XR Kaigi Expo Photo Report That Makes You Feel Like You Went: XR Devices Edition
This project began last time as a report series that makes you feel like you went to XR Kaigi. Last time, I shared booths that caught my interest in the AI / education and training edition.
This time it is the XR devices edition, which everyone loves. I will mainly report on hardware-related booths.
First is the Canon EOS VR System booth. Since support for Vision Pro also progressed this year, the demo exhibition was lively.
At Canon's booth, there were also exhibits about solutions for shooting with the EOS R system and converting images into 3D or 360-degree images, and I am looking forward to where those go as well.
The XREAL booth was so busy that numbered tickets were required. That was because XREAL 1S and XREAL Neo were being exhibited this time.
XREAL 1S is a new XREAL device that was announced recently. In addition to being usable in a 6DoF environment when combined with XREAL Eye, it also adds a feature that lets various 2D content be viewed as 3D. I was able to try the actual device, and it felt like it had evolved in a slightly new direction again.
XREAL Neo is a device used together with the XREAL device itself. It includes a battery and also supports video input and output. There was previously a device called XREAL Beam that served as a battery and video output device, and this feels like it is on that extension.
Exhibits of new devices were also lively. Rhino X 2.0 is an AR device whose selling point is an ultra-wide field of view, and ZENX Inc. will apparently be the general distributor in Japan.
At the booth of HMS Co., Ltd., the industrial AR glasses SiNGRAY G2 were on display. Perhaps because they are intended for industrial use, the body design had a functional beauty. I am weak for words like industrial and professional use, so I wanted to keep touching the equipment longer, but there were people behind me, so I wrapped up early.
One Japanese-made device I want to have expectations for is Xrostella VR1, which Sharp is developing. It is lightweight, supports 6DoF, and is a device whose future development I look forward to. It is expected to be used for business purposes.
Another thing that was extremely interesting this time was the haptics device from 3D Incorporated.
In the exhibit demo, two devices were synchronized, and the pen tip moved on one side was reflected on paper at a remote location. What was interesting was that there was resistance when moving outside the paper or at the moment of touching the paper, and through that response, you could sense some kind of presence. I felt that XR spaces and haptics will become an important theme going forward.
This year, glasses-free 3D displays were also exhibited in various sizes, from large to small. There were glasses-free 3D display exhibits last year too, but I feel they have taken on a wider variety of forms.
At the booth for the glasses-free 3D display LookingGlass from Xseeds Co., Ltd., it was nice that you could experience it casually because no special glasses were required. In particular, the 6-inch model was relatively affordable and in a price range that individuals could purchase.
One important thing for supporting events and facilities that use devices is managing many devices. There was also an exhibit of dedicated equipment for making XR device management easier. It was a movable rack format, and charging adapters could also be connected.
