The announcement of brand-new VR headsets from the Russian company Roscosmos has created quite a stir among VR enthusiasts. Roscosmos, a state corporation of the Russian Federation reportedly specializes in space flight tech. Last February, the company announced that it is set to launch a new production line of consumer-focused virtual reality hardware. Further in May, it unveiled the first look at its prototype VR headset—the Roscosmos XR-1. As soon as it was released, the VR nerds went gaga over the incredible specifications of the product.
As per the report published in the Russian publication Holographia.space, Roscosmos was a strategic partner of the Russian tech conference The Startup Village. The company used the event to showcase its brand-new VR headset range Roscosmos XR-1. The report claimed that the product is specifically designed to test a few technologies developed by its creator company. Therefore, it is unlikely as of now that the customers could get their hands any time soon on this prototype and this is indeed a shame, given the promised specs.
The showcase
According to the showcase, the Roscosmos XR-1 will feature two stunning liquid crystal displays of diagonal 2.89 inches. The resolution of the display will be 2880 x 1440, i.e., 1440 x1440 per eye. With a viewing angle of 105 degrees diagonal and a display refresh rate of 90/ 120 Hz, this is promising the users a true-to-life experience nevertheless. Furthermore, the specs claim that the prototype headset will comprise hybrid Fresnel lenses as its primary optics as well as gyroscope, magnetometer, and accelerometer as its primary sensors. It will also supposedly feature laser-based positional tracking on external beacons and will enable miniUSB and miniDP connectors. The wired device with a power requirement of only 5 volts, the VR headsets offer both SteamVR and Windows compatibility. What’s more interesting is that the spectacular device is promised to weigh less than 500 grams.
Next generation hardware
In addition to the unveiling of the Roscosmos XR-1 prototype VR headsets, the company also announced that it is soon going to bring along its next-generation VR hardware—the Roscosmos XR-2, possibly in the later months of 2021. Also referred to as Sokol-1, the upgrade is going to feature an improved resolution of 5760 x 2880, along with advanced eye-tracking technology. The company is also resolute to ramp up the XR-2 with a better laser positional tracking unlimited object tracking area that can track over 250 objects, as well as reducing the margin of motion tracking error as low as 5 mm. For both XR-1 and XR-2, the entire software and hardware complex will reportedly be developed in Russia.
Prototype
As of now, Roscosmos VR hardware is dedicatedly being used in the Cosmonaut Training Center as part of their spacecraft simulator training program. The technology allows trainee astronauts and technicians to get hands-on training for handling the current Soyuz spacecraft and Orel—the next-generation, partly reusable crewed Russian spacecraft that is presently being developed. Further, the prototype is also stated to be used along with other existing haptic technologies designed for improving a variety of space-tech related immersive experiences, which also includes a cutting-edge zero-gravity environment simulator
