HalfDive, World's First Bed-Mounted-Display VR Headset | TechPowerUp VR and AR headsets might not have been quite the success they were expected to be, mainly due to cost, but now, a Japanese company has developed what has to be one of the weirdest VR headsets to date, one that's meant to be used in bed. The HalfDive VR headset, or BMD (Bed-Mounted-Display) from Diver-X is trying to implement a range of new features that have never been seen before in a VR headset, such as "wind feedback. This is simply done by a pair of fans built into the headset that outside of adding a touch of wind in your face effect, can apparently also be used for cooling down the user.
Other more normal features include a 3D audio system that consists of four speakers placed around the head, a force feedback system based on what might best be described as friction bands, vibration feedback via an "audio exciter" and foot controllers in addition to regular hand controllers.
Diver-X is promising 4.5 degrees of freedom and the headset consists of two displays that deliver 1600x1440 pixels per eye at 90 Hz with a 134 degree field of view. They've also designed a custom 10 lens optical system with optional support for varifocal lenses. Other hardware features include DP 1.2, USB 3.0, a 3.5 mm audio jack and 12 V power input. The HalfDive BMD is expected to launch on Kickstarter in November with a price of US$800 for the base model, whereas the fully featured model will cost around US$1,200. The varifocal unit will cost an insane US$4,000, which suggests it's very costly to make the lenses for those suffering from presbyopia.
This is the strangest VR solution I have ever heard of.
