Four 4K displays and 220-degree field of view, Hypervision demonstrates compact VR research prototype

The technical development of VR headsets has shown an asymmetrical picture for years. While display resolutions have continuously increased, the field of view of most market-ready devices has remained largely unchanged. Conventional VR headsets continue to operate in the range of around 100 degrees horizontally and vertically. Solutions with a significantly larger field of view do exist, but are generally associated with greater weight, larger volume and limited suitability for everyday use.

Hypervision, which was founded in 2020, takes a different approach. The focus is on optical lens systems that are designed to enable a very large field of vision without disproportionately increasing the size of VR glasses. At the UnitedXR Europe trade fair, Hypervision presented several reference designs that are aimed specifically at manufacturers of VR systems and address different market segments.

Ultraslim 220, optical reference design with an extreme field of view

The most technically ambitious system is called Ultraslim 220, a pure research prototype that is intended to achieve a distortion-free horizontal field of view of 220 degrees and a vertical field of view of 94 degrees. According to the company, this field of vision is achieved by a combination of two 4K OLED microdisplays per eye and two pancake lenses that cover the central and peripheral images separately.

The lens elements are connected to each other in the front area. Due to the design, there is a seam at the transition point, which is only slightly perceptible when looking directly through the lens. Observations on site indicate that a narrow area of reduced sharpness remains visible when the head is moved. Hypervision assumes that this effect can be reduced by further optimizing the optical tuning.

By using two high-resolution displays per eye, the system achieves a pixel density of around 48 pixels per degree, according to the manufacturer. This value is significantly higher than what is currently common in commercial VR glasses with a large field of view. What is new compared to previous prototypes is the use of OLED microdisplays instead of LCD panels. These are smaller, require greater optical magnification, but allow for a more compact housing overall.

The proximity of the lenses to the eyes is very high due to the design. As a result, the lenses can touch the eyelashes of some users and the use of corrective lenses becomes necessary. With this concept, the peripheral image is primarily used to increase the feeling of presence and not for a detailed display. Nevertheless, the immersion effect is significantly increased by the strong expansion of the field of vision.

With estimated manufacturing costs of around 10,000 US dollars, Ultraslim 220 is not intended for the consumer market. Hypervision even assigns this reference design to industrial, scientific and military applications.

PanoVR1, wide field of view for the consumer market

The second solution presented by Hypervision was the PanoVR1 reference design, which is based on a much simpler optical architecture. The horizontal field of view is around 160 degrees, while the vertical field of view of around 120 degrees is larger than that of most current VR headsets. Pancake lenses are also used here, but in conjunction with classic LCD displays.

2.7K LCD panels from TCL are used, which achieve a pixel density of around 28 pixels per degree according to the manufacturer. Local dimming technology is intended to achieve improved black levels that come close to the contrast behavior of OLED displays. Due to the larger panels, the optical module is less compact than with the Ultraslim approach, but remains within a realistic range for end devices.

According to Hypervision, a headset based on PanoVR1 would offer advantages over current standalone devices such as the Meta Quest 3 in terms of field of view, resolution and contrast. The company is currently working with several industry partners to prepare for mass production. This work should be completed in the coming year.

Outlook for first products

The first commercial product with hypervision technology has already been announced. The French company Lynx is planning to launch a successor to the Lynx R-1 mixed reality headset in January. According to the manufacturer, this device will have a particularly large field of vision. According to Hypervision, however, a different lens system is used than in PanoVR1. The reduced field of vision is sufficient, as the device is designed for mixed reality applications with open peripheral perception.

Conclusion

The reference designs presented by Hypervision show that very large fields of view do not necessarily have to go hand in hand with massive and heavy VR headsets. While Ultraslim 220 primarily serves as a technological outlook for special applications, PanoVR1 could represent a realistic basis for future consumer products. Whether and when such devices will appear in series production depends largely on production costs, industrial scalability and integration into market-ready headsets.