Hone., innovative system that combines virtual reality and head tracking

The R&D department of the British broadcaster BBC is working on the 'Holohelmet' project, a type of virtual reality headset capable of projecting immersive 3D worlds that combines head tracking with one or more portable pico-projectors.

Head-mounted virtual reality devices have been on the market for quite some time, providing users with a method of immersion in a virtual environment.. Physical spaces that provide immersive holographic environments without the use of these devices have until now been limited to the realm of science fiction films.. Aiming to allow users to experience a completely immersive way of exploring three-dimensional worlds, The BBC has developed the Holohelmet, which combines a head tracking system with one (or more) portable pico-projectors mounted on a minimally invasive helmet.

Unlike virtual reality HDMs of the past, that enclose the viewer in a closed environment, The BBC is taking a different approach by projecting the image onto a wall in front of the user, allowing vision to several people.

How it works

In the prototype developed by the BBC, The helmet incorporates an upward-facing web camera, rigged with a series of ceiling-mounted LED infrared LED markers. The webcam detects the position of the markers when the user moves their head and the tracking software translates this data and is able to determine the exact position and orientation of the helmet.

With this information, a 3D scene is created and projected from the user's pico-projector. (also mounted on the helmet) on a screen. In this experiment a special retro-reflective material was used., placed on the wall, which allows the projected image to only be visible to the user at a narrow angle from the projector.

The user can move freely in the available space. Your movements are linked to the virtual scene that is projected and you can move around the virtual objects and view them from anywhere, while other people can see their own individual perspective on the same screen. They are free to move around and look around a scene from different angles..

The BBC claims that “We are currently investigating what type of support or scenes are best suited for the device and are developing new ways to interact with the scene, including two-way interactions through user depth sensing.”