Koping Corp. and 3001 ad Bringing Virtual Reality to Consoles

Kopin Corp., the largest U.S. manufacturer of microdisplays for mobile consumer electronics, announced June 23 that virtual reality gaming developer 3001 AD, LLC has incorporated the BDM-230K into its Trimersion virtual reality system, which for the first time will bring virtual reality gaming to the Microsoft Xbox, Sony PlayStation and PCs. 3001 AD unveiled Trimersion last month at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), the world's largest gaming exposition.

Trimersion brings full immersion and 360-degree head tracking to home gaming, and is the only system to deliver high-quality, cross-platform virtual reality for this market. The Kopin BDM-230K, a complete binocular video subsystem, delivers crisp, full-color, QVGA-quality (320 x 240 resolution) video with a virtual image equivalent to a 35-inch display viewed from a seven-foot distance.
"For years, virtual reality game systems were prohibitively expensive, available only to high-end arcades and research facilities," said 3001 AD CEO Jimmy Barker. "Kopin's plug-and-play BDM-230K subsystem lets us concentrate on developing great virtual reality environments while letting Kopin take care of video delivery. With stereo sound and Kopin video in the Trimersion, viewers will no longer be playing games: they'll be living them."


Head-tracking capability lets gamers control key elements of their virtual environments, such as point of view and player position, with an intuitive turn of the head instead of a thumb or finger command. A non-tracking version of the Trimersion is available for players who prefer a mouse or hand control. Trimersion also lets gamers wield a pistol-style input device, rather than push buttons, to shoot within the game. Thousands of gamers, analysts and businesspeople thronged to the 3001 AD booth at E3, which took the form of an oversized Trimersion virtual reality helmet.
"Virtual reality is the Holy Grail of gaming and will soon be the status quo in homes around the world, thanks in large part to the strides we've made in bringing ultra-small, ultra-high-resolution microdisplays to the mass market," said Dr. John C.C. Fan, Kopin's president and CEO. "The availability of our BDM should shorten the time to market and lower the cost for virtual reality systems, allowing them to be affordable and fun for the home. In addition to gaming applications, the BDM-230K is ideal for mobile video eyewear for watching movies and music videos, as well as photography, Web surfing, ultra-compact computing and personal communications."

"I am very pleased we have the first design-in for our BDM," said Alan Richard, Kopin's director of display marketing. "3001 AD has chosen BDM-230K for its high image quality and easy-to-use features. I expect our BDM will have many design-ins going forward for various applications."

This is Kopin's second major foray into virtual reality. Kopin's CyberDisplay microdisplays were instrumental in an unprecedented entertainment experience at the 2005 World Exposition (Expo) called "Nature Contact," an interactive mixed-reality ride that is taking 8,000 visitors per day through the virtual habitats of endangered species in the Hitachi Group's ultra-modern Expo Pavilion.


3001ad
Kopin

My Preview 7/10.... Nice system, but as Kopin and 3001 ad said, it is affordable....that it is not it will cost you $499 last time I checked