ViveNchill, the intriguing new bolt-on dual-fan cooling solution for the HTC Vive, has begun its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo.
Update (7/17/17): The ViveNchill Indiegogo is now at 193% of its $5,000 goal. With 13 days remaining, the campaign appears on track to at least double its goal. Although the creators of the campaign haven’t announced any stretch goals, they have moved their shipping timeline forward and plan to begin deliveries one month sooner than initially projected.
Though not a huge campaign by any means, nearly 400 of the seemingly simple ViveNchill accessory have been bought through the campaign, suggesting that the product is addressing a real need for a non-trivial number of current Vive owners; something to be considered for all headset makers going forward.
Update (7/6/17): Now at 88% funded, the ViveNChill Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign looks well on its way to hitting its $5,000 goal; the campaign still has 24 days remaining. So far the team behind the project hasn’t announced any stretch goals.
Original Article (6/30/17): We wrote recently about a new prototype solution to alleviate ‘sweaty VR face’ syndrome and, as promised, we’re letting you know that the crowdfunding campaign for the system has gone live via Indiegogo (the originally stated Kickstarter campaign has hit some delays apparently).
VivenChill uses a dual fan coling system that, instead of venting hot air from the inside of the HTC Vive headset, blows air over the top of the user’s head. The idea is that the solution dissipates heat from bloody circulating around the rest of your face and, in theory, alleviating sweaty faces and foggy lenses whilst you’re immersed.
I wrote at the time that I was a little sceptical, but the team at RedRotor behind ViveNchill are adamant that the final solution was born from “extensive testing” and that the entirely external design avoids dry eyes and poor air flow of their earlier vented prototypes. The new campaign page cites some studies which highlight blood circulation whilst the body exercises and “directing air at and over this crucial part of the body, the ViveNchill helps reduce your overall temperature.”
We can’t vouch for this in any way unfortunately, as we’re yet to arrange a review unit (we’re working on this) but given the early bird prices for a single unit are being offered via IndieGogo for $20 plus shipping, there are probably quite a few people out there willing to give it a shot.
Let us know if you’re thinking of backing the project and we’ll let you know when we get our hands on a unit to judge its effectiveness.