This week, we’re monitoring vital strategic shifts within the VR {hardware} market as firms refine their focus. We’re additionally highlighting thrilling new collaborations pushing the boundaries of LiDAR, delving into promising improvements set to remodel how we work together with digital worlds.
Varjo Pulls the Plug on Gen 3 Headsets
After HoloLens introduced its end-of-life interval, Varjo revealed that it’s going to finish normal assist for its third-generation headsets, which embrace the Varjo XR-3, Varjo VR-3, and Varjo Aero. This discontinuation will take impact on January 1, 2026, permitting Varjo to focus on growing future {hardware}.
The agency acknowledged:
As of January 1, 2026, normal assist for third-generation Varjo headsets will come to an finish. This transformation permits us to focus totally on supporting and advancing the newest technology of Varjo gadgets: the XR-4 Collection.
The gadgets listed will operate usually till the tip of 2025. Nonetheless, starting in 2026, customers of the Varjo XR-3, VR-3, and Aero will not obtain updates for Varjo Base, together with each useful and safety updates.
Moreover, Varjo has acknowledged that it can’t assure compatibility with future variations of Home windows working methods, the SteamVR monitoring runtime, NVIDIA GPU drivers, recreation engines, Varjo-compatible software program, or third-party monitoring methods.
Varjo may even discontinue buyer and developer assist for its vary of Gen 3 gadgets. Nonetheless, headset homeowners have the choice to buy a “Varjo Prolonged Compatibility Package deal.” This bundle will guarantee compatibility with SteamVR, NVIDIA drivers, and present main variations of Home windows, and it’ll present essential safety patches till January 1, 2028.
SolidVue and Lumotive Be a part of Forces to Revolutionise LiDAR Expertise
Not too long ago, South Korean LiDAR sensor innovator SolidVue introduced a strategic collaboration with the U.S.-based firm Lumotive. This partnership goals to mix the applied sciences of each corporations to advance the following evolution of LiDAR scanning methods.
The collaboration merges SolidVue’s superior dTOF SPAD array receiver expertise with Lumotive’s revolutionary Mild Management Metasurface beamforming chip. This integration produces a system that gives excessive decision, precision, and effectivity in LiDAR modules, catering to a variety of industries.
Jung-Hoon Chun, Co-CEO of SolidVue, added:
By combining our superior SPAD receiver expertise with Lumotive’s cutting-edge beam steering chips, we intention to push the boundaries of what LiDAR methods can obtain. This collaboration is a vital step towards realizing our mission of delivering high-resolution, dependable LiDAR sensor ICs to the worldwide market.
EyeView360 Positive aspects €150,000
Lancaster College’s College of Computing and Communications within the UK is growing EyeView360, an interplay methodology for VR headsets that leverages eye motion as an alternative of head or physique rotation.
EyeView360 has been awarded €150,000 by a Proof of Idea grant from the European Analysis Council (ERC). This builds upon earlier ERC-funded analysis, which investigated how eye actions can improve human-computer interplay.
This method eliminates the necessity for exaggerated head and physique actions and reduces the dependence on further controllers. Mission Lead Professor Hans Gellersen defined:
It is a very thrilling venture for us, because it applies my staff’s basic analysis on eye motion to a really sensible drawback, of enabling customers to go searching a digital atmosphere whereas sitting comfortably. It applies our analysis on eye motion to a really sensible drawback, enabling customers to discover digital environments with out extreme effort.
