‘Pokémon GO’ Creator Is Building An AR Headset For Outdoor Exploration
Video screenshots via Niantic
Ever wanted to cross paths with a Pikachu or Charizard? For years, Pokémon GO has fulfilled the dreams of trainer wannabes who have always wanted to catch monsters and battle it out in the real world. However, the joy of the experience is often impeded by small phone screens. It’s nothing like bumping into an Onix among tufts of tall grass.
Niantic, the company behind Pokémon GO, might finally have a solution for that. At Qualcomm’s Snapdragon Summit, the augmented-reality mobile game developer unveiled an early iteration of an ‘Outdoor AR Headset’, which can transport characters and other virtual objects to places in the world around you.
The gear, described to be “powered by Qualcomm,” sports a pair of goggles that’s visibly more lightweight than most AR/VR headsets—an important attribute if you’re going to carry it around. If users were to choose, they’d pick their pocket-friendly smartphones over bulky, impossible-to-pack headsets any day.
As suggested in the demo video, the headwear doesn’t have to be synced with your smartphone. Instead, it works with a little remote control that you can use to seamlessly open maps or attack enemies.
Niantic shares that the Outdoor AR Headset, and presumably similar products, will be built in with the Lightship Visual Positioning System, which works with its dynamic 3D AR world map to conjure up content to real-world positions “with centimeter-level accuracy.”
The current design is notably sleek in front, with some of the traditional functionality shifted to the rear. The front and back are connected by a flexible band, as Yanko Design points out.
None of Niantic’s mobile games have been able to match the success of Pokémon GO, even with the introduction of a Harry Potter variation. Perhaps they can finally be embraced by the public when their worlds are brought in front of gamers’ own eyes.
Although the gadget is ready to handle gameplay, Niantic says its prototypes “will continue to evolve” over time. For now, there are no release details for the Outdoor AR Headset. Guess players will have to make do with virtual reality indoors for the time being.
[via Yanko Design and Inverse, images via Niantic]
