Virtual reality can be amazing and exciting, but many people complain that at the same time users are isolated from the world and surroundings. A new tool called ViewR is designed to change this, which was presented by a small team from Austria.
Observers don’t usually have the opportunity to see what the user sees in the VR headset. But now ViewR creates a window into this world of virtual reality so that friends can also watch what is happening. ViewR makes it possible to stream content with tracking the position of the viewer.
The tool is available as a Unity software development kit (SDK) with a simple application development interface that developers can integrate into their VR games just for free. Besides, gamers can launch the installer themselves. The Austrian team has implemented ViewR into three popular VR games as a test: Superhot VR, Beat Saber and Budget Cuts.
Instead of streaming to a virtual image monitor from a player’s position, which is possible with the help of some other programs, ViewR allows you to observe what is happening from the viewer’s position and get a clearer picture. The observer can simply connect to the computer through the application and use his phone or another mobile device as a camera to monitor the actions of the owner of a virtual reality helmet. In essence, ViewR opens a portal that allows other attendees (not VR users) to experience the size, scale, and status of things in the virtual world.
The company also sees potential in its technology for use in various business scenarios.
ViewR consists of two parts that communicate with each other: a mobile viewer and a PC host that actually plays the VR game. The computer transmits a streaming image of the virtual world depending on the position of the mobile device, and the mobile application displays it on its screen.
ViewR can even work on low-power devices, because it broadcasts the game from the host, and does not play the mobile version of the gameplay for viewers, as some other systems do. This is the only application that can interact with a variety of programs, making it a universal solution for sharing the virtual reality experience.
You can download ViewR for free today, which includes the PC installer and an app that supports Android 4.4 (KitKat) devices or higher; those devices are capable of calculating positional tracking on their own, although older phones will require the use of a Vive Tracker to play.