Oculus founder Palmer Luckey modified an Oculus Go VR headset to improve the weight distribution, increase the battery life, and allow for battery swapping. He also painted over its “mainstream-friendly gray” with matte black. He posted a list of instructions for this modification on his personal blog.
Why paint it black? Luckey explained that this was mainly for the facial interface, so that less light would reflect off it. He claims that it reduces the “god rays”- internal reflections seen as artefacts on the image in VR. Oculus Go’s new lenses already have greatly reduced god rays compared to the Oculus Rift, so we’re very curious to see them with a black facial interface. Luckey even replaced the clips around the lenses with lower profile versions, as the old ones stuck out slightly and could reflect some light.
The next major feature of Oculus GoBlack is is improved weight & the distribution of that weight, achieved by replacing the battery and cooling system. The Oculus Go normally weighs just over 400g. Luckey claims that his modifications have gotten it down to 280g, and said that it feels to him like a 50% reduction.
Palmer removed the original 2600mAh battery built into the Go and replaced it with a bigger 3500mAh cell attached to the top strap. The new battery connects to the top of the headset by a wire with a magnetic pogo-pin connector. Not only does this remove weight from the frontbox, but it also allows for swapping the battery to eliminate the need to wait for recharging.
He also removed the existing passive cooling heatpipe of the Go and replaced it with a much shorter and lighter one connected to aluminium fins which are cooled by a small fan. The fan is apparently so effective that Luckey was able to replace the heavy aluminium frontplate of the headset with a light tinted plastic, saving even more weight.
Palmer claims that while the original Go is the best standalone VR on the market, it’s “the result of a series of compromises around cost, schedule, quality, and competence”.
Palmer isn’t the only major figure in VR to criticize the ergonomics of Go. At Oculus Connect 5 during his keynote, Carmack expressed frustration at the Go’s ergonomics. Carmack even made his own modifications to his Go which he posted on Twitter, stating that VR headsets “can and should get much smaller and lighter”.
Tagged with: Oculus Go, palmer luckey
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