The pandemic has accelerated the demand for technologies that enable people to communicate and collaborate without the ability to physically meet inside the same room. Virtual reality promises to meet this demand and deliver a true sense of presence.
Sony is among the myriad of companies that are working tirelessly on various hardware and software products intended to make VR accessible, usable, and enjoyable. The Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation has recently held an online event called Sony Technology Day, where it revealed a prototype of an 8K VR headset with a cutting-edge OLED microdisplay.
“The VR head-mounted display (HDM) can project a realistic high-definition 3D space without pixelization,” said Yasuko Ishihara, R&D Center, Sony Group Corporation. “Our HDM achieves 4K with one eye and 8K with both eyes, added” Kei Kimura, R&D Center, Sony Group Corporation.
During the online event, Sony showed the headset prototype being used to explore a high-definition 3D model of a vintage car, highlighting the headset’s ability to display sharp textures and text. To make the headset feel more immersive, Sony is using special lenses to extend the image throughout the human visual field.
The company has also created an innovative 4K Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) microdisplay using the same fine processing and advanced packaging technologies cultivated through the development and manufacture of CMOS image sensors for its digital cameras and camcorders.
“This 4K OLED microdisplay has more than double the number of costs compared to smartphone OLED and reduces the panel size by almost 20 times,” said Kei Kimura.
According to Sony, the headset could be used by remote workers, medical professionals, engineers, students, and everyone else who can benefit from life-like virtual experiences.
