from the end of December -> end of January. This decision DOES NOT affect our production timeline, this is more of an organizational change to make sure we have better venue and logistics available to us.
Hands on YouTubers (P)reviews in December!
While Somnium Connect is not happening in December, we have also decided to invite select VR YouTube influencers to our offices in Prague in December for in-depth demos of pre-production units of VR1 and share with them our journey, things we still work on and much more. We are reaching out and already have confirmations from some very very beloved & familiar faces to all of you and we can not wait for them to share their impressions with all of you in December. We are going to finalize last few spots in the upcoming week. We have prepared some cool VR and Mixed Reality cockpit demos for them! Transparency was and is one of the most important aspects of VR1 development process that is why we want to share all updates with them and all of you!
And btw — we will reveal a final starting price to these YouTubers and all of you in December! Artur might give much more precise hints during today's Discord event at 23:00 CET. P.S.: Pls don’t kill me — Artur 😅
➡️RESERVE YOUR FREE SPOT ⬅️ Be among first to receive VR1!
Ultraleap, prosumer licence & CES 2024
Thanks to Ultraleap, we will be showcasing VR1 at CES 2024 in private closed demos at Ultraleap stand. Ultraleap is our great partner for incredible hand-tracking tech in VR1 headsets. If you want to book an appointment at CES please contact us at vr1@somniumspace.com until 25th of December 2023.
Additionally we have amazing news for VR1s hand-tracking together we Ultraleap. As part of our open & “no strings attached” approach we are delighted to announce that each headset purchased with hand-tracking will automatically get a PROSUMER license from Ultraleap, allowing you all to use hand-tracking for both business and consumer use-cases. No need to worry about anything. Enjoy your freedom and make sure to develop some amazing application using state of the art hand-tracking tech from Ultraeap.
VR1 Development Status — we are at the finish line!
In the past month, our team has been deeply engaged in the meticulous process of working with and validating pre-production units of VR1 variants, featuring both final cover parts and internal components. This rigorous validation phase encompassed every system within the product, and we’re thrilled to report that we encountered no major obstacles or showstoppers. While we do smaller corrections, this has been accounted for timewise so it does not affect our grand timeline. As a result, our production timeline remains firmly on track. The key areas of our focus during this period have included fine-tuning the eye tracking calibration, refining the design and comfort of the facemask and head-straps, enhancing the functionality of the Somnium VR Tool software, and advancing the precision of hand tracking.
In addition to these, we have also been diligently working on the final tracking calibration and thorough testing and validation of the Main board, among other critical components. This comprehensive approach ensures not only the high performance of our product but also its reliability and user satisfaction.
Head-straps 😇
We are working hard on head-straps. We are testing smallest changes and iterations / variants. We are close to final decisions for head-straps without audio — they are extremely comfortable and allow firm grip + weight balance for headset. In regards to audio enabled head-straps, we are still in progress of testing and validating, but already now we know that one of the variants you WANT to use is a variant of VR1 with one of our all time favorites iconic Vive Deluxe Audio Strap. More info about that soon.
It works incredibly well with VR1 ergonomically and has amazing audio quality. We are also testing and working on off-ear solution for VR1, and we will share our progress sometimes before launch. Already today we know, that it is comfortable to spend hours in VR1 without loosing sweet spot, needing to re-adjust it constantly or feeling fatigue.
Make sure to check our previous posts for more development info.
Somnium VR1 Technical Support Specialist
As we said in previous blog-post we take after-sale support of VR1 extremely serious. We will address all doubts or challenges of our customers (both business & consumers) in an extremely fast, personal and professional manner. That is why we are happy to announce our new team member who will be responsible for VR1 support — Jorge Torales.
Please make sure to watch the video above and also join our Discord server where you can meet Jorge and the rest of the team + all our amazing community members who are excited about VR1 & PCVR future.
Prescription lenses: VR Optician collaboration 🤝
When making VR1, we are choosing always best partners. We ourselves are VR enthusiast spending hundreds of hours in VR each month. We use all VR products on the market and we know what works great and what doesn't. We also know, how important are good prescription lenses for many VR users and that is why we are incredibly delighted to announce that our official partner for prescription lenses will be VR Optician with whom we are already working for some time to make sure that all perfectly crafted lenses are available for purchase at VR1 launch.
❗❗❗Make sure to join our Today's live Stage video call with Artur in our Discord and ask questions: Tuesday 23:00 CET at Somnium Discord -> https://discord.gg/cA2T7rXy?event=1178764169571483678 ❗❗❗
Make sure to also tune in to the latest episode of Pixel Slaves Podcast right after event on Discord. Today’s guest is one and only SadlyItsBradley!
Below you can find answers to some FAQ:
Q: Is it possible to limit the rendering of the FOV in VR1?
A: Yes, you can achieve this through the Somnium VR1 Tool software.
Q: Will the VR1 allow switching between the VR application and desktop view using one of the headset’s buttons?
A: Yes, it is possible. You can also map additional features to 4 programmable buttons on the headset.
Q: Do you have your own OpenXR runtime implementation?
A: Yes, we have developed our own OpenXR runtime implementation.
Q: Is eye-tracking your own implementation?
A: Yes, eye-tracking is our own implementation, integrated into our framework, and we plan to open-source all related algorithms.
Q: Is there any motion compensation?
A: Yes, motion compensation is integrated into our framework, and we plan to make it available to the sim community.
Q: How does Cockpit Mapping work?
A: You can upload the CAD of your car or airplane cockpit to our software, which will enable you to interact with it using your hands (if you order HT + MR variant)
Q: How many local dimming zones are there in VR1?
A: VR1 features 576 zones per eye, with display brightness of up to 210 nits.
Q: Will you be selling spare parts for VR1’s Bill of Materials (BOM)?
A: Yes, we will offer spare parts for the headset, including per-assembled optical modules, separate lenses, cables, boards, and more.
Q: What is special about the optical block of VR1?
A: VR1 features a unique optical block with two aspheric lenses per eye, allowing us to increase the field of view without sacrificing sharpness or introducing warping defects.
Q: Will the MR module be more expensive to buy separately than purchasing the headset with MR already included?
A: It’s advisable to purchase the MR module already included with the headset, as mounting it separately can be challenging / close to impossible for vast majority of users.
Q: Do I have to be perfectly aligned inside the headset to see the sharpest picture?
A: The sweet spot is quite large, so constant readjustment is not necessary.
Q: Will the headset be shipped as a full set with base stations, or is a headset-only option available?
A: Users can decide and purchase base stations separately from the Somnium e-shop.
Q: Will there be options for custom lenses for people who wear glasses?
A: Yes, we have partnered with VR Optician to provide custom lenses for glasses wearers, which will be available at launch.
Visit and join Somnium VR1 Reddit page: https://www.reddit.com/r/SomniumVR1/
And follow us on social media:
Authencity: https://authencity.io/user/SomniumSpace
Twitter: https://twitter.com/SomniumSpace
Reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/SomniumSpaceVR/
Discord: https://discord.gg/somniumspace
Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/somniumspace
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/somniumspace/
