The rush to grab a piece of the virtual reality market continues to heat up, with the latest entry into the field being Japanese electronics brand Canon.
Unveiled without much hype during this week's Canon Expo in New York, Canon showed off a VR device that looks something like a futuristic version of an old school View-Master or the periscope on a next-gen stealth submarine.
[seealso slug="nokia-virtual-reality-camera"]
Square with rounded edges and two downward pointing handles, the device allows the user to look into a VR display. On the other side, onlookers see an LED-framed square, indicating that the device is in operation.
Tried Canon Prototype #VR HMD 2.5K per eye at 120 deg FOV. Very clear image, 3 glass elements per eye! #canonexpony pic.twitter.com/fotxLOIehj— Brad Herman (@brad3d) September 10, 2015
Canon itself hasn't posted details about the device to its website, but a few conference attendees shared what they learned. One visitor, who happens to work for Dreamworks Animation, says that the device offers dual 2560x1440 displays (for a total of 5k resolution) and 120 degrees field of view.
#canonexpony @adorama #canon gets into VR... uh, 360 degree visual experience. #VR pic.twitter.com/rshNxIlv1c— Adorama Pro (@AdoramaPro) September 10, 2015
In addition to the visual features, the device also delivers content with multi-directional sound that Canon claims (via its on-site promotional materials) will offer "a sense of orientation aligned with viewing direction."
How does #canonexpony make 360 content? Like this: pic.twitter.com/9cyXjfMbzW— Brad Herman (@brad3d) September 10, 2015
The VR viewer doesn't appear to have a commercial name just yet, and by all accounts the device is just a prototype. But Canon has dabbled with this kind of stuff before, so this isn't foreign territory for the camera giant. A few years ago, the company showed off its Mixed Reality augmented reality headset, which promised a cool AR experience, but had all the looks of something not quite ready for the mass market.
On the other hand, this new VR tool looks, at least aesthetically, like something that could be a retail product in the near future. However, Canon hasn't offered any pricing or release details so, for now, this may just be another cool prototype to drool over.