Samsung standalone VR headset detailed in partner press release

[HEXUS]

Device is labelled the 'Exynos VR III' and contains dual WQHD+ 90Hz displays.

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[Wrinkly]

The big problem continues to be that this form of HMD should only be housed in a museum case.

[Ttaskmaster]

The big problem continues to be that this form of HMD should only be housed in a museum case.

You got a better, more affordable idea?

[jimbouk]

It would be good if the standalone devices also came with a HDMI in (and usb for data out out). Would you buy a smart TV without any HDMI ports then bin it in 3 years when the built in apps stop working because you can no longer watch NetFlix on it?

[Wrinkly]

The big problem continues to be that this form of HMD should only be housed in a museum case.

You got a better, more affordable idea?

Yes, ignore VR for another few years.

[Ttaskmaster]

Yes, ignore VR for another few years.

If no-one buys it, no company invests in it and it never goes anywhere.

[DaMoot]

The big problem continues to be that this form of HMD should only be housed in a museum case.

You got a better, more affordable idea?

Yes, ignore VR for another few years.

I'm sure the world would be a much better place if anyone innovating anything just went along with your idea. Food safety? Just wait a few years. Electricity? Nah, just wait a few years. Life-saving vaccines? Don't need those; Just wait a few years. Automobiles? Will never take off. Wait a few years!
The transistor? Useless. Just wait a few years.

[whatif]

These VR headsets still look a bit alien or odd.
I think they should incorporate this into something like a motorbike helmet.
Screen, headset, and you could even add fans to keep the gear cool, all this would easily fit inside a sleek headgear unit that could just slide on and off.
So if you start to move about, at least then when you fall and hit your head, all that expensive gear will be protected.

Oh, almost forgot, and your head as well. :-)

[Ttaskmaster]

I think they should incorporate this into something like a motorbike helmet.

They have done... several times, lately. Loads of Kickstarters and the like, all with real-time sensor info, rear-facing cameras, etc etc etc etc etc.
None have taken off, most are insanely expensive and they are not really what you want on a bike anyway.

Screen, headset, and you could even add fans to keep the gear cool, all this would easily fit inside a sleek headgear unit that could just slide on and off.

I assume you have necks muscles like The Rock, or something?

[GamerGuru7]

I agree. You won't be able to use your own headset either which would especially suck if they're decent and imagine if the internal headset broke. This just creates loads of issues and that's if you can withstand the long gaming session on constantly looking around with a heavy helmet on...

[whatif]

They have done... several times, lately. Loads of Kickstarters and the like, all with real-time sensor info, rear-facing cameras, etc etc etc etc etc.
None have taken off, most are insanely expensive and they are not really what you want on a bike anyway.

I assume you have necks muscles like The Rock, or something?

I suggested it partly because of the bulky and ungainly looking contraptions I have seen on the market (humerous perspective). And because back sometime around 1990/91 in London when VR was being touted as the new big thing. (pity I then had to wait about 25 years for it to come about), I went to a games arcade where there were a couple of new VR games. Only had the money and time for one (very expensive and long lines of people waiting) and I tried a car racing one. All the equipement came in a helmet. Relatively,it was not all that heavy once on, so with modern tech, I think the weight problem would be sorted.
Don't see why it would cost a huge amount more. The helmet would not need to meet the crash standards of a real motorbike helemt, so cheaper to manufacture. But the pads inside would still need to be of reasonable quality for comfort. And they already come designed with a opening at the front where the optics can be fitted (Not being sarcastic, just being silly - sorry just another example of my off beat sense of humour)
Also, when I rode bikes back in the late 70's and 80's, I fitted a good set of headphones and a microphone inside my helmet without any hassle (connected to a cassette Walkman which could record and it had 2x audio line outs and 2x mike inputs). With the same setup in a friends helmet, I could talk with the pillion and we could both listen to music. Worked great once I stopped the loud windnoise from the mike.
Speaking as a medically trained person - anatomically, the head is quite heavy and when standing pr sitting correctly upright, it is actually slightly off balance forward being held up by muscles attached to the back of the skull The average weight is about 5Kg or about 10-12lbs. But if you lean 15 degrees forward, the head now weighs more like 27 lbs. With a 30-degree tilt, 40 lbs and a 45-degree angle and it feels like 49 lbs. When you are hunched over at a 60-degree angle looking at a mobile device, your head puts a 60 lbs strain on your neck. That is approximately 6 times normal. So good posture is very important. If it was appropriate, you could even design a helmet which would redistribute the weight to balance the head better to lessen the strain on the muscles while sitting and using a VR setup (put it onto the neck bones instead).
We begin the motion forward (example - normal walking) by relaxing the mucles attached to the back of the head and we overbalance forward. So we take a step to maintain a upright balanced position (or we would fall over and need that helmet again (-: ). This is one of the main reasons we end up with sore necks when sitting or standing incorrectly, especially when we are tired. It also affects other things like it reduces our natural breathing ability (when sitting bent over at more acute agles while texting. it causes - slouched shoulders reducing rib movement, and also making it harder for the diaphram to flatten for nspiration).
The average person normally has well-developed neck muscles anyway.

After reading the humerous post prior from DaMoot, it was more about the humour (fall protection) then being serious, and hopefully putting a smile on someone's dial. :-)

Haven't seen any of the kickstarter versions, et cetera you mentioned, You have now kindled my interest. I'll have look for them tonight to see what they are up to. Thanks for pointing that out and keep on smiling.
It counteracts stress and improves digestion, is good for the heart and lungs, laughing has been proven to be good exercise, relaxes the body, it produces free feel good drugs, improves healing and your immune system, makes everyone look better and generally makes the world a much better place.

PS - the head weights are quoted from a study published in the journal 'Surgical Technology International" back in late 2014

[snedger]

Nah, definitely wait.
Battery; display; sensor and C/GPU technology need to be a lot more efficient /denser/faster/lighter to make a VR headset practical.
Having said that, it is not impossible that I will not try again to buy a PS4+VR just to play Battlezone - thank goodness it was sold out last time I tried.
mmm maybe I should cut up my cards to be on the safe side

[Ttaskmaster]

The helmet would not need to meet the crash standards of a real motorbike helemt, so cheaper to manufacture.

Oh, I see - It read like you wanted to put all this into a real helmet and have us riding around with them on!
There are already enough people waiting in the wings, to pounce on us with insane ideas they want to impose on bikers, in the name of safety...

With the same setup in a friends helmet, I could talk with the pillion and we could both listen to music.

I still have my CB rig with helmet comms for chatting to others... No pillion, though. Anyone riding with me must have their own bike, unless they're between wheels or stuck in an emergency... this includes the wife, who is simply waiting for her ZZR600 to be finished.

so with modern tech, I think the weight problem would be sorted.

Arai are 'modern tech' helmets and exceedingly light compared to cheaper brands... they're also FLIPPIN' expensive, for the exact same reason!!

Don't see why it would cost a huge amount more.

Well, let's look at that, shall we...?

you could even design a helmet which would redistribute the weight to balance the head better to lessen the strain on the muscles while sitting and using a VR setup

So that's three points, each of which mean I can increase the price, based on marketing gumph alone...

This is one of the main reasons we end up with sore necks when sitting or standing incorrectly, especially when we are tired.

And since no VR gamer is going to stay stock still in perfect position while playing on a sytem that encourages, nay utterly hinges upon looking all around in glorious 360º Virtual Reality... we're back to the problems, with the added weight of the headset and gubbins.

Haven't seen any of the kickstarter versions, et cetera you mentioned, You have now kindled my interest. I'll have look for them tonight to see what they are up to.

Each one was hailed as the greatest innovation in biking ever ever ever... each ended up failing, for various reasons.
The last one I looked at ended up failing to ship even their full first batch, as I recall... the SKULLY AR-1.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/s...cycle-helmet#/

PS - the head weights are quoted from a study published in the journal 'Surgical Technology International" back in late 2014

Having worn various different helmets, often with various different gubbins attached to them, for much of my life, I am acutely aware of how badly things can go even with well-designed items.

[whatif]

Having worn various different helmets, often with various different gubbins attached to them, for much of my life, I am acutely aware of how badly things can go even with well-designed items.

I know what you mean, I had a new (about 1 month old) Kiwi helmet one time and half way through a long ride in winter at night in the rain, one of the plastic bolts holding the visor on suddenly broke and the visor detached in the middle of going through some S's down a mountain. I ended up going down a drop of about 40 meters where I broke a bunch of bones and got tangled in a barbed wire fence. It was a good example of Murphy's law (worst possible thing at the worst possible time). But the most horrifying thing was that I totally wrote off a nice Ducati - it was in a few pieces. :-(

Oh and thanks, I was not really being serious in the original comment.