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Virtual reality headsets, once seen as either a gimmick or pure science-fiction, are set for a landmark year in 2016, beginning at CES.
Modern day VR varies, but most involves a headset with a 360 degree virtual view, powered by a gaming computer and complete with handheld controllers that enable the wearer to move around and interact with the digital world they see.
Timing has meant that the Las Vegas-based technology convention comes right at the start of a year when at least three major versions of virtual reality are set to be launched to the public for the first time.
HTC’s Vive headset, a collaboration with gaming platform Steam, is due to go on sale some time this year, and the device is set to be on-show at CES, with new experiences predicted to be unveiled.
Oculus, the Facebook-owned creator of the Rift headset, a device that started the current virtual reality gold-rush, has also been confirmed for consumer release this year. The final, consumer version of the Rift is likely to be shown off at CES ahead of its release.
Elsewhere in this already-crowded space, PlayStation VR, Sony’s own take on the concept that connects to a PlayStation 4 console, is another device set to launch in 2016. Sony will be at CES, and it seems likely to device will play some part in their show too.
With so many high-end devices on the verge of launching, as well as the more mobile and smartphone-centric Samsung Gear VR having already launched, many are predicting it is in low-cost virtual reality that the most movement will take place at this year’s CES.
Alternatives to Google Cardboard – the device made of said material, and for which building instructions can be downloaded free online – are set to be widespread, as the public’s growing understanding of virtual reality fuels new interest.
