Tuesday, March 15th 2016
Sulon Q Powered by AMD, is the World's Most Advanced VR+AR Headset
As the 2016 Game Developer Conference kicks off, virtual and augmented reality continues to be top of mind for today's developers and consumers. And it should be. It represents the future of communication and computing, and the promise virtual reality has held for so long finally seems within grasp of today's technologies. Today, Sulon Technologies gets one step closer to that promise, unveiling a neak peek of the Sulon Q, the world's first and only all-in-one, tether-free, "wear and play" headset for virtual reality, augmented reality, and spatial computing.
On stage in front of more than 650 press and developers at the inaugural AMD Radeon "Capsaicin" event, I took the stage to give the world a glimpse of what we've been working on, showing off the forthcoming Sulon Q headset, and the intuitive experiences you can expect, including seamlessly transitioning from the real world to virtual worlds.
Here are some of the highlights of the Sulon Q headset:
As a powerful and lightweight all-in-one solution that combines VR and AR capabilities with real-time spatial mapping, the Sulon Q headset offers an experience that's unlike anything else. As we put the finishing touches on it and ready for launch in late spring, we hope everyone enjoys today's sneak peek and is equally excited about the headset as we are.
Specifications:
On stage in front of more than 650 press and developers at the inaugural AMD Radeon "Capsaicin" event, I took the stage to give the world a glimpse of what we've been working on, showing off the forthcoming Sulon Q headset, and the intuitive experiences you can expect, including seamlessly transitioning from the real world to virtual worlds.
- Distinct "Wear and Play" design - The Sulon Q headset lets you take every world anywhere thanks to its simple and intuitive all-in-one, tether-free, "wear and play" design. There are no confusing minimum specs to be concerned with. No tangled wires to hold you back. No external tracking systems for movement or gestures. Everything you need is on-board. Just put it on and go.
- VR and AR: The best of both worlds - Enjoy the best of virtual and augmented reality using Sulon's advanced Spatial Processing Unit which combines revolutionary, real-time machine vision technologies enabling you to effortlessly enhance the real world through augmented reality applications, and seamlessly transition from the real world to virtual worlds. The Spatial Processing Unit is an innovative mixed reality spatial computer that provides real-time environment mapping and tracking from the inside outward, dynamic virtualization for VR/AR fusion, and gesture recognition.
- Spatial computing with Microsoft Windows 10 - Enjoy holographic computing interfaces once reserved for science fiction by placing applications in space in your own living room with a large, immersive 110-degree field-of-view. Multi-task like a professional putting transparent or opaque windows where you want using gestures or the wireless keyboard and mouse provided in the box.
- Spatial redirection for endless virtual walks, even in your living room - With some smart perceptual tricks, Sulon's real-time, spatial technologies let you walk around and explore virtual environments that are seemingly larger than the physical space you're in. Enjoy a fully interactive VR experience in any space, letting you be a true participant in the virtual world, not just an observer from a single viewpoint or confined to moving using gamepads and controllers.
- Console-quality graphics and powerful processing - The Sulon Q headset harnesses the latest in processor technology using the recently launched AMD FX-8800P processor at up to 35W with Radeon R7 Graphics leveraging AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture. The full performance of 4 compute cores and 8 GPU cores are unlocked through a revolutionary Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA), enabling the cores to share memory to work together for dramatic performance and efficiency. The result is a solution that is optimized for modern workloads and media formats, capable of driving the latest graphics APIs including DirectX 12 and Vulkan, and able to render stunning videogame console-quality visuals on a beautiful 2560×1440 OLED display. The Sulon Q headset also integrates AMD's LiquidVR technologies to help ensure smooth and responsive VR and AR experiences.
- Incredible spatial audio - Using AstoundSound technology, used by the top game and entertainment studios in the world, the Sulon Q headset's 3D spatial audio lets you hear sounds within a complete spherical soundscape with advanced room simulation software algorithms that provide outstanding depth perception using the headset's 3.5mm audio jack in combination with custom spatially-optimized Sulon Q earbuds. For voice communication, the headset also includes dual noise-cancelling embedded microphones.
As a powerful and lightweight all-in-one solution that combines VR and AR capabilities with real-time spatial mapping, the Sulon Q headset offers an experience that's unlike anything else. As we put the finishing touches on it and ready for launch in late spring, we hope everyone enjoys today's sneak peek and is equally excited about the headset as we are.
Specifications:
- Experiences: VR, AR, and spatial computing Ergonomics Lightweight, comfortable, ergonomically designed all-in-one tether-free form factor
- Processors: AMD FX-8800P processor at up to 35W with Radeon R7 Graphics leveraging AMD's Graphics Core Next architecture 4 compute cores and 8 GPU cores unlocked through Heterogeneous System Architecture (HSA) Sulon Spatial Processing Unit (SPU)
- Memory: 8 GB DDR3 Memory
- Storage: 256 GB SSD
- Display: 2560x1440 pixels OLED display at 90 Hz 110-degree Field-of-View
- Audio: 3D spatial audio powered by GenAudio's AstoundSound technology Built-in 3.5 mm audio jack Custom spatially-optimized Sulon Q earbuds Dual noise-cancelling embedded microphones.
- Tracking: Sulon Spatial Processing Unit combining real-time machine vision technologies and mixed reality spatial computer for real-time environment mapping and tracking from the inside outward, dynamic virtualization for VR/AR fusion, and gesture recognition
- Sensors: Accelerometer, Gyroscope, Magnetometer, SPU
- Software: Microsoft Windows 10 "Project Dragon" application for spatial computing AMD LiquidVR technologies for ensure smooth and responsive VR and AR experiences
- Peripherals: Wireless keyboard and mouse provided in box Any other Windows 10-compatible controllers and joysticks
- Connectivity: WiFi 802.11ac + Bluetooth 4.1 2 x USB 3.0 Type A Micro HDMI out
12 Comments on Sulon Q Powered by AMD, is the World's Most Advanced VR+AR Headset
Few issues, though:
- Basically you are wearing a laptop and a VR headset on your head, so weight is going to be a big problem...
- System configuration and software installation must be done with this thing on your head. Sulon Tech. must've implemented a really tight spatial GUI implementation.
- AMD FX-8800P is a powerful CPU with equally great GPU, but I doubt it can handle anything higher than L4D2, or HL2 @1440p. This means that if games are pre-configured, they'll probably be up-sampled from 1080p or 900p.
- Assuming the thing uses Win10 in its original form + software overlays, this system will have ~150GB of space available for games. New games go upwards 50GB.
Why wouldn't anyone just make a simple wireless HMD with cheap built-in gyroscopic tracker, and no fancy stuff?
Plus the price will go down, because I don't want a VR headset tangled in random peripherals,
...or a VR headset that can also do AR, run Windows, crunch for TPU while charging at night, and make me coffee in the morning (with overheated backpiece).
If i don't think it will be with batteries, so the extra hardware should be 400 to 500 g i think, only ting that is somewhat heavy will be the cooling for a 35W chip. The fans will be a annoyance though.
Regarding weight, we can make a quick estimate for a control box:
* 80-100g logic board and all components (assuming it is twice the size/weight of a typical MXM GPU or ARM mini-PC)
* another 15-20g for SSD
* at least 100g aluminium HSF. Given that this is a portable device, that 8800P is most likely locked at 15W max. TDP
* 100g li-po cell bank or something along these lines. I am assuming that there is at least 6000mAh capacity (otherwise it won't last more than an hour).
* 50-60g plastic enclosure
That's already a 360-380g, assuming I did not miss anything.
Then we have an HMD piece (most likely all packed at the front):
* 350g roughly (I'm suing a number slightly less than CV1's weight to compensate for absent IR LEDs, the rest is probably the same)
* ~50g or more for extra stuff, like 4 cameras, trackers
That's at least 400g added to total.
But I can be wrong and Sulon Tech may have reduced the total weight by combining and moving all logic to the front piece (500-600g sitting on your nose, only battery on your back).