Varjo announces that it has raised $31 million to fund the development of its VR helmet, which provides a standard similar to the human eye. A device that is being developed for manufacturers, and could be about 10 years to reach before the consumer hardware……..
Currently, on the market, VR headsets such as the Oculus Rift or the HTC Vive Pro offer a sufficiently high image resolution to play video games, watch movies or surf the Internet. However, the screens on these devices still leave a lot to be desired in terms of sharpness.
For example, if you try to read text or recognize subtle color tones, the VR headset screens are often too blurry. In fact, these products are not suitable for professional use.
This is why the Finnish company Varjo, founded in Helsinki in 2016, is developing a VR helmet with a much higher resolution. The alpha prototype of its device, which was presented in November 2017, offers a resolution of 50 megapixels per eye. This is 20 times more than devices like the Rift or the Vive Pro offer.
Varjo: a $10,000 VR helmet 10 years ahead of the competition
Varjo’s system is based on a technology that mimics the human eye: the “bionic display”, which allows following the eye of the user and offers a maximum resolution within a 5-degree zone in his field of vision. The result is surprising, and Varjo believes that this level of clarity is only achieved at the age of 7 to 10 years with consumer headsets.
In fact, the Varjo device is primarily intended for manufacturers to enable them to perform tasks in the home that require a detailed view. The company already works with major companies such as 20th Century Fox, Airbus, Audi, BMW, Wolkswagen and Technicolor.
Varjo today announced a $31 million B-series fundraising campaign. Investors include Atomico, Next 47, EQT Ventures and Lifeline Ventures. This is in addition to the $15 million that has been raised since the company was founded. This will allow the company to hire 120 additional employees in 2019, bringing the total number of employees to 200.
Varjo plans to launch its VR helmet in the first half of 2019 at a price between $5,000 and $10,000. The device must be connected to a powerful PC. It will include a software platform also developed by Varjo, but will also be compatible with 3D engines such as Unity and other industrial software.