Pixel VR

The Pixel VR gives you access to the 3D world of your phone.

Pixel 1 World // Pixel Hub // Pixel Desk // Pixel Mouse // Pixel Keyboard // Pixel Book // Pixel VR // Pixel VR Controller

The Pixel World Initiator

Technology is evolving and new products are going to come to the market and change the way we live forever. Phones are becoming obsolete, but what will come next? Smart glasses like Google Glass, Snap Spectacles or North Focals? Smart Watches, wristbands or rings? Many think that VR/AR is the next leap of communication, but what OS is running on those new devices?

Due to free Google Cardboard VR glasses for every New York Times subscriber, Google became the world market leader in VR glasses manufacturing in 2015. Relying on Daydream, powered by Android. But what if VR would actually become the next big thing and phones start to disappear? Would Android disappear as well? There is a battle of operating systems everytime a new technology comes up and aside from smartphones, Android is not very often the first choice. This reason made me start questioning the way operating systems determine the way we use our devices and developed a strategy to make Android future proof.

Read the Story here

VR made me think about a change of operation systems and it was the first product I designed for the new Pixel World.

Soft and Cosy Fit

The VR headset use the same established ski mask strap technique as the current Google Daydream Viewer. The smooth inlay is wrapped with soft mid-grey fabric.

Rocker and Slider

The Pixel VR is equipped with an eye-to-eye distance adjustment slider and a volume rocker at the bottom of the headset.

Touch sensitive Textile

The Pixel World is wrapped with a Jacquard fabric, a touch sensitive textile developed by Google. The touch control enables new dimensions of intuitive controls within virtual reality. Possible applications within games could be „night vision or x-ray activation“, “zoom in/out”, “focus”, or “laser beam” (a la cyclops in x-men). rudimentary menu control is also possible.

Stereo Sound

The stereo speakers are hidden under the fabric and provide a warm and balanced audio experience. Alternatively, users can pair bluetooth headphones with their phone

The Future of VR

Is VR really going to become the next big thing?

I believe there is a real chance that VR will be an important part of how we communicate in the future. Technology that is used by movie makers, cloud computing and ultra fast streaming might play a leading role for this technology. An AI technology that tracks the human face and body movements like Digital Domain uses to render action movies, that renders your conversation partner in real time and puts him or her infront of you in VR or with AR into your living room, so that you can walk around him or her is not too far. Streaming technology and cloud computing that is used for Stadia can be used for processing and provisioning. A technologie like this would be interesting for virtual conferences, but also to talk to far away friends and family.

Right now, capable VR headsets are bulky and uncomfortable, but as soon as VR/AR glasses become as small as usual glasses (see North Focals) the described scenario could become an serious part of our communication. Especially if an OS makes the transition to new technology as seamless as the Pixel World.

Process

During the market research and while I explored the technology and the many facets and approaches of different manufacturers, I saw the brought bandwith of VR glasses and headsets from very small ones incl. the Cinemizer OLED from Zeiss or LD’s 360 VR through Microsoft’s Hololens and startups experimenting with light field technology like Avegant, to the known VR Pioneers VIVE by HTC and Oculus.

Google’s Daydream follows the right approach by using textile to bring technology closer to the user, so I adapted this strategy for the Pixel VR and identified fabric as an important material for new technologies and a major material for future products by Google. I kept the ski goggle design of the strap and how it holds tight to the user’s head, since it is the most natural way to wear those heavy glasses.

One major design problem of active VR headset are placement and handling of the cameras that track the environment and the user’s movement. Most manufacturers make a big deal of presenting the cameras by conical cuts like HP Reverb and Oculus Quest, additional layers like Oculus Rift S or offsets like VIVE Pro and Lenovo Explorer. I decided to handle this issue rather unobtrusive by hiding all visual technology and follow another approach placing the cameras naturally without decoration to the required position.

I rendered the Pixel VR manually in Sketchbook and Photoshop to decide which parts of the glasses to cover with textile.