Totem Is a Promising Oculus Rift Competitor, Now on Kickstarter

In our weekly column on the world of crowdfunding, we check sites like Kickstarter and Indiegogo to find the next big thing in technology. After all, the Pebble smartwatch and the Oculus Rift VR headset both got their start on Kickstarter, and not inside a big corporation. One such project is the Totem VR headset - launched on Tuesday, to bring working prototypes to the hands of developers.

Totem looks a lot like the Oculus Rift, which is to be expected, but there are some key differences that might make it more appealing in the long run. For one thing, the display uses an RGB Stripe sub-pixel display, instead of the PenTile display that is used by Oculus.

(Also see: Oculus Rift Preview: Bringing Reality to the Virtual World)

According to the Totem team, this should reduce the appearance of fine lines between the pixels, and create a clearer image.

Also, while the Rift uses an external IR camera to track your movement within the field of view, the Totem has two cameras built into the headset, which are used for positional tracking, and can also be used as a passthrough, to let you look at the world as needed. This means that you could turn around completely, and still be tracked accurately. This is an interesting feature, because it means that you won't have to remove the headset to look at your keyboard, for example.

The biggest difference though, is that Totem claims that the processing for VR is built into its device, and doesn't rely on the computer. This also means that it can be used with a number of other devices, and not just PCs - according to the developers, you can use the Totem with mobile phones and game consoles, along with computers.

(Also see: Five Essential Oculus Rift Gaming Experiences)

At this point, the device starts to sound a little too good to be true, but one reassuring thing is actually the price. It's high enough to actually be believable, and shows that the team has given some thought to how much they will really need to spend. A really low price would raise a red flag, as it could suggest that the company is not serious, or does not know what it is getting into.

While the Rift developer kits started at $300, and the second generation of developer kits cost $350, the Totem cheapest early bird headset was sold for $425, and the more numerous upper tier is priced at $495.

(Also see: Oculus Rift Consumer Price Range Confirmed as Between $200 and $400)

Add to that the fact that Totem gave the VR community site Road to VR a hands on with the latest prototype and the device starts to seem less like vapourware and more like a realistic challenger to the Oculus.

You can see the full pitch video below:

The project is accepting funding until October 15, and needs to raise $350,000. Backing it for $50 will get you a $100 voucher for the consumer version; you can still get a developer version for $450, though the tiers go up to $495, in increasing quantities. The estimated delivery is for April 2015.

To see more stories from the world of crowdfunding, click here.