Virtual Reality Glasses 6-DoF: What They Are, How They Work and Models

June 25, 2020 Matt Mills Tips and Tricks 0

In the world of virtual reality you will find very different viewer models that, in addition to offering prices of all kinds, will allow you to enjoy the virtual world in different ways, to the point of affecting the immersive experience. In order that you can find the best model and know what differences exist between the options on the market, we are going to explain the meaning of an essential term in the concept of virtual reality .

A matter of movement

If you have tried any model of virtual reality viewer, you will have seen how the device allows you to move around the room to make you feel that you are within that world that the device’s screens are drawing in front of your eyes. Or maybe not. The glasses may only allow you to move your head from one side to the other without enjoying a free movement of our body. What is this about? Why do one let you move and others not?

What does DoF mean?

The term DoF is an acronym for Degrees of Freedom , or what is the same, degrees of freedom, and is used to define what type of movement can be performed on an axis or along an axis. Thanks to this term, we can determine which viewers are capable of offering free movement to the player, being able to find two versions: 3-DoF and 6-DoF.

The first of them is the one that limits the virtual experience in a projection related to our viewing angle. We will only be able to turn our heads and elevate our sight while remaining static (sitting or standing without moving), so the possibilities are quite limited. This type of position tracking is typical of the cheapest viewers, models that marked the first steps in the world of virtual reality focused on consumer electronics and that are gradually disappearing from stores in favor of models 6 -DoF.

This model is obviously more capable, and the secret is in the incorporation of the tracking of our position, thus being able to move and move through the real environment at the same time as we do it through the virtual one. This allows for a greater feeling of immersion, being able to surround virtual objects, review them from different angles and, ultimately, live a much more real experience.

The cost and the space

The problem with these systems is that they significantly increase the price of the viewers. Basically due to the need to track the person to know at all times where they are and how they move. For this, the first models used sensors as headlights that were responsible for creating a virtual cabin in which the player could move freely. This configuration was more complex and required placing elements around the room (in addition to their corresponding power outlet for each one), but technology is advancing.

The solution was to go around the system. Instead of controlling the user from the outside (outside-in), the new viewers began to carry more cameras and sensors in their body to be able to analyze the environment and create virtual venues more easily. Thus, the viewer is able to know what obstacles exist in the environment, so that when moving we are able to calculate the change in distances and our progression in space.

The necessary hardware

In order to track the environment, a viewfinder needs a series of specific sensors so that it can identify everything around it. With this intention, the viewfinders mount cameras or infrared sensors to read and analyze the outside world but, in addition, you will have to carry an accelerometer and a gyroscope to control the movement of the person wearing the viewfinder.

The sum of all this properly processed data translates into a perfect position and orientation of the person on the virtual environment, which implies a total immersive experience that is currently considered as the best virtual reality that can be enjoyed today.

Available models

Currently, the most popular 6-DoF model on the market is the Oculus Quest. This viewer stands out for its excellent price, its complete application store, community and an incredible operation that allows everyone who uses it to enjoy an incredible virtual experience. It is one of the most recommended options on the market, and it also has a Snapdragon 835 processor to manage all the image processing and run the applications, so it does not require using a computer for its operation (although we can use them with a PC if we want). The most popular 6-DoF glasses models that we can find on the market are the following: