Comment by nsilvestri | Hacker News Reader

Comment by nsilvestri | Hacker News Reader

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I believe I'll be able to replace my monitors to do my desk job with a VR headset within 10 years. Rather than having 2 monitors of different sizes and resolutions on a desk, why not just have as many virtual monitors with exactly the size, position, and distance I want? In fact, why have monitors at all? Just position the windows in arbitrary space in front of me.

Desktop computing with a VR headset is somewhat possible right now, but I am not quite able to stomach the resolution limitations of the Quest 2. I'm looking forward to devices like SimulaVR [0], which intend to fully replace desktop computing with a self-contained VR headset (plus a mouse and keyboard).

In my mind, there are two and a half problems to solve to make it possible. One is pixel density. It has to at least be equivalent (or very close) to our own eyes. Two is comfort, both physical (ventilation, weight) and health-wise (eye strain). Two and a half is being able to navigate without a mouse and keyboard, and preferably no peripherals, but I think I'm able to wait for that.

[0] https://simulavr.com/

This is pretty much exactly what I was going to say. I think it's a gimmick for now, but as soon as the pixel density gets high enough it becomes more interesting.

> Two and a half is being able to navigate without a mouse and keyboard, and preferably no peripherals, but I think I'm able to wait for that.

I can't imagine that. I think it'll end up being a normal desk, mouse, keyboard painted into the VR world by using the passthrough cameras.

Something else I've noticed when I put on my Quest 2 is the lighting. I don't like the way the lights in my office feel like they glare in my eyes. Putting on the Quest 2 and hitting a virtual environment gives the feel of indirect lighting and I find it much more comfortable. It's like being outside.

That comfort doesn't last very long, but if I could get away with it for 2h at a time, and have high DPI virtual screens, I think I'd at least try a virtual office.

They also need to make it so I can drink a cup of coffee with the headset on or the whole thing is DOA. Lol.

There is no a priori reason to believe that the pixel resolution will ever be that high. Not all technology we can imagine is actually possible.

Pixel density high enough for acceptable text is already possible, just prohibitively expensive. See Varjo's headsets, for example - at the center of the display they have 70 pixels-per-degree (for comparison the Quest 2 has about 20).

> high enough for acceptable text is already possible

I don't understand this. I code and read in VR almost every day. With proper aliasing, it's extremely acceptable as is. Font characters per degree has to be increased, of course, but Quest 2 is about the same as a 720p virtual monitor.

Have you tried reading in VR?

I actually think pixel density is one of the easier battle to win. Getting a cheap, lightweight, strain-free device to users is the real requirement.

For now, I can't handle more than ~30 mins with any VR/MR/AR device, but if I can actually wear one for several hours and be productive using one - I will be convinced we've turned the corner on this tech.

> That comfort doesn't last very long

Low resolutions aside, headsets are still way too heavy and bulky, at least in my experience. Some even get quite hot. I can imagine that the weight and heat could be solved over time, but the bulkiness seems like a very big hurdle. When using lenses you need the distance, so it's hard to see how we can miniaturize headsets without a brand new technological innovation.

> but the bulkiness seems like a very big hurdle

The nreal air is 79g [1]. It has a 1080p resolution (45 degree, so reasonably PPD), but I imagine this will multiply over the years.

1. https://www.nreal.ai/specs/

Wow, this looks awesome. Thanks.

> They also need to make it so I can drink a cup of coffee with the headset on or the whole thing is DOA. Lol.

seriously ... i reckon its half the reason the Quest Pro is shipping without a lower face block by default.

This is our (SimulaVR's) vision, basically. Our target is to have pixel density/optical quality and comfort good enough to work comfortably.

The pixel density is there (and better than quest pro), and we just need to finish the comfort features -- passthrough, mechanical comfort, integrated host.

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