14 DAY TRIAL // Virtual reality has mostly been limited to training simulators and games so far, but it might finally find a place in collaborative business and design, thanks to a company called Catopsys.
The main limitation of virtual reality is that it needs the users to wear a headset over their eyes, thus cutting them from the outside world.
This not only makes it dangerous for them to move about, unless there is no furniture nearby for them to bump into, but also kills their interaction with other people.
Various companies and researchers, as well as software programmers, have been doing all they can to counter this problem, with limited success.
Someone was bound to succeed eventually though, and it just so happens that the ones who figured something great out are just a startup company.
Immersis achieves group virtual reality
Catopsys has posted a crowdfunding project on Kickstarter website, in the hopes that it will be able to gather a hundred thousand dollars.
There are still 44 days to go and already that goal has been exceeded, which can probably tell you something about its appeal.
The technology is called Immersis and uses a projector that connects to the computer and beams any content in 180 degrees.
The goal was to turn the whole room into the kind of view you would have to wear a set of eyewear for, like Oculus Rift.
Immersis can adapt the image to fit the room it is in, provided users create a 3D model of said room beforehand. This being the one disadvantage, since that is not something that most people will know how to do, or have the means to.
Still, with a pledge as low as $150 / €130, you should be able to get an early develop kit with full access to the company's Development Center.
Availability
Shipments of the Immersis Pixar Lamp-looking virtual reality projector will begin in March. If the funding goal is exceeded by a sufficient amount, the Catopsys team believe they will be able to give the Immersis the ability to automatically scan and create a 3D model of the room.
