Add peripheral lighting to enhance VR immersion

Your complete goal of digital actuality (VR) is to enhance immersion past what might be achieved with a daily TV or monitor. So it may be irritating to VR customers when the darkness of their peripheral imaginative and prescient reminds them that they’re, in truth, sporting a headset. To boost the state of affairs with Valve Index VR headsets with out including an excessive amount of value, Staton developed peripheral ambient lightning referred to as VR Ambilight.

VR Ambilight works in the identical manner as Ambilight ambient backlighting for TVs and screens. The system appears to be like on the colours of the pixels across the total outer border of the display screen, then units the colours of LEDs to match. That creates a delicate transition from the display screen to the encircling wall. When utilized to VR, it extends the display screen content material into the consumer’s periphery. As a result of the consumer can’t see something of their periphery intimately, the coloured mild is sufficient to keep the phantasm and get rid of breaks in immersion.

The one {hardware} parts essential for this technique had been an Arduino Nano board and two brief strips of WS2812B individually addressable RGB LEDs. The LEDs mount within the Valve Index VR headset, with a skinny sheet of translucent white plastic performing as a diffuser. Prismatik software program works with Steam to detect the pixel colours alongside the display screen edges, then makes use of a easy script to go that alongside to the Arduino. The Valve Index has a helpful USB port built-in, which helps to maintain the wiring good and tidy.