An open source
virtual reality platform reports 13 new partners. This is the Open Source
Virtual Reality (OSVR) ecosystem, envisioned as the platform that can bring
together companies doing work in a number of areas of virtual reality. OSVR
aims to set an open standard for virtual reality input devices, games and
output. Its framework offers the potential to unite developers and gamers under
a single platform. As the platform is open-source, people working with hardware
developmental kit designs or software plugins, for example, for motion control,
game engines, and stereoscopic video output get complete access to what they
need. An OSVR white paper makes a case for how this would be beneficial for
gaming developers.
OSVR provides
interfaces as opposed to an API to a specific piece of hardware. If there are
multiple devices that provide the same type of information, these devices can
be interchanged. You can reconfigure the OSVR 'plumbing' so that the game can
continue to work well regardless of how where hand position is coming from.
With OSVR, game developers can focus on what they want to do with the data, as
opposed to how to obtain it. In short, OSVR would let you mix and match
hardware and software packages. This means that companies that focus on a particular
software or hardware component (e.g., gaze detection module or eye-tracking
camera) are not left out of the VR eco-system: their expertise can be
interconnected with components from others.
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