HP Announces Virtual Reality Backpack
Doesn’t it seem like with all things virtual reality, that with each new concept, each new device, that we’re somehow getting closer to the singularity? Sure, maybe that’s an exaggeration, but the truth is that VR and AR are already pretty close to a previously imagined sci-fi future which each subsequent technological advance is only going to heighten.
Take for instance the whole idea of the VR backpack. The idea of a wearable gaming computer, at least when it comes to VR, is actually kind of a practical one, believe it or not. One of the drawbacks against the kinds of VR setups required to power the most intense virtual reality experiences is the trailing cable that runs from the user’s headset to the PC running the software. If you’ve been to a virtual reality arcade like VRPlayin, this will be instantly familiar to. And while the immersive action will have you quickly forgetting the cable is there, gameplay for a headset connected to a physical machine is limited to the amount of space in which the user can physically move away from the machine.
But what if you attached the machine to the user? Then, at least in theory, a user’s movements when they have a battery powered gaming computer slapped to their back, could be limitless.
The thought of the possibilities probably are enough to make most gamers lose their minds, and for good reason, and up until this point, computer backpacks have been targeted specifically at games.
But what if rather than being a “gaming backpack”, the power of an untethered VR machine was used for applications other than gaming? We’ve talked about the ability for VR to lead new types of education and training, or how it can be used in engineering. In many of these cases, full-scale virtual models that can be experienced within VR are key to understanding how a person can use a virtual reality experience to replicate real world environments, whether they be used in design or training simulations. But having a full-scale model is only as valuable as they ability to properly understand its dimensions and move around it while in its world. And with this in mind that HP has announced the HP Z VR Backpack, its new entry into the backpack computer niche.
The HP Z, which is built for mobile virtual reality applications, truly is built more for work than it is for play. It’s got business friendly items such as Windows 10, and the backpack design allows for larger batteries and higher performance processing, which enables heavier apps like collaborative visualization and VR showrooms. VR applications currently prefer games over commercial and industrial applications, which are harder to build, as ease of use and quality of graphics are preferred to game play. But with more and more hardware options out there like the HP Z to help developers better understand what can be accomplished for such an intriguing and underserved market, it’s possible that these kinds of professional applications may prove to be a more attractive option after all.