Following many announcements on ‘day zero’ of CES, we’ve rounded up some of the most important bits from ‘day 1’ of our CES 2018 coverage: hands-on with the Vive Pro, Google introduces new VR180 cameras, Lenovo Mirage Solo detailed, and HTC’s official wireless adapter for Vive and Vive Pro.

Hands-on with the Vive Pro

Photo by Road to VR

Read our detailed hands-on impressions of HTC’s new flagship VR headset. The headline figure is the higher 2880×1600 resolution, but the Pro features several notable improvements to the standard design: a new strap system with integrated headphones that improves on the optional Deluxe Audio Strap, various ergonomic and ease-of-use adjustments, dual front-facing cameras, and support for Steam VR Tracking 2.0.

Google introduces ‘VR180’ 3D consumer cameras

image courtesy Lenovo

Google unveiled a pair of point-and-shoot stereoscopic 180° cameras from Lenovo and YI Technology coming in the spring. A third VR180 camera from LG is due later in the year. Half-spherical image and video content is a growing market, as it offers some advantages over fully spherical capture. 180° capture tends to produce higher quality results at lower data rates, and users are familiar with being able to choose their shooting angle.

Standalone Daydream headset from Lenovo

image courtesy Lenovo

Due to launch in Q2 2018, the Lenovo Mirage Solo is the first standalone headset designed for Google’s Daydream VR platform. Featuring a 110° field of view and a 2560×1440, 75Hz display, the Mirage Solo is positioning itself at the high end of mobile VR, with Google’s Clay Bavor describing it as “the most immersive way to access Daydream.” Perhaps most significantly, it also introduces WorldSense, Google’s SLAM-based, self-contained 6DoF tracking system, which claims to enable “PC-quality positional tracking.”

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HTC’s Official Wireless Adaptor

Photo by Road to VR

The official Wireless Adaptor for Vive is an optional accessory coming in the summer that cuts the cord on high-end VR. Revealed at HTC’s press event, the device will support both the Vive and Vive Pro systems. According to the press release, the adaptor will be “the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.” The system uses 60GHz Intel WiGig technology and the DisplayLink XR codec.

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Check back tomorrow for our ‘day two’ round-up off all things augmented and virtual at this year’s CES.

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Dominic Brennan
The trial version of Microsoft’s Monster Truck Madness probably had something to do with it. And certainly the original Super Mario Kart and Gran Turismo. A car nut from an early age, Dominic was always drawn to racing games above all other genres. Now a seasoned driving simulation enthusiast, and former editor of Sim Racer magazine, Dominic has followed virtual reality developments with keen interest, as cockpit-based simulation is a perfect match for the technology. Conditions could hardly be more ideal, a scientist once said. Writing about simulators lead him to Road to VR, whose broad coverage of the industry revealed the bigger picture and limitless potential of the medium. Passionate about technology and a lifelong PC gamer, Dominic suffers from the ‘tweak for days’ PC gaming condition, where he plays the same section over and over at every possible combination of visual settings to find the right balance between fidelity and performance. Based within The Fens of Lincolnshire (it’s very flat), Dominic can sometimes be found marvelling at the real world’s ‘draw distance’, wishing virtual technologies would catch up.
  • Sponge Bob

    Hey guys,

    Are you going to try those 6DoF controllers from Pico Neo and Triad Semiconductor ?

    Just how good are those ?

    This is more important than Lenovo Daydream headset

  • Rob

    That standalone Lenovo sounds promising, but It just feels like VR isn’t going to take off at the moment :(

    • Sponge Bob

      VR will most certainly not take off without fully-functional 6DoF controllers for standalone headsets

      Me thinks that even something as primitive and already outdated (but cheap) as Oculus Go PLUS 6DoF controller is a winning combination

      • dk

        a system like that will be far from cheap and far from offering u great experiences…..and it will become dated super fast ……unless it has an optional pc input

        • Sponge Bob

          it can be had for under 300$ right now (Oculus Go is 200$ right ?)
          experience will be infinitely better when you can actually DO things in VR – like precise drawing, sculpting etc

          • dk

            oculus go is nothing more than a gear vr…….and most likely will be something like snapdragon 820 not 835 …..and 2 versions 32gb which is small for games even if they r mobile and 64gb and that one will be like $250-$280
            hell the solo is waaay cheaper than the vive focus

            …but yeah future high end hardware doing 6dof controllers even if it’s with mobile platform power will be nice