The Oculus ‘Half Dome’ prototype VR headset has a 140-degree field of view, and is a new piece of VR hardware that the company has been working on which it showed off during its F8 developer conference that has been going on this week. While there were no details given on when the headset would actually be released, or if would be released at all as it is just a prototype that the company is currently working on internally, things like the 140-degree field of view and other aspects that are present in the hardware, such as varifocal displays, could eventually make it into the next high-end headset that would replace the Rift.
While the wide field of view is definitely a good improvement to have, the presence of the verifocal displays would make a big difference for users in the way of eye fatigue. The technology is designed so that focal plane of each display is dynamically controlled to match depth and help move the focus of rendered objects, including those which are nearfield.
Because these displays physically move back and forth to adjust based on what’s needed, users would normally expect there to be some noise associated with the adjustment, but it’s reported that Oculus has worked to make this as unnoticeable to the user as possible by placing a lot of emphasis on how quiet the actuation system is that controls the verifocal display movement. Keeping that in mind this is still just a prototype and it’s entirely possible that things could change should these features make it into a final build of a new VR headset. In addition to the verifocal displays and the 140-degree field of view the headset is also reportedly carrying eye tracking technology, which could play a beneficial role to both the field of view and the verifocal display adjustment. The Half Dome is described as “Rift-like” so it could very well be an early prototype of something Oculus is working on to be the net version of the Rift.