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Virtual reality just became even more "convenient" with this "backpack PC" prototype:
"We're learning a lot about how customers use and perceive VR," says Nash. "There are two consistent pieces of feedback we've gotten. The first is that the demo is incredibly cool, and the second is that the cord is incredibly annoying. But despite all of the demos, nobody has tripped over the cord. We wondered why this was and basically people are aware of the cord the whole time so they don't trip over it. In some sense it's kind of limiting the overall VR experience. It feels a little less real."
The company worked on a few different solutions. Wireless transfer standards couldn't accommodate the throughput without a notable latency and simply shoving a compatible laptop into a backpack wasn't an ideal solution. HP eventually hit upon the Omen X concept, a wearable PC.
It's a similar solution to the one recently shown off by MSI, though HP insists that the timing had less to do with that announcement than its own desire to offer up a working prototype before the unveil. But rather than waiting until the company has a shippable product before announcing, HP opted to show off a prototype in hopes of enlisting developers to help shape the creation of the device.
[...] The current prototype weighs in at less than 10 pounds and features a battery that offers an hour of life per charge. And while HP believes this will be enough to offer a reasonable immersive VR experience, the company has also added a belt with hot swappable batteries, letting users switch them in without losing their place in the game and other important data. The system also features two high-output batteries, assuring that the CPU and GPU aren't throttled — despite the fact that the backpack is intended to operate on battery power alone.
MSI has their own similar "backpack PC" concept. Road to VR helpfully notes (emphasis mine):
HP and MSI are working on concept 'PC on your back' projects (often known as backtops)
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday May 30 2016, @03:57PM
Laptops tend to have only 2 hr battery life. They also have vents on the bottom you should be careful not to cover, and a suspend switch you would need to disable.
Though you could presumably toss a larger battery in a back-pack and charge the laptop with an inverter. Such a set-up would even be hot-swappable.
(Score: 1) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday May 30 2016, @04:00PM
Darn it, TFS says the charge only lasts 1 hour. For some reason I was thinking the batteries are supposed to last like 5 hours.
(Score: 2) by takyon on Thursday June 02 2016, @09:44PM
I believe the article said something about putting extra batteries on a belt. Yup, it's in the summary as well. So there is a way to boost the battery life beyond the current 1 hour limit.
Considering there are two competing designs here, if this becomes a thing then you could see more battery weight being added. Let's say that the device has a 2 hour charge and some extra battery weight. In fact, I bet you could make a graph of weight vs. battery life, and then try to find an optimal point where the physical exertion of carrying extra weight while moving around balances the physical exertion of playing with yourself in VR fantasyland for X hours. The amount of time spent in VR is likely to be kind of low for most people except NEETs/weirdos. Let me see if I can find a relevant portion from one of the recent reviews...
Here it is: [tomshardware.com]
Not exactly the slam dunk I remembered, but this is for a headset that most people will be sitting down with while using (far fewer users will have a Virtuix Omni "VR treadmill"). Running (not walking) around with a 15 lbs backpack on is going to get sweaty and tiring fast, although if you're getting ready for boot camp it's not so bad.
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