Finnish startup developing ‘human-eye resolution’ VR and XR

https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/07/varjo/ writes:

Varjo Technologies, the Finnish startup that made a splash earlier this year with news it had developed a virtual reality headset capable of “human-eye resolution,” has raised $31 million in Series B funding.

Varjo (shadow) aims to bring to market “the world’s first” human-eye resolution virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (XR) product.

Based on my personal short experiences with their product last week. It was impressive when I had change to test one of their prototypes last week. I wrote on it to

https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2018/10/10/suomalaisyhtio-demosi-virtuaalilasejaan-tarkkaa-kuvaa/


At the same event I saw their tech presentation how they combine two displays to get super high resolution (better resolution than normal eye) to the center of view.

23 Comments

  1. Tomi Engdahl says:

    This is the best VR headset I’ve ever demoed
    https://tcrn.ch/2SLJk3r

    Things are even more complicated now; Oculus has priced pretty much every other manufacturer out of the consumer market, and now a good deal of those consumer VR companies are chasing enterprise customers. Microsoft has been doing this with its Mixed Reality platform as well, but the customer base really doesn’t seem to be large enough to necessitate 14 hardware competitors.

    Varjo has a unique strategy to stand out from competitors — it’s called actual product differentiation.

    The Finland-based VR startup’s new VR-1 headset is a bulky solution that runs on SteamVR tracking but the high-resolution sweet spot that delivers a Retina-type display’s worth of pixel-density transforms this into an entirely different type of product. I don’t want to give this team more credit than they deserve, because the technical solution is novel but not mind-bogglingly complex from a hardware point-of-view; nevertheless, this headset delivers a pretty transformative experience.

    Reply
  2. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjo Announces VR-1, World’s First Human Eye-Resolution VR Headset For Industrial Use
    https://varjo.com/press-release/varjo-announces-vr-1-worlds-first-human-eye-resolution-vr-headset-for-industrial-use/

    $5995 Virtual Reality Headset Incorporates State-Of-The-Art Technology Including 60-PPD Resolution Bionic Display™, Integrated 20/20 Eye Tracker, and Compatibility with World’s Most Popular 3D Software Engines & Tools; Designed Solely For Industrial Use Cases

    Reply
  3. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjon laseilla VR-kuva vastaa todellisuutta
    http://etn.fi/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=9109&via=n&datum=2019-02-20_15:40:56&mottagare=30929

    VR-1-virtuaalilasit tuovat ennen näkemättömän tarkkuuden

    Varjon Bionic Display -nimellä kehittämä näyttötekniikka yltää 60 pikseliin jokaisella näkökentän asteella. Perinteisemmin ilmaistuna resoluutio on 3000 pikseliä tuumalla. Tämä vastaa ihmissilmän 20/20-näkökykyä. Millään muilla VR-laseilla ei päästä lähellekään samaa.

    Varjon itsensä kehittämä ja patentoima tekniikka, jolla silmän liikeitä voidaan seurata
    Varjon mukaan silmän liikkeitä seurataan 100 hertsin taajuudella

    valmistaa elektroniikan sopimusvalmistaja Flex eli entinen Flextronics.

    Reply
  4. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjon lasit eivät ole tulossa kuluttajille
    http://www.etn.fi/index.php/13-news/9167-varjon-lasit-eivat-ole-tulossa-kuluttajille

    Varjo esitteli eilen HelTech-teknologiatapahtumassa VR-1-lasejaan ja testaajat muodostivatkin pitkän jonon tapahtuman alla. VR-laseissa VR-1 tarjoaa tällä hetkellä parasta, mitä maailmassa on. Kyse on ammattilaiskäyttöön eli esimerkiksi CAD-suunnitteluun tarkoitetusta silmikosta, jota ei ainakaan vielä olla viemässä kuluttajamarkkinoille.

    Reply
  5. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Volvo Cars and Varjo launch world-first mixed reality application for car development
    https://www.media.volvocars.com/global/en-gb/media/videos/253693

    Volvo Cars and Varjo launch world-first mixed reality application for car development

    Reply
  6. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjo’s fusion algorithm is combines lidar with video, with Nvidia’s deep learning optical flow algorithm, to capture the world in real time (90fps) allowing holoportation across the planet. In a mixed reality headset.

    Varjo, with XR-3, has made the first fusion algorithm on top of lidar with video pass through.
    https://vrma.medium.com/varjo-with-xr-3-has-made-the-first-fusion-algorithm-on-top-of-lidar-with-video-pass-through-a17ed33b7b0

    Varjo’s fusion algorithm is combining volumetric capture (lidar) with video, with Nvidia’s deep learning optical flow algorithm, to capture the world in real time (90fps) allowing holoportation (like teleportation through someone else’s eyes) across the planet.

    Varjo is combining lidar and video to do high resolution depth capture that goes beyond what can be done with lidar alone. This process allows really stable pixel perfect depth capture at 90 fps, for things like real time holoportation to take you to other places on the planet in VR or XR. When combined with 3D Semantic Segmentation the possibilities are mind-expanding.
    Varjo uses the full field of view lidar on their new XR-3 headset (with the same fov for the lidar as the video) 108 degrees wide lidar feed of the world around you, it’s used as a ground truth with the VSD (video) cameras which are run through Nvidia’s deep neural network optical flow algorithm that create a depthmap for the video see through feed, for every single pixel captured by the VSD cameras.

    Then there are three layers of filtering that bias the data based on the time of flight (lidar) data, the resulting depth image (seen on the right of the above image has incredible high resolution depth) with highly detailed, really stable, pixel perfect, depth contours in every single frame at 90 frames per second, it captures depth details like hair, this allows incredible beautiful depth gradients, and allows camera reprojections, 3D reconstructions, really high quality holoportation of the things in front of the headset, in real time, to other places on the planet.

    This is the highest quality possible virtual reality and or mixed reality headset that money can buy.

    Varjo is also the latest VR XR headset maker to integrate Ultraleap’s hand-tracking technology (Ultraleap formerly called Leap Motion).

    A critical new feature is that now you can have high resolution everywhere you look in the headset thanks to a higher resolution peripheral screen with foveated rendering technology.

    there is no longer a significant difference where you are looking depending on whether it’s the center display or the peripheral display

    Reply
  7. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/06/07/suomalaista-virtuaaliosaamista-havittajasimulaattoriin/

    Suomalainen Varjo tarjoaa virtuaalisen todellisuuden osaamisensa uusien Saab-hävittäjien lentosimulaattoreihin. Monivuotinen yhteistyö on laajentunut koskemaan nyt Gripen E/F -hävittäjän simulaattoreita.

    Reply
  8. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjo Introduces Varjo Aero Headset To Bring the Highest-Fidelity Virtual Reality For Professionals and Leading-Edge VR Users Alike
    https://varjo.com/press-release/varjo-introduces-varjo-aero-headset-to-bring-the-highest-fidelity-virtual-reality-for-professionals-and-leading-edge-vr-users-alike/

    The new VR headset, together with Varjo’s recently announced Reality Cloud platform, marks the next step toward enabling a true-to-life metaverse for all

    Helsinki, Finland – October 21, 2021 – Varjo™, the leader in professional-grade VR/XR hardware and software, today announced the launch of Varjo Aero, the company’s newest virtual reality device in its portfolio. The headset expands the company’s reach beyond its traditional enterprise customer base to also advanced VR users like flight simulator enthusiasts. Varjo Aero offers industry-leading visual fidelity, featuring true-to-life, edge-to-edge clarity across 115 degrees field of view. The headset is available at an attainable price of $1,990 with no annual software subscription fee and lower PC hardware requirements.

    Reply
  9. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Varjo saa 20 miljoonaa euroa rahoitusta Euroopan investointipankilta
    https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/12908-varjo-saa-20-miljoonaa-euroa-rahoitusta-euroopan-investointipankilta

    Euroopan investointipankki myöntää 20 miljoonan euron pääomalainan suomalaiselle virtuaalitodellisuuslaseja kehittävälle Varjolle. Yhtiö käyttää rahan rahoituksen tutkimus- ja kehitysinvestointeihin.

    Reply
  10. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Lisätyn todellisuuden Varjolle 20 miljoonaa euroa
    https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2021/12/03/lisatyn-todellisuuden-varjolle-20-miljoonaa-euroa/

    Suomalainen metaversumiyritys Varjo saa 20 miljoonaa euron lainan Euroopan investointipankilta. Varjon saama rahoitus on osa Euroopan takuurahaston mahdollistamaa riskirahoitusta, joka kuuluu osana EU:n jäsenvaltioiden keväällä 2020 sopimaan 540 miljardin euron koronaelvytyspakettiin.

    Euroopan investointipankki allekirjoitti sopimuksen 20 miljoonan euron oman pääoman luonteisesta rahoituksesta suomalaiselle Varjolle. Helsingissä pääkonttoriaan pitävä, alansa johtava virtuaalisen ja yhdistetyn todellisuuden laitteistojen ja ohjelmistojen kehittäjä käyttää rahoituksen tutkimus- ja kehitysinvestointeihin, joiden tavoitteena on luoda todellisuuteen perustuva tulevaisuuden metaversumi.

    Reply
  11. Tomi Engdahl says:

    https://www.uusiteknologia.fi/2022/05/09/laakari-nakee-potilaansa-virtuaalitodellisuudessa/

    Tampereen yliopiston tutkijat ovat kehittäneet ratkaisun, jolla lääketieteen kuvantamisdata voidaan muuttaa kolmiulotteiseksi ja siirtää se virtuaalitodellisuuteen. Lääkäri voi tarkastella terveysongelmaa Varjon suomalaisvalmisteisten virtuaalilasien avulla. Kokonaisuuteen kuuluu myös tuntoaistikokemus. Mukana esittelyvideo.

    Reply
  12. Tomi Engdahl says:

    Finnish headset manufacturer Varjo announced its XR-4 headset today, which comes in 3 versions—including €13,990 “Secure Edition” that can function completely offline (for secretive skunkworks and mad scientist lairs alike).

    Varjo’s New AR Headset Is Built for Secret Labs Auto-focus cameras and enhanced field of view promise next-level immersion
    https://spectrum.ieee.org/varjo-xr-4?share_id=7976498&socialux=facebook&utm_campaign=RebelMouse&utm_content=IEEE+Spectrum&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook&fbclid=IwAR0yRZ_dwLiCs26WE_W9gkaPP67EojWEtIoLGA46l6LY6fNNXS2XuUhyKiw

    The Meta Quest 3 is a capable, accessible mixed reality device. But if you’re a mad scientist working on a secret project in an underground lab, it’s not going to cut it.

    Finnish headset manufacturer Varjo has a solution: the XR-4, a new generation of flagship mixed-reality headsets built for unusually demanding users. Varjo, based in Helsinki, serves up displays with record-setting pixel counts, auto-focusing cameras, and a “Secure Edition” that looks like it was ripped straight from a Bond film. The goal? A photo-real mixed-reality experience that lets designers, researchers, and creatives build and work with objects that don’t yet physically exist.

    “How do you design a car without a clay prototype? How do you sell a yacht you haven’t built yet? How do you train a pilot to fly a plane that’s still on the ground?” says Patrick Wyatt, Varjo’s chief product officer. “Jobs you do right now with physical things, we’re virtualizing those.”

    Reply

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

*

*