Another entrant to the burgeoning VR Headset market has appeared seemingly out of nowhere and straight to Kickstarter. AntVR promises wireless video streaming, a 1080p display and a proprietary motion controller. Sounds too good to be true ….
Promises, Promises
As with any major advance in technology, there are those in the business world who can smell the money in virtual reality. And, as we’ve seen with popular gadgets, the far east is more than happy to take that device and produce ‘heavily inspired’ versions which look similar but are a shadow of their inspiration – yet available at a fraction of the price. When I visited AntVR’s (admittedly slick) website, I have to confess that was my first thought, as unfair as that might turn out to be.
It has to be said though, if AntVR is faking it – they’re doing a pretty good job. A well produced (albeit cringeworthy), slick teaser video featuring beautiful people being amazed by stuff. And, even the product mockups have some neat flashes of inspiration. Unfortunately though, that technical details are a little thin on the ground.
So what do we know? The company is based out of Beijing, China and claim their headset is the first “all-in-one, universal” VR Headset. This initially suggests that the device might be similar to Gameface Labs’ standalone, Android based VR Headset. But it looks more likely that the AntVR headset is pitching itself as a universal 3D display, that can be used with your favourite games console, PC or movie playing device. Both the controller and the headset itself will apparently hold IMU’s capable of motion tracking. Possibly most interestingly, the device is to 
support the new Wireless Home Digital Interface (WHDI) standard. A 5Ghz, uncompressed wireless video streaming protocol with a claimed 1ms or lower latency. Finally, the VR Headset houses a 1080p display and offers 3D with a 100 degree field of view.
The team have working prototypes it seems, and they’ve been showing them off over the last few months at various trade shows in the far east. In particular, Unite China – where it looks as if the public go their hands on a limited demo.
In any case, we’ll hold on judgement until we’ve obtained some solid technical information on the system. For now, should you want to know more you can check their website here. We’ll keep you updated as and when we know more.
