A first look at FOVE, the world’s first eye-tracking VR headset
If you’ve been following the VR world then you probably know what FOVE if, if you haven’t here’s a quick introduction. FOVE is the first eye-tracking VR headset, which means that you can interact with VR content using your eyes. The company had an incredibly successful Kickstarter campaign, they originally set out to raise $250,000 and ended-up raising close to $500,000.
Until VRDC there wasn’t an easy way to try out the FOVE since they haven’t even started shipping yet, which means we were one of the lucky people to see what eye-tracking in VR is like. Before we dive into our review we’ll give a little disclaimer. On VRToast we are always going to be brutally honest, but this honesty shouldn’t be confused with negativity, feedback and criticism are a good thing. We hope that you, our reader, appreciates this honesty, we’ll always tell you what we think even if our point of view isn’t a popular one. That’s just one of the many things that makes VRToast different from your run of the mill VR blog.
So let’s dive in, we’ll start with the physical construction of the FOVE.
Physical Construction
From a distance the FOVE looks pretty slick, available in gloss black and gloss white, both look pretty badass. The white FOVE almost looks like something that Apple would make. The headset is relatively light so doesn’t feel like you’re wearing heavy gear on your head.
Once you put on the FOVE and start to dive deeper into the construction, we’ll be honest (like we said we would be!) it feels a little cheap. From the moment you put them on you can just tell you’re not dealing with the same construction quality you’re likely used to if you own an HTC Vive or Oculus Rift.
The biggest issue we had was with the foam inserts that can velcro in and out of the eyepiece. The foam feels cheap and scratchy and it’s very hard to get it in a comfortable position. I fussed around with it for a little bit but in order for the system to calibrate to my eyes the foam had to go so far down my nose that it clamped it shut. I asked the guy giving the demo if it was normal for this to happen and he said it can happen and does take some time trying different foam inserts to really get the one that first you.
I’m sure if I spent some time trying different inserts I’d likely find one that was a better fit. That being said, it did make the demo a lot less enjoyable since my nose was pinched shut and I had to breathe through my mouth. In the end it just felt like a lower-quality HMD with a foam attachment that is definitely going to make it hard to share with a friend without going through quite a bit of trial and error. I’m fine having my nose clamped shut for a five minute demo but I’d be less thrilled if I had to do this for an hour.
Eye Calibration
To use FOVE you need to first run through a software calibration process to calibrate your eyes to the HMD. This requires you to wear the FOVE HMD much lower on your face than you would with the Oculus or Vive, I’ve never worn a HMD so low, this is why my nose was clamped shut but it was a necessary evil in order to get calibrated.
The calibration works as you’d likely imagine it to, you look in different directions until the system has a lock on your eyes. I was actually surprised at how quickly the system was able to calibrate, I’d say the whole process took around 20 seconds.
The Experience
After the calibration I went right into a demo where I was able to instantly use depth of field in VR. Let me be the first (okay probably not the first) to say this is awesome. Seriously, it takes the whole experience to a new level when you see the background blur as you focus on an object in front of you. Yes, this is how your eyes work in real life which absolutely makes the VR experience a lot more real.
Of course this isn’t the first thing most people think of when they think of eye control. Like most of you, I thought that eye control meant using my eyes to shoot out laser beams out of my (don’t worry you can still do that) but depth of field is a killer feature and IMHO a game-changer for VR experiences.
Making a VR experience true-to-life means a lot of things, it means a high enough frame rate to avoid lost frames when you turn your head. It also means walking like a human if you’re a human, seeing your hands, seeing you legs, all the little things that you would normally expect in your normal life, simulated through VR. Depth of field should be on this list because this single feature brings us a giant step forward when it comes to simulating how we as humans experience the world.
Of course, I did get the chance to blast some alien space shuttles using my eyes which was incredibly cool and I felt a bit like a super hero. There are a TON of ways to leverage the eye control within games and VR experiences and I think it’s safe to say we’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg right now.
The Final Say
So let’s put all of this together. I wasn’t blown away by the construction quality of the FOVE, it definitely feels like a cheaper product than the Rift or the Vive. The foam padding that attaches with velcro to the HMD is a less-than-ideal solution, cool idea, but doesn’t feel like it’s ready for prime time and I wouldn’t be surprised if this gets removed from future versions of the FOVE.
All that being said, eye control is a real thing, it’s not a silly feature that’s going the way of the dodo, I see it as being an important part of the VR experience and something that absolutely makes the VR experience more real. Hats off to FOVE for daring to be first, sure the hardware experience isn’t perfect, but the software is there and it gives us an early look at what is likely going to be a standard part of virtual reality. The big question is, will Oculus and HTC incorporate this into their system soonish or will FOVE lead the market when it comes to eye tracking. Only time will tell but for now FOVE is in the lead and first to market.
Image Sources — Notey.com, RoadToVR.com
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