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To Oculus: Add-on camera for augmented reality?

analog
Explorer
Back when I was reading about the Rift and Vive before I bought the Rift, I missed the BIG point where the Vive had a front-facing camera for AR. Big facepalm there. Now I deeply regret not getting the Vive just because I have been wanting to develop for AR.

So I ask this: Oculus, do you have any plans to offer an add-on camera that maybe would clip on somehow to the Rift? Please say yes, otherwise I'll probably try to sell my Rift and get a Vive, Of course, an add-on camera would mean that three USB slots would be taken up. Back when I was thinking about deving for AR, I expected I'd have to dev a cumbersome system that utilized a third-party cam that probably would be very bulky and awkward to slip on over top of the Rift, but after I got my Rift I realized that Vive had one *built in*.

AR is going to be EXTREMELY important in the future. Oculus, can you please share your thoughts on AR, and whether or not you expect to offer a camera for it?
15 REPLIES 15

OpticKing
Expert Trustee
To be honest, if you got either the rift or the vive solely for AR, you got the wrong thing.. both of them are vr-centric. The Peripheral for Ar would be the Microsoft Hololens. https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us The pass-through camera (one lens so no stereo vision) on the vive is really only intended for being able to see whilst wearing the HMD, not to go into AR mode.. And if you're a dev, you don't even need the hololens to develop for it, simply get the sdk and hololens emulator and you're off. Perhaps you assumed prematurely when delving into these HMD's, and should've done a bit more research before dropping the better part of a grand on something, no offense. 

analog
Explorer

OpticKing said:

To be honest, if you got either the rift or the vive solely for AR, you got the wrong thing.. both of them are vr-centric. The Peripheral for Ar would be the Microsoft Hololens. https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us The pass-through camera (one lens so no stereo vision) on the vive is really only intended for being able to see whilst wearing the HMD, not to go into AR mode.. And if you're a dev, you don't even need the hololens to develop for it, simply get the sdk and hololens emulator and you're off. Perhaps you assumed prematurely when delving into these HMD's, and should've done a bit more research before dropping the better part of a grand on something, no offense. 


Well I wanted to do VR gaming also, so I was going to get one of them anyway. Just wish I would have known the Vive had a camera. I'll look into the Hololens. Thanks for the info

OpticKing
Expert Trustee
Glad to hear you didn't waste money on something you wont use, VR is great especially for first gen vr. Does a fantastic job of tricking your brain. Also the built in camera from what i hear is the same visual quality as a webcam from the late 90s early 2000's and can't even view screens, on top of less than opportune latency. tbh quality/convenience wise the rift beats the vive by a fair margin. As long as the touch controllers aren't a make it or break it deal for you and can wait for a supposedly superior hand tracking product in the coming months, then you still are better off with the rift.

analog
Explorer
I agree, VR is where it needs to be in order to take off. I've always wanted to jump on new and emerging technologies, and now I can. Thank you, OpticKing for your prompt and helpful replies :smile:

OpticKing
Expert Trustee
No problem, glad to help. 🙂

Zenbane
MVP
MVP
You definitely want the correct tool for the job. I do have my Rift and I recently bought the 360fly 4k camera. Due to the resolution of both the Rift and Vive, videos I capture look quite horrible. But I spent $30 on a Google Cardboard variation, dropped my Android phone in to it, and now I'm able to move forward with confidence in some 360-viewing business projects.

I have a setup with the Rift purely for VR gaming and Oculus Studios applications, and I have an entirely separate setup (including a different workstation), where I work with 360 degree pictures/videos, A-Frame and WebVR software development, Microsoft Visual Studio, and photo/video editing software.

I know that it feels like one platform should do everything, but we just aren't there yet. And it really doesn't cost that much extra to setup a workbench that is right for the job. Good luck!

Expt626
Protege
I've messed around with ar camera attachments on dk2 before. devices like leap motion and ovrvision pro can add AR to your rift. Leap motion only provides monochrome stereo vision though but they cost like 99usd and comes with hand tracking. 🙂

IRCC, vive camera only offers mono vision, based on my experience with gear vr pass through camera mode, mono vision will give you serious depth perception issues. Not a very comfortable experience. Hence Hololens will be better in this aspect. However ar oculus has wider fov as hololens only covers 30 degrees fov.

IPD values from your AR camera->Oculus view->your eyes is one of the tricky problem i didnt manage to crack.

OpticKing
Expert Trustee

Expt626 said:

I've messed around with ar camera attachments on dk2 before. devices like leap motion and ovrvision pro can add AR to your rift. Leap motion only provides monochrome stereo vision though but they cost like 99usd and comes with hand tracking. 🙂




I recently bought the leap motion since it's on sale (29$ when i grabbed it; 35$ atm) , I can't say it's worth 100$ with it's very limited use. But on sale it's def worth it especially if you plan on playing with it as a dev, the down side is it works best with the mount which is another 20$ by itself. That being said I got impatient waiting for the mount and slapped some 3m command brand poster strips and they worked pretty darn good for a 1.99 buy from CVS, but not sure it's a permanent replacement, and is much less aesthetically pleasing.

Editing a forgotten link to the amazon page I got it from.
https://www.amazon.com/Leap-Motion-Controller-interaction-Packaging/dp/B0176M1GHA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8...

kojack
MVP
MVP

Zenbane said:

I recently bought the 360fly 4k camera. Due to the resolution of both the Rift and Vive, videos I capture look quite horrible.


I like how the "360fly 4k" is 240 degrees fov and 2880x2880 res. 🙂

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