In Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality News
November 27, 2023 – Varjo, a provider of industrial-grade virtual reality (VR) and mixed reality (MR) solutions, has today announced the debut of its next generation XR-4 series headsets with the launch of the XR-4, XR-4 Focal Edition and XR-4 Secure Edition headsets. The company stated that the launch of the new headsets will “advance the state of the art in highest-fidelity virtual and mixed reality.”
Through the fusion of its highest-resolution displays, foveated capture stream, advanced LiDAR depth sensing and camera sensors, all of which mimic the function of the human eye, the Varjo XR-4 series offers virtual and mixed reality experiences practically indistinguishable from natural sight, according to the company.
Varjo noted that its 4th generation headsets are designed to deliver deeply immersive VR/XR experiences that go far beyond consumer-grade headsets that only cater to 2D productivity use cases, so as to be able to provide for industrial customers who require top visual fidelity and performance.
According to the company, over 25% of Fortune 100 companies are using Varjo’s technology for a variety of use cases, including to train astronauts and pilots, radically shorten automotive production timelines, power medical breakthroughs, and render 3D visualizations for architects and designers.
Powered by NVIDIA GPUs and integrated into NVIDIA Omniverse, the XR-4 series allows developers and industrial users to render photorealistic scenes and unlock ray tracing in mixed reality. Varjo stated that these combined technologies far surpass the computational power that can be achieved with a mobile chip and offer a game-changing solution for developers.
Plus, a Varjo-ready software ecosystem of over 100 third-party PC applications and 3D engines, including Unreal Engine and Unity, integrates the XR-4 series into demanding workflows across training and simulation, design and engineering, healthcare and more.
“As we enter a period of rapid expansion in mixed reality adoption, we’re proud to drive the industry forward by bridging the gap between human vision and computer vision with our new XR-4 series,” said Patrick Wyatt, Chief Product Officer of Varjo. “For the past five years, Varjo customers have demonstrated that true innovation happens when the most advanced computing power meets the highest-immersion XR in the hands of industrial users, and we can’t wait to see the applications unlocked by the XR-4 series’ technological breakthroughs.”
Varjo also stated that it is the first VR/XR company to bring the gaze-directed autofocus mixed reality pass-through feature to market, which involves the use of autofocus cameras that mimic the behavior of the human eye. Key features of the XR-4 series include:
- Dual 4K x 4K displays with a resolution of 51 pixels per degree (ppd) and over 50% wider field of view (120° x 105°) compared to previous-generation devices, with double the display brightness (200 nits) and wider color gamut with 96% DCI-P3;
- Dual 20 Mpx cameras for powering the device’s high-fidelity, real-time photorealistic video pass-through mixed reality;
- New ambient light sensors and 8 x improved LiDAR resolution compared to Varjo XR-3 that seamlessly blends real and virtual elements;
- Built-in DTS 3D spatial audio with noise-canceling mics and integrated speakers for collaborative use cases;
- Inside-out tracking and in-box Varjo Controllers, powered by Razer, providing precise interactions with high tactile immersion, and reducing setup complexity and cost;
- Powered by NVIDIA RTX Ada Generation GPUs and integrated into NVIDIA Omniverse, the platform for connecting complex 3D pipelines and developing applications based on OpenUSD;
- Optimized for seamless cloud streaming, sharing and collaboration in Varjo Reality Cloud to streamline immersive 3D workflows across organizations.
XR-4 Focal Edition
The XR-4 Focal Edition has all the features of the XR-4 but also offers gaze-directed autofocus cameras and further optimized camera resolution for pilot training and other cockpit-based use cases.
XR-4 Secure Edition
To meet the needs of government and defense customers, Varjo’s XR-4 Secure Edition headset adheres to all government and enterprise-level security requirements, according to the company. Both the XR-4 and XR-4 Focal Edition offer versions of the headsets that can go completely offline, are TAA compliant, non-RF and assembled in Finland. Varjo has also expanded its secure manufacturing capabilities with a new facility in Espoo, Finland where a dedicated manufacturing line for the XR-4 Secure Edition will be operational in December.
The XR-4 series pricing starts at EUR €3,990 / USD $3,990. The new headsets are available for enterprise orders immediately, with first shipments starting in December. The Varjo XR-4 Focal Edition headset is also available to demo for the first time this week at I/ITSEC, the world’s largest training, simulation and modeling event.
To learn more about Varjo and its new XR-4 line of virtual/mixed reality line of headsets, please visit the company’s website.
Image credit: Varjo
About the author
Sam Sprigg
Sam is the Founder and Managing Editor of Auganix. With a background in research and report writing, he has been covering XR industry news for the past seven years.
