HP has a second VR headset in the pipeline, for Spring 2021, the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept, with eye tracking, heart rate, pupillometry, and face camera to create more engaging VR experiences.

As the media and entertainment industry moves towards Virtual Production, high-resolution headsets are in great demand to allow filmmakers to follow the same path that the creators of The Lion King did. We recently revealed some more details of the upcoming HP Reverb G2 Virtual Reality headset, and now HP has confirmed the rumors and revealed its next step in terms of VR: the HP Omnicept Solution.

The HP Omnicept Solution, brings the world’s most intelligent VR headset and a developer focused SDK into a single platform, equipping VR software developers with an ecosystem to create new hyper-personalized, engaging, and adaptive VR experiences for enterprises. The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition VR headset enables real-time human insights that improve training and education outcomes as well as enhance collaboration and design.

While the new headset is not something you will see applied to the creation of films right out of the bat, it is not hard to understand where the technology will take us. As the so called “experiences “ – which can be anything from a VR recreation of  the TV series Westworld to some of the recent titles introduced at Venice VR Expanded – grow in sophistication and offer another way to tell stories, the need for high-resolution VR headsets that can offer developers ways to see each little detail in the work produced is paramount.

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The HP Reverb G2, which will be available in November, sets the new standard for PCVR, and is eagerly waited for its key features and high-resolution “screen” of 4320 x 2160 pixels, ideal for those consumers who do not want to compromise, and any professionals who need the best VR viewing screen the market can offer,,, at an affordable price. The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition VR headset, with its extra features, points to the next step towards the future.

Eye tracking, heart rate, pupillometry and face camera

With it, HP says, “developers can now design applications that adapt to each user and take VR experiences to the next level”. The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition VR headset enables real-time human insights that improve training and education outcomes as well as enhance collaboration and design. Yes, we will see the concept being used across different industries, but HP aims for more, much more. The third VR headset from HP, based on a solution developed in cooperation with Microsoft and Valve, confirms, for now, that the company is looking at Virtual Reality as a key technology for the future, and not just as a solution to hang out with your friends in virtual worlds.

“We’ve designed a powerful, adaptive VR solution to dramatically accelerate the use cases for VR, its potential to transform society, and the way we interact with technology,” said Jim Nottingham, general manager and global head, Advanced Compute and Solutions, HP Inc. “The HP Omnicept Solution will open new possibilities for VR development and its impact on enterprise training, remote education, collaboration, research and development, and specialized wellbeing. This type of data-driven approach will be fundamental to creating user-centric experiences for better VR in the future.”

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The world’s most intelligent VR headset, as HP calls it, features a state-of-the-art sensor system able to capture physiological responses for a unique user-centric experience. It may sound a bit like science-fiction, but it’s not: it’s real and the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition is expected to be available in Spring 2021. Sensors on the headset, including eye tracking, heart rate, pupillometry, and face camera, enable the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition to capture physiological responses.

The VR landscape evolves to keep pace with how people interact with technology and the world around them to stay and feel connected. Facial expression and body language account for up to 50% of effective communication and with 25% – 30% of the workforce projected to be working from home in 2021, new immersive tools are required for better remote collaboration in design and development workflows. HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition and the Omnicept SDK are designed, says HP, “to curate more human and personal experiences with technology. Since pre-Covid, there has been a 35% increase in the use of tech in training4 and VR is proven to significantly increase retention rates for learning and training. The HP Omnicept Solution is transforming how developers drive change and increase efficiency in enterprises by adding data for more insightful analysis.”

A VR headset compliant with GDPR

With the background of Facebook’s recent announcement that adopters of its Oculus Quest 2 must have a Facebook account, HP announces that the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition is built with a highly secure pipeline for protecting end-user privacy. The headset’s firmware safeguards the sensor data at every moment of capture and no data is stored in the headset. HP Omnicept-powered applications, HP adds, “help ensure the capture and transfer of data comply with general data protection regulation (GDPR) requirements and keep user data confidential.”

A VR headset designed for human centered VR experiences, the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition may be created with training in mind, but its compatibility with platforms as Steam suggests it can be used beyond that. Nothing stops creators from using the sensors included to detect the user reaction to an “experience” and adapt the narrative accordingly. After all, that’s what HP intends to do with the system when applied to training. Here is some more info, directly from HP, regarding the HP Omnicept Solution:

Personalized experiences based on analytics and actionable insights increase retention rates for training and learning and improve wellbeing. Sensors on the headset, including eye tracking, heart rate, pupillometry, and face camera, enable the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition to capture physiological responses. The integrated Omnicept SDK, powered by advanced machine learning algorithms, then interprets the data and allows developers to create a user-centric VR experience that provides actionable insights into how end users engage and respond during the experience.

With this end-to-end intelligent platform, experiences built by product designers and developers for training, design, wellness, and research become data-driven, adapting to users in real-time via objective metrics vs. subjective feedback. HP Reverb Omnicept Editions features include:

• Reverb G2 DNA: Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition builds on the foundation of the Reverb G2, the highest resolution VR headset among major vendors5, delivering cutting-edge optics, inside-out tracking, spatial 3D audio, and improved controllers with natural gestures.
• Eye Motion and Gaze: Understand how the user is responding to content based on their focus area and understanding engagement levels, based on where they instinctively look.
• Facial Expression: Enables naturally expressive avatars while collaborating around 3D designs for more natural and engaging conversations, helping enable faster and more efficient outcomes in a cross-functional development processes.
• Heart Rate: Understand how a user is responding to an experience or training, based on their heart rate. For example, practitioners can adapt wellness treatments in VR-based on their specific client’s reactions.
• Foveated Rendering: With integrated eye tracking, this HMD is able to discern the user’s gaze direction, enabling a reduction in GPU load and improved image quality within the user’s foveal region, enhancing VR realism.

The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition is expected to be available in Spring 2021. Pricing will be shared closer to product availability. The HP Omnicept SDK is expected to be available in Spring 2021 and will include a flexible business model. To view options and learn more, visit developers.hp.com/xr.