HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, PS VR, Samsung Gear VR, and Google’s Cardboard and Daydream platforms are all the most recognized names when it comes to virtual reality across the powerful home units and mobile markets, but there are still a handful that keep the industry competitive and honest. CES 2017, to no one’s surprise, has been the home of announcements and debuts of new challengers to the VR arena and Pico has stepped up to the plate. Founded in 2015, Pico has built up their team to about 300 people and have revealed their primary flagship headset: The Pico Neo CV.
Previously, we wrote about the Pico Neo DK which is, in some ways, the little brother to the newly unveiled Pico Neo CV.
The Pico Neo CV is packing two 1.5k displays at 90Hz, built-in speakers with an AM3D spatial rendering engine, and more. But the real hook here is its untethered design.
With the Pico Neo CV, users have a full 6DOF (degrees of freedom) with complete positional tracking and no tether to a cell phone, PC, or video game console. “Our talented Pico Technology team designed the Pico Neo CV with a consumer-first approach so that users can simply put it on and go without being tied to a computer, console or mobile phone,” said Pico’s VP of business development Paul Viglienzone in a prepared statement. “As the premiere global center of innovation and technology, CES is the perfect place for us to debut the Pico Neo CV, as well as showcase our entire suite of Pico VR products, as the breakthrough headset prepares for launch in 2017.”
Untethered headsets are all the rage now, on the heels of Facebook’s Santa Cruz prototype, the wireless Vive accessory from TPCast, and Intel’s Project Alloy. At CES 2017, Pico will showcase their tracking kit and the Pico Neo DK along with the new CV. Visitors to their booth can get hands-on with the CV and see demos for the DK in action. The CV is a sleek looking headset that looks like a blend of Daydream’s visual unit and PS VR’s headstrap.
The Pico Neo CV is expected to launch this year. Stay tuned to UploadVR for more reveals throughout the end of the week, including our hands-on impressions.
