We have seen several virtual headsets being announced or offered in the market, as well as some low cost plastic case devices that let you use your smartphone as the electronic and display source. Glasoo is one of the latter types that is now entering the crowdfunding stage at Indiegogo.
Glasoo is a very light version of a VR headset carrier, weighing in at only 139g (4.9 ounces). This is, of course, without the smartphone, which would add to the weight when attached. The company states that it is lighter than the Oculus Rift development headset (379g or 13.4 ounces). Looking at the iPhone 6 and the Galaxy S5 smartphones, the total weight of the working headset would indeed be just under the Oculus Rift’s weight.
When it comes to resolution and display technology it depends, of course, on the smartphone used. The headset accommodates smartphones between 4.7″ and 5.5″.
As with all virtual reality headsets, the device is capable of showing content in stereoscopic 3D.
The issue with this kind of headsets for people requiring glasses is how to adjust to the right eye – display distance. Glasoo solves this by allowing the front part to slide out. The incorporated lenses can also be adjusted by sliding and tilting to adjust for the correct inter pupillary distance.
The unit uses the smartphone accelerator sensor, which means that the performance of the headset depends heavily on the smartphone that’s being used. Since bezel size is different from phone to phone, the software running on the device needs to be specific to the model. We can only assume that Glasoo will be providing the required software to turn your smartphone into a virtual reality headset. The company also does not state which smartphone models will be supported or how the device will enable the use of a wide range of smartphone models.
Glasoo is looking to raise $20,000 in its Indiegogo campaign. The campaign will end on February 8 and offers the backers a headset for either $9 as an early bird offer or $19 afterwards. So far the start of the campaign has been somewhat slow, with only nine backers signing up in the first two days.
Glasoo has applied for five hardware patents in China covering several aspects of the VR smartphone case. The company is not the only one offering such a device, with many products already available in the market.
Glasoo is also an interesting case in the development of a new product, as it only started developing this idea into a product at the end of February 2014. This rapid development was made possible through the use of 3D printing, which seems to shorten the typical prototyping development cycle of these types of devices. The company expects to fulfill all orders from the Indiegogo campaign before the end of February 2015, which gives this product a one year time span from idea to product delivery. – Norbert Hildebrand
