Vrgineers Launches MR Headset at I/ITSEC

The US-Czech startup, Vrgineers, specializing in Virtual and Mixed Reality (VR, MR) technologies for pilot training, has teamed up with AMD and NVIDIA, graphical chip rivals, to pioneer an architecture for mixed reality simulators. Vrgineers will unveil the new MR headset, XTAL 3 CAVU, at I/ITSEC 2023 at booth #3018.

Today's mixed reality technology has been limited by the quality of image sensors and high-performance requirements. To address this challenge, Vrgineers designed a system that eliminates calculation bottlenecks and brings mixed reality technology to the forefront of the industry with its new XTAL 3 CAVU (Ceiling and Visibility Unlimited) Mixed Reality Headset.

This mixed reality system utilizes 24Mpix image sensors that are connected to Xilinx FPGA PCIe16x card (chip manufacturer acquired by AMD) via optical cables.  This “hardcoded” processor is dedicated to calculating high resolution mixed reality images in just 1 millisecond, while the direct connection with the latest NVIDIA Quadro RTX A6000 GPU bypasses the CPU, reducing overall latency to a minimum. As a result, the Quadro RTXA600 is entirely dedicated to virtual reality calculations, conserving resources and enhancing performance.

“By utilizing AMD XILINX FPGA in a combination with NVIDIA Quadro card, we found a way to provide so much needed performance boost for mixed reality, which is far above of two fastest graphical cards, with much lower latency as well as power consumption,” explains Marek Polcak, Vrgineers CEO & co-founder.

The XTAL 3 CAVU design is crafted from precision-engineered carbon, showcasing a balance of strength, lightweight characteristics, and durability. It can be used for applications in high-performance industries such as pilot training. This design ensures the headset is lighter than ever before, setting new standards for both comfort and performance.

This system will be embedded in Vrgineers Mixed Reality Classroom Simulators and available for purchase in 2024 for selected partners, such as U.S. NAVY under the SBIR Phase II. For less demanding scenarios, Vrgineers is also offering an improved version of XTAL 3 NEO Mixed Reality Headset.

At the conference visitors can also meet Marek Polcak, the Vrgineers CEO. His speech will be dedicated to "Optimal Virtual and Mixed Reality Resolution in Pilot Training", and takes place on Tuesday, November 28th, 16:30 at the Innovation Showcase (#2588).