Google has detailed a handful of features its team is toying around with for its Daydream VR platform that developers might be interested in, including experimental 6 degrees of freedom (6DoF) tracking for the Mirage Solo.
6DoF tracking isn’t a groundbreaking VR development on its own, but, as Google notes on its developer blog, the tech has typically been limited only to PC-based VR while the Mirage Solo is notably a standalone headset.
The company is adding APIs to the Mirage Solo that allows for 6DoF controller tracking, and has created its own set of experimental controllers to give devs a way to test out and create VR experiences to accompany the tech.
Ideally, this would mean that the Mirage Solo will eventually be able to offer accurate and self-contained positional tracking without the need for external cameras or sensors positioned throughout a room.
U.S.-based developers can apply for an experimental 6DoF dev kit to try out the tech for themselves on Google’s developer portal.
Google is also working on a way to open up the Mirage Solo to augmented reality through a WorldSense-powered “see-through mode” that would use the headset’s tracking cameras to let someone see the world around them while wearing the headset. With that, virtual objects could then be placed and interacted with in a real-world environment, similar to AR apps for mobile phone cameras and AR-dedicated headsets like the Magic Leap One.
A full write-up and a handful of gifs on these and a few other experimental features Google currently has in the works can be found on the Google Developer Blog.