Varjo XR-4 Series: Mixed Reality with Human Eye Resolution
Varjo Releases XR-4 Series: High-Resolution VR/AR Headsets Targeting the Industrial Market, Promising Enhanced Visuals and Mixed Reality Experiences.
As testament to the potential of Varjo's XR technology, the US Army was set to use the Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition for its Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer (RVCT) Air Program. The partnership aimed to enable mixed reality training scenarios for Apache, Chinook, and Black Hawk helicopter pilots. The headset provides pilots with a fully immersive training environment where they can interact with physical controls in real-time.
It is likely that this program, among others, will now move forward with the launch of the new generation of Varjo headsets.
Varjo launches VR/AR headsets XR-4, XR-4 Focal Edition, XR-4 Secure Edition
Finnish tech company Varjo has launched its latest XR-4 series headsets, offering virtual and mixed reality experiences that are said to be virtually indistinguishable from natural sight. The XR-4 series, which includes the XR-4, XR-4 Focal Edition, and XR-4 Secure Edition, merges high-resolution displays, advanced LiDAR depth sensing, and camera sensors to mimic human eye functions. Eye tracking enables automatic IPD adjustment and dynamic foveated rendering.
The Varjo XR-4 is designed to take Mixed Reality to the next level, says Varjo. | Bild: Varjo
While consumer-grade headsets cater primarily to 2D productivity, Varjo's 4th generation headsets are designed to deliver immersive VR/XR experiences for industrial customers who require especially excellent visual fidelity and performance.
Shot-through video of Varjo XR-4 in training by Aechelon | Video: Varjo
Varjo's XR-4 series is powered by Nvidia GPUs and integrated with Nvidia Omniverse, enabling developers and industrial users to render photorealistic scenes and use ray tracing in mixed reality.
The XR-4 series also supports a software ecosystem of over 100 third-party PC applications and 3D engines, including Unreal Engine and Unity. This integration allows the XR-4 series to integrate into workflows across various industries such as training and simulation, design and engineering, healthcare, and more.
Key Features of the XR-4 Series
The XR-4 series comes with dual 4K × 4K displays (3830 × 3744 pixel per eye), offering a resolution of 51 pixels per degree (ppd) and a 50% wider field of view (120 × 105 degrees) compared to previous-generation devices. Unlike their previous professional headsets, Varjo has chosen not to use a dual display design.
Other key features include
- dual 20 MPX cameras for the “real-time photorealistic” video pass-through mixed reality,
- new ambient light sensors,
- 8 times improved LiDAR resolution compared to XR-3,
- built-in DTS 3D spatial audio with noise-canceling mics and integrated speakers, and
- inside-out tracking with in-box Varjo Controllers from technology partner Razer, eliminating the need for external SteamVR base stations.
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- The Varjo XR-4 series is designed for high-end professional and industrial applications.
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- Varjo XR-4 series is supposed to integrate into demanding workflows across training and simulation, design and engineering, healthcare and more.
Beyond the basic XR-4, Varjo also offers the XR-4 Focal Edition and XR-4 Secure Edition. The XR-4 Focal Edition comes with gaze-directed autofocus cameras. They identify where the user is looking and automatically align the focal plane with the real-world objects that are integrated into the virtual environment through video pass-through. This results in a mixed reality display that replicates the natural focusing mechanism of the human eye.
The XR-4 Secure Edition, on the other hand, caters to government and defense customers, adhering to government and enterprise-level security requirements. Both the XR-4 and XR-4 Focal Edition offer versions of the headsets that can go completely offline, are TAA compliant, non-RF, and assembled in Finland.
Varjo XR-4 Series: Pricing and Availability
The Varjo XR-4 will cost 3990 euros or dollars. The new headsets are available for enterprise orders immediately, with first shipments starting in December. The Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition will be available at the end of 2023 for 9990 euro or dollars. Both come with Varjo's Inside-out Tracking.
An auxiliary Enterprise-Pro package is available for companies, e.g, through Resellers like Schenker Technologies from Germany. This includes, for a price of 2,000 Euros (excluding VAT), priority shipping and a service-level agreement with 24-hour support, as well as a personalized introduction to the headset by Varjo. Furthermore, the Enterprise-Pro option allows for offline use of the Varjo XR-4 and does not require user account registration. This enables its compliant use in accordance with strict guidelines in sensitive areas such as research and development or other high-security sectors.
The Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition headset is available to demo for the first time at I/ITSEC, the world’s largest training, simulation, and modeling event. Varjo will also be presenting the XR-4 Series at CES 2024.
At the presentation of the new headsets, we asked Varjo if a successor to the recently heavily discounted Varjo Aero could be expected in the consumer sector. Varjo stated that the Aero continues to sell well and that there are currently no plans for a new B2C headset.
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