brantlew wrote:I expect there will be a lot of DIY efforts to add various forms of pass-thru video to the dev-Rift. I think it's a must have feature on the consumer version.
Yes... I read Michael Abrash's second post on the future of AR/VR the other day... and he was saying pretty much the same thing (i.e. for VR to really broaden its appeal, it's going to have to include basic usability features including visual passthrough allowing gamers to see and interact things in their actual environments at the drop of a hat).
Technology wise, we've pretty much got it already... smartphone components are again, suitable for a basic pass through, which would help enhance the usability of the tech significantly.
The question is simply one of cost... I think $100 on top would be exceedingly reasonable, given the choice between the two (one with and without, plus/minus cost diff) I'd pick up the more expensive, but more usable one in a heartbeat.
In terms of component costs, most smartphone teardowns have their cameras priced in the region of $10-$20, so even 2 of these devices should be pretty cheap, making it probable that the cost differential of such an addition is well below the $100 mark.
With that been said, video passthrough is going to make the device more versatile, but it's not going to make it a full fledged AR device. I mean, it'll have portability issues for starters.
But it'll be more than sufficient to improve usability and even sufficient for AR experimentation. And I don't doubt for a moment that some enterprising enthusaist (especially on this forum) is going to backtop it and bring it out in the real world to have a good play around with.
Hell, I'd expect that someone on this forum is going to do something like that with the developer rift, simply by attaching some other form of camera onto the Rift. And then they'll tell us about how it's an exciting but somewhat awkward experience.
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