Varjo Releases XR-3 Focal Edition MR Headset

Finnish professional-grade VR/XR hardware and software maker Varjo (I/ITSEC booth 3010) unveiled its XR-3 Focal Edition headset, which the company says "provides superior visual quality for mixed reality implementations where real-world objects such as cockpits, car dashboards, cell phones, and kneeboards are used.” The XR-3 Focal Edition offers “the ultimate visual precision for advanced use cases where visualizing small text and illustrations on physical instruments in mixed reality is mission-critical.”

The XR-3 Focal Edition is best used for interacting with real instruments, gauges, panels, and meters in mixed-reality scenarios where the trainee is fully immersed in computer-generated content yet needs to interact with the physical world immediately adjacent to the viewer.

The headset provides dual high-resolution, 12-megapixel cameras that are calibrated to provide improved image clarity for the range of 30 cm to 80 m (12” to 31”) from the headset. Seeing crucial dials and knobs in proper focus with content close to the video sensor requires a closer focusing point. The optimized components in the mixed reality camera system change the distance of the focus so the lens brings a sharper depth of field, closer to the user.

Varjo XR-3 Focal Edition is fully TAA/BAA-compliant (the Trade Agreements Act and the Buy America Act) meaning that at least 50% of its overall manufacture cost originates from the US or designated countries and that the product has undergone substantial transformation in the US or designated countries. TAA compliance is becoming an ever-increasing requirement enabling HMD-based solutions to be used for secure and classified operations.

For customers looking for the highest level of security, the XR-3 Focal Edition can be delivered with radio frequency capability removed as required to operate in some classified environments.

“We heard from our customers the need for more precise visuals at a closer distance, specifically when looking at dashboards, cockpits, and cell phones and we responded with the XR-3 Focal Edition to address the need,” said Seppo Aaltonen, Chief Commercial Officer of Varjo.

“Our engineering team has noticed a clear difference in the ability to read instruments on the avionics panel thanks to Varjo’s all-new XR-3 Focal Edition,” said Chad Schmitz, Product Manager for Mixed Reality Flight at FlightSafety International (booth 749). “Our customers have already undergone installations with the XR-3 Focal Edition headsets and test pilots have given positive feedback on the resolution and high fidelity of the device.”

“Throughout our different US Government run programs last year, we received feedback from pilots that physical objects in helicopter cockpits close to the eyepoint were difficult to read. We brought this to Varjo’s attention and they responded immediately with prototypes that eventually led to the creation of the XR-3 Focal Edition and it provided an immediate solution,” said Javier Castellar, CSO and co-founder of Aechelon Technology (booth 1601).