The PICO VR all-in-one machine PICO 4 Pro was officially launched today, with prices starting at 3,799 yuan ($550). As the first consumer-grade VR product in China that supports both eye-tracking and face-tracking technologies, PICO 4 Pro can realize functions such as intelligent step-less interpupillary distance adjustment, real-life expression simulation, gaze interaction, and gaze-tracking rendering. In addition, compared with the PICO 4 launched last year, this product is also equipped with a larger storage space and a larger battery capacity.
According to the source, as an upgraded version of the PICO 4 series, PICO 4 Pro can capture changes in eye and facial movements at high speed by adding 2 eye-tracking infrared cameras and 1 face-tracking infrared camera on the inside of the headset. Combined with different algorithm schemes, two new technologies of eye-tracking and face-tracking are realized, bringing users functions such as real-life expression simulation, intelligent step-less interpupillary distance adjustment, gaze interaction, and gaze-tracking rendering.
Real-person expression simulation is to map the user’s real expression to the VR virtual image. For example, when the user blinks, smiles, or speaks, the Avatar in the virtual world will also make corresponding expressions or mouth shapes simultaneously. With the blessing of this function, when users communicate with friends in the VR world, they can perceive each other’s emotions through expressions, so as to obtain a more realistic interactive experience.
Intelligent step-less interpupillary distance adjustment, that is, PICO 4 Pro can intelligently record the user’s interpupillary distance and complete the adjustment quickly. In addition, it can memorize the interpupillary distance of multiple people, so that family members can quickly enter the VR world when sharing the device without repeated detection. It is reported that PICO 4 Pro is also the first consumer VR all-in-one machine in China to realize this function.
In addition, eye-gaze interaction and eye-tracking rendering capabilities are also achieved through eye-tracking technology. At present, through PICO’s self-developed multi-point calibration scheme, the eye-tracking accuracy and precision of PICO 4 Pro are on average within 2° and 0.5° respectively. Thanks to its precise and stable gaze tracking capabilities, PICO 4 Pro also has an excellent performance in gaze interaction and foveated rendering.
For example, the user can select the target through the “line of sight”, complete the “shooting” task, and experience the new gameplay of sight interaction. Foveated rendering can reduce GPU load. According to PICO official laboratory test data, eye-tracking rendering can increase the frame rate by 20-25 frames and reduce GPU load by 5%, helping developers to allocate device computing more reasonably. force.
PICO 4 Pro adopts a front-to-back balance design, which makes it more comfortable to wear evenly under force; while reducing the size of the headset through the Pancake optical solution, it is also equipped with binocular 4K + resolution and a 105-degree large field of view. At the same time, in terms of memory and battery capacity, PICO 4 Pro has also been upgraded. Its storage space has been increased to 512GB, which is twice that of PICO 4. The memory specification has also been upgraded from LPDDR4x to LPDDR5, and the battery capacity has been increased to 6070mAh.
Along with the technology upgrade, PICO 4 Pro also has a built-in “PICO Avatar Editor 2.0” that adapts to the new technology of eye tracking and face tracking, and three applications “Light World”, “Dreamland” and “Jigsaw Parade” have been launched. The former can be upgraded by connecting to the Internet, while the latter requires users to log in to the PICO app store for a download experience.
“PICO Avatar Editor 2.0” is based on FT technology, and has made many functional upgrades on the basis of the previous generation of applications. The new version of Avatar Editor has a total of 24 items and more than 500 materials, covering hairstyles, faces, makeup, clothing, and other dimensions, fully meeting users’ personalized customization needs for avatars. Combining facial tracking technology, “Light World” can also realize face pinching and expression interaction. For example, through the function of looking in the mirror, users can record their expressions at any time, and can also interact with other players in a 3D world.
“Dreamland” uses eye tracking to realize the unique gameplay of eye interaction. For example, the elf in the game can follow the change of the user’s sight to change the flight trajectory, and the breaking point of the cage will also avoid the pursuit of eyes.
In addition, applications such as “Red Matter 2” which has been launched will be adapted to ETFR (Eye Tracked Foveated Rendering) technology in the near future, and dynamic foveated rendering will be realized through eye tracking, further optimizing the quality performance and bringing users Come to a more natural and realistic visual experience.
In the future, ET / FT-related technologies will be open to developers through system SDK and other forms. When developing applications, developers can directly use the corresponding system assets and interactive capabilities of this technology, thereby reducing development and design costs, which also helps to create more new entertainment possibilities for users.
In terms of price, the PICO 4 Pro 8GB+512GB version is priced at 3,799 yuan ($550), and the 8GB+512GB JD.com courtesy version set is priced at 3,999 yuan ($580). In terms of content ecological construction, as of now, the PICO app store has launched more than 360 apps.
On April 17, the developer version of the PICO motion tracker was officially launched on the PICO official store. On April 20th, PICO’s self-developed rhythm music game “Flash Rhythm” adapted to the motion tracker was officially launched. Users can dance and dance in the VR world, and burn fat in fun. At the same time, the game also launched the UGC function, and users can DIY charts according to their own preferences and record mixed reality (MRC) videos.
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