HTC has announced that it will send a modified zero-gravity version of its Vive Focus 3 virtual reality headset to the International Space Station on November 7 as part of a NASA resupply operation.
Danish astronaut Andreas Mogensen tests the functionality of the Vive Focus 3 during a six-month mission as space station commander.
NASA hopes to alleviate the psychological stress associated with the lack of privacy, heavy and variable workloads, and separation from loved ones while working in space.
HTC has teamed up with virtual reality therapy company XRHealth and aerospace research and development company Nord Space to work on Brain Balancing Virtual Assist software to meet the unique needs of astronauts.
This partnership is part of an ongoing effort to improve astronauts' mental health during long-duration missions to the space station.
HTC expects that the improved Vive Focus 3 headset will not disorient astronauts or miss lunch, unlike previous attempts to use VR in space, where orientation can change due to a lack of gravity to give the headset a frame of reference to recognize. Synchronized with the wearer's movements.
“Astronauts are testing the same Vive Focus 3 glasses on Earth, with some software changes and some necessary power management tweaks,” HTC said. HTC noted that astronauts are often isolated in space for months or even years.
The goggles are equipped with unique programming specifically designed to address the mental health needs of astronauts and feature new camera tracking technology specifically designed and modified to work in zero-gravity environments, including eye-tracking sensors to better assess astronauts' mental health.
These sensors are integrated with software designed to maintain mental health on the road. The company solved the problem of spatial orientation through software by linking its tracking algorithm to one of the fixed controllers that track the glasses' camera and proximity sensors, giving the Vive Focus 3 the relative position it needs to adapt to its desired movement. Movement of the wearer.