Pico Interactive’s Pico Neo CV all-in-one, untethered VR headset is coming to market soon, and the near-finished product is available for viewing, along with its special companion tracker, at the annual Game Developers Conference. At the show, viewers can check out the headset and its tracker in person, as well as the special tracking controllers. The freewheeling headset has an accompanying software development kit made to help developers to create software and experiences especially for it, and Pico has released a bit of information on the SDK. They have also opened up registration for the SDK, allowing developers to hop on board to receive additional details and the SDK download as soon as they’re available.
The headset boasts a number of compelling features due to its all-in-one nature and powerful hardware. The whole show is powered by the same Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 processor that you’ll find in some of the latest smartphones, such as the Samsung Galaxy S7 and Lenovo Moto Z. There are two separate displays inside the headset, with 1.5k resolutions, with a buttery 90hz refresh rate. The gyroscope, accelerometer, proximity sensor, and other bits and bobs are all built right in. The headset does not require a smartphone, PC, game console, or any other sort of central hub; all processing and sensing is done on board. The entire setup can be loaded up with software and perform its primary functions without any other special hardware, though Pico does make a full array of tracking hardware that can extend the capabilities of the headset.
The tracking hardware outside of the headset itself consists of a special tracking tag, a Vive-like tracking camera, and a specially tracked VR controller that looks somewhat like a cross between a Wii remote, a Steam controller, and an Oculus Touch Controller. The headset’s built-in tracker can track where a player is and where real-world objects are, but the other pieces add functionality. The tag allows you to track almost any object that you can stick it on, the camera allows full-body player tracking a la Microsoft Kinect, and the controllers add buttons and hand tracking to the experience.