NOLO leading way in comfy ergonomics
As most current virtual reality devices weigh heavily on users' faces at contact points, NOLO VR, a Chinese manufacturer of augmented reality and virtual reality devices, is taking a different path.
In September, the company partnered with a leading electric vehicle company to launch a VR device that is as small as a ring. The smart ring comes with a tiny pad that enables users to swipe and tap with virtual pointers used to enjoy in-car entertainment.
"The future development direction of terminals, including VR devices, is expected to be more lightweight, portable and interactive. Wearable VR controllers promise to be a leader in the VR sector," said Zhang Daoning, founder and CEO of NOLO VR.
Currently, most VR equipment relies on heavy headset devices and controllers, which, to many users, are not comfortable to wear for extended periods.
"There might be a certain contradiction between easy-to-use and reliability. Only when a product keeps a good balance between the two can it be truly popularized, just like the mouse and keyboard in the PC era and touch screens in the mobile internet period," Zhang said.
The smart ring is embedded with the company's self-developed 6DoF, or degree of freedom, technology, which basically shows how many axes are being tracked. 6DoF is widely considered as full VR by giving users more freedom to move around their environment and interact with objects more realistically.
The Beijing-based company first applied related technologies in VR devices in 2015, when such modalities had already been used in drones but not in the VR and AR sectors.
"The application of 6DoF in mobile VR devices has then become a first-mover advantage, after which, the company continues to make breakthroughs on other related core technologies," Zhang said.
With such efforts, NOLO has become a leading VR company in China in terms of shipments. More than 500,000 units of VR equipment were sold last year in China while NOLO's 6DoF products ranked second in shipments, he said.
