Earlier today a media leak confirmed the existence of a new untethered VR and AR headset from Sulon and AMD, known currently as the ‘Q’. Now, a video demonstration has appeared which may show that hardware in use.
Titled ‘Magic Beans’, the augmented reality experience running on unconfirmed hardware, takes its cues from the classic fairy tale Jack and the Beanstalk. The video features a computer generated magical floating book appearing in front of the user, subsequently spilling the titular beans before finally spawning a giant beanstalk which proceeds to grow at rate, smashing through the ceiling revealing a rampaging giant.
Although it’s not explicitly stated in the video, the AMD FX and Radeon logos at the video’s close probably means the video will be used to highlight the new Sulon Q’s capabilities after the new HMD is officially unveiled this afternoon at AMD’s special ‘Capsaican’ event at GDC in San Francisco. It also ties in with information leaked via the Sulon website which introduced the technology behind the new website.
The video seems to have been shot quite carefully to avoid quick shifts in movement but despite that, the virtual objects overlaid into the physical world don’t quite stay in sync – highlighting the difficulty of extracting absolute (or relative), positional information using computer vision based solutions – in the case of the Sulon Q, what look to be two front-facing cameras. But the experience is inventive and looks hugely entertaining and having an augmented character reach into the physical world to pull you into a virtual one is something a little special. It also aptly demonstrates the supposed dual capabilities of the headset, AR and VR.
We’re hoping to bring you more information about the new headset direct from the AMD press event later today. Road to VR is at GDC 2016 all week bringing you the latest from the show.