Razer may not be the most well-known name when it comes to virtual reality, however, it is one company that is dedicated to creating partnerships and compatibility across multiple platforms.
The company has taken things to the next level with the announcement of a product. That product is a 3D camera designed for game streaming and virtual reality.
The new device, which has yet been unnamed, is based on Intel's RealSense technology that enables a camera to sense depth. RealSense itself can already be found in a number of laptops as well as things like drone navigation. The new camera, however, has a very specific application in that it is for common gaming applications.
When it comes to virtual reality, Razer is known for its participation in the OSVR platform, or Open-Source Virtual Reality. The platform is designed to bring VR developers together and avoid fragmentation with the goal of providing the best gamer experience.
"Razer is excited to be working with Intel, using Intel RealSense technology to help pioneer work for game broadcasting, as well as with VR, with support from the growing OSVR movement," said Razer co-founder and CEO Min Liang Tan in a statement. "Gamers will, we expect, be able to enhance their broadcasting and VR experience in unprecedented ways."
The combination of the RealSense camera with a VR headset could certainly be interesting. The camera would basically be able to scan a real-world environment and place that information into a game, allowing the user to interact with the real world in a virtual world. This is expected to become a trend in virtual reality as time goes on — Oculus, owned by Facebook, has also purchased a number of motion-tracking companies. Razer, however, has a number of things over Oculus, such as its dual-focus on video and 3D mapping, as well as the fact that the new camera is likely a part of the larger Razer virtual reality line.
Razer hasn't released any information about pricing or availability of the camera just yet, other than the fact that it says it is "coming soon." Despite this, Intel and Razer are demonstrating the camera at the Intel Developers Forum.
"This is a great opportunity to make Intel RealSense technology easily accessible to the gaming and VR communities. We are proud of the beautiful design of Razer's Intel RealSense Camera peripheral and we look forward to enabling innovation in the gaming world together," said Dr. Achin Bhowmik, the general manager of Perceptual Computing, in a statement from Razer.
Via: The Verge
