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Vive Pro AR Questions


Blueteak

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Hello all, just a few questions on the AR systems with the Vive Pro.

 

1) Is there any way to increase the resolution of the display cameras using the Unity Plugin? They resolution seems quite low, and while I'm not sure what the performance overhead is, the pixelated artifacts coming in can significantly affect the sense of immersion when contrasted with crisp 3D rendered lines.

 

2) Similar to the question above, is it possible to disable auto-focus on the cameras? It works fine when looking at a desk in front of you, but the auto-focus definitely hurts if you are looking into a more open space (which I think is where most of the content will take place).

 

3) I can only increase the update rate up to 60hz, which doesn't match the update rate of the 3D content, leading to a percieved mismatch between camrea and headset tracking (and since we're still using Lighthouse tracking I know it's not actually the case that the tracking is incorrect). The camera mesh catching up to the headset when the 3D model is in the correct location makes it look like there is a problem with the 3D tracking (since it's a smaller portion of my field of view) instead of a problem with the camera rate.

 

4) Using Unity 2017.3.0f3, the editor crashes when exiting Play Mode in the sample scene of the Unity Package

 

- Jonathan

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Hi Jonathan:

 

responses below re: the SR system of the Vive Pro

 

1) Is there any way to increase the resolution of the display cameras using the Unity Plugin? They resolution seems quite low, and while I'm not sure what the performance overhead is, the pixelated artifacts coming in can significantly affect the sense of immersion when contrasted with crisp 3D rendered lines.

 

No, the display cameras are 612x460 each but it's using background native services (w/CUDA calls) to minimize performance overhead. The sense of immersion isn't broken if you don't use it strictly as "AR", the contrast can be reduced with combination of lighting and screen shader effects.

 

 

2) Similar to the question above, is it possible to disable auto-focus on the cameras? It works fine when looking at a desk in front of you, but the auto-focus definitely hurts if you are looking into a more open space (which I think is where most of the content will take place).

 

Currently not from the Unity plugin (will research to see if it's at all possible).

 

3) I can only increase the update rate up to 60hz, which doesn't match the update rate of the 3D content, leading to a percieved mismatch between camrea and headset tracking (and since we're still using Lighthouse tracking I know it's not actually the case that the tracking is incorrect). The camera mesh catching up to the headset when the 3D model is in the correct location makes it look like there is a problem with the 3D tracking (since it's a smaller portion of my field of view) instead of a problem with the camera rate.

 

The latency is something that we're working on but technically not solely due to mismatch of update rate, when at 30hz-60hz, the frames are repeated to match the overall 90hz rate.

 

4) Using Unity 2017.3.0f3, the editor crashes when exiting Play Mode in the sample scene of the Unity Package 

 

Try to use the latest patch: 2017.3.0p4, I wasn't able to repro your issue with this patch (but there's stil other possible freezes when debugging the tracked camera in the inspector).

 

Dario

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Unity 2017.3.0p4 worked, no more crashes.

 

Any chance you could provide an example of a screen effect that improves the immersion of the AR screen (something like the Tron effect in SteamVR)?

 

Edit: Got the demo to work and you're definitely correct, the screen shader dramatically improves the resolution issue. I wasn't able to find the source shaders for Night Vision etc in the Unity package or folders.

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You can find the shaders at: 

Assets\ViveSR_Experience\Shaders

 

They are ultimately applied to the materials of ImagePlane (Left) and Image Plane (Right) under the corresponding Tracked Cameras under the ViveSR object in your scene. You can also apply any screen effect shader from the asset store on those planes as well. As for a specific "tron" like effect, I'll see if I can provide an example or take a look at one of many "drawing" effect shaders and adjust its parameters including the provided sketchShader.

 

-Dario

 

 

 

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 - Not sure how that's possible, I can clearly see a focus change when looking at near objects, then moving the headset to look at a far object, just the same as a cell phone camera or similar.

 

It seems like with the screen effects, the only serious issue is with the tracking rate of the camera image compared to the vive tracking system. It may be a simple issue of the image moving with the headset in incorrect amounts, but the end result is a feeling of unprecise tracking (like mobile AR). I'm not positive what can/should be done to fix the issue, but without a solution I think it will be hard to integrate into any medium/fast-paced experience.

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