Designer creates perfect productivity VR headset with flip-up visor
A designer presents a VR headset concept that combines immersion with a foldable design for productive office work.
Swedish student Simon Ljungblahd from the Umeå Institute of Design has developed a new VR headset concept. It focuses on immersive office productivity without completely blocking out the real world.
Unlike current XR products, Ljungblahd's design places the displays not in front of the eyes, but on a visor. This allows them to be flipped up. Users can quickly switch between the virtual and real world as needed, for example, to attend meetings, talk to colleagues, or take notes.
A screen on the front of the headset also provides information about the user's status. For example, you can see from the outside if you are currently busy — a feature that already exists in a similar form in the Apple Vision Pro.
The headset is said to be relatively lightweight, as the flip-up design means that the displays do not have to completely shield the user from their surroundings. Instead, they sit in front of the eyes like a head-up display, providing a spatial experience in a portion of the field of view. By moving their heads, users can explore more of the virtual environment while still experiencing impressions from the real world.
The 360-degree view and spatial depth should also enable richer multitasking and provide more intuitive interfaces for applications such as 3D modeling or map views.
For now, Ljungblahd's design is just a concept. It remains to be seen if and when a company will realize his idea.
AR and VR on the rise in the office
In addition to Ljungblahd's VR headset concept, there are already promising devices that aim to use AR and VR in everyday office life. The startup Sightful launches the Spacetop G1, an augmented reality laptop that offers a huge virtual workspace of 100 inches in a portable form. It comes with a connected AR headset from Xreal.
Immersed Visor, a productivity headset from the creators of the immersed productivity app, is already in the works and Apple is also rethinking the office with Vision Pro and Spatial Computing.
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