Jun 29, 2015 | By Alec
Despite all the exciting projects ongoing in the technical world, few are as anticipated, hyped or promising as the virtual reality revolution. From the Oculus Rift to the Samsung Gear and even the Google Cardboard, VR is hot right now and is expecting to only get hotter once these babies hit the shelves. However, its also obviously a very heated competition, as a recent release by Microsoft suggests. Despite recently settling on a partnership with Oculus Rift and while working on their own HoloLens, Microsoft developers have just released some free CAD files for users to improve their Oculus Rift headsets.
Clearly, someone over at Microsoft’s research department was very unimpressed with the lens in the Oculus Rift. ‘This lens was automatically designed by a lens design algorithm developed at Microsoft Research. It is a higher quality replacement for the stock lenses that come with the Oculus Rift Dk2 virtual reality headset,’ the release says.
In short, we are already asked to give the Oculus a bit of Microsoft touch with our own 3D printer, perhaps in a bid to emphasize technical superiority? Nonetheless, the results do seem good. This 3D printed lens offers a slightly smaller field of view than the typical stock lens, but should be sharper across the field and feature less chromatic aberrations.
Of course few people would be ready to talk about Microsoft in ‘good deed’ terms, but this lens can be freely downloaded here and 3D printed at home. Nonetheless, this also shows off another Microsoft project, as the credits reveal: ‘The lens was automatically designed by the LensFactory program developed at Microsoft Research”, the post notes. But to their credit, Microsoft only asks that you link to their research page when using these designs for yourself.
If you would like to make your Oculus Rift’s experience as realistic as possible, a good printer is always a good idea too. ‘We printed ours on an Objet Eden 260 using Vero Black material at the highest resolution setting. We haven't tested any other printer but you may have issues with hobbyist FDM printers because the thin crush ribs that hold the lens elements in place may not print properly,’ the Microsoft team advises.
If you’re splurging on VR, then might also have to do so on 3D printing, it seems. You will also need to purchase an off-the-shelf lens and components from Edmund Optics, which easily sets you back a few hundred dollars. ‘Be sure to buy the version that has visible light (VIS) antireflection coating. If you buy the version without antireflection coating the contrast of the image will be noticeably worse,’ they advise.
It’s nonetheless fantastic to see 3D printing being used as a legitimate manufacturing technology for such high-end equipment as well. Could a 3D printer be a perfect customization tool for when the Oculus hits the shelves?
Posted in 3D Printing Applications
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doesnt look that much better to me
Gad wrote at 7/2/2015 5:17:11 PM:
Only the lens housing is printed ....
orest wrote at 6/30/2015 9:32:06 AM:
Well, I do have the DK2 and I can see the pixel boundaries clearly already now. I am wondering why would anybody want to see them even sharper ? First the display resolution would need to go up substantially (~5x).
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