Sony Is Developing a Spatial Content Creation System With XR Headset, Controllers; Will Launch in 2024

After Apple announced pre-order details and US launch date for its upcoming Vision Pro mixed reality headset, Sony revealed that it is developing an immersive spatial content creation system with an XR (extended reality) head-mounted display and a pair of controllers. Aimed at creators in the 3D content space, Sony's headset will run on Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2 Platform and sport 4K OLED Microdisplays. The Japanese tech giant did not specify a launch date for the device, but it confirmed that the headset would be available later this year.

The XR headset, according to Sony's announcement, will feature the company's proprietary rendering technology for real-time high-definition 3D rendering of both objects and human facial expressions. The spatial content creation system will also come with six cameras and sensors that enable video see-through functionality and spatial recognition. The two controllers will include a ring controller for manipulation of 3D objects in virtual space and a pointing controller — to be held in the dominant hand — for precision pointing. The controllers are designed in a way that enables 3D modelling using both controllers and a keyboard, while wearing the head-mounted XR display.

“Creators will not only be able to see real-scale 3D models in an Extended Reality (XR) environment with the high-definition display, but also create and modify 3D models in it,” Sony's announcement post said.

As mentioned before, the Sony XR headset will be powered by Qualcomm's latest XR processor, the Snapdragon XR2+ Gen 2. The XR head-mounted display will sport 1.3-type 4K OLED Microdisplays with 96 percent of DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage. Additionally, the headset will also feature a flip-up mechanism that allows users to quickly twist up the display part of the headset and switch from virtual to physical space seamlessly.

Sony is also partnering with Siemens at launch to integrate NX Immersive Designer software, a product engineering service from the Siemens Xcelerator portfolio of industry software. The spatial content creation system will cater to creators in industrial design and product engineering field, with Sony planning to collaborate with 3D production software developers from entertainment and industrial design fields.

Sony's headset, which seems geared towards immersive product engineering and industrial design in 3D space, will launch later in 2024. Additional details about the device's specifications, launch date, regional availability and pricing, sales channels, and software compatibility will be announced in time.

The extended/mixed reality headset space is set to see a few notable launches this year. Apple announced yesterday that its first mixed reality headset, the Vision Pro, will become available in the US starting February 2. Pre-orders for the headset will open January 19 at 5:00am PST (6.30pm IST). Additionally, Samsung's upcoming XR headset, codenamed “Infinite,” will reportedly be unveiled in the second half of 2024. The South Korean technology conglomerate had said in 2023 that it was collaborating with Google and Qualcomm to develop the wearable.