【Girls in the Night Traffic】

Oculus gave more details about its its next-generation VR headset today at the Oculus Connect 4developer conference. It also said the headset would become available "in the next year."

The Girls in the Night Trafficcatch: The headset is still a prototype, and it will only be made available to developers.

SEE ALSO: Facebook announces $199 Oculus Go standalone VR headset

The new headset, codenamed Santa Cruz, is the company's first prototype headset with "inside-out tracking" technology, meaning it doesn't require external cameras or other accessories to track your position in the room. What's even more exciting is that the headset will also be able to track two newly designed wireless controllers with six degrees of freedom.

In short, the Santa Cruz headset will be the first high-end VR system from Oculus that doesn't require being tethered to a powerful PC. It also crucially features positional tracking -- tracking the position and head movements of the wearer in addition to tracking the handheld wireless controllers. Basically, it's a standalone VR headset that works all by itself.

Original image has been replaced. Credit: Mashable

The next-level tracking system is enabled by a set of four cameras placed on the outer corners of the new Santa Cruz headset. By placing cameras around the rim, the display can actually track the position of the both the user and the controllers.

Mashable Light Speed Want more out-of-this world tech, space and science stories? Sign up for Mashable's weekly Light Speed newsletter. By clicking Sign Me Up, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Thanks for signing up!

The Santa Cruz headset will be paired with new prototype Santa Cruz controllers. The new controllers feature a ring covered in LEDs aimed upward, in order to make them more visible to the tracking cameras on the outside of the headset.

Existing Oculus Touch controllers also have LEDs, but the ring that houses them is facing downward, and they are tracked by an external camera that must be attached to a PC. The newer version should make it much easier to setup and use Oculus VR products. The new controllers also use infrared emitters, rather than LEDs, meaning they won't have a distracting glow.

The new controllers shouldn't be much of a change for older users. They still include a trigger, touchpad, and buttons similar to the existing Oculus Touch controllers. It is important, however, to mention that this is a prototype system, so by the time they're commercially available, they could change significantly.

If Oculus delivers on everything it's promised, the Santa Cruz headset will be a realization of the dream that VR developers have long been chasing. Users have often complained that current systems require a cable being attached the headset — which makes it easy to trip over or get tangled in while you're immersed in a virtual world. Soon, developers will no longer have to worry about stumbling over cables that attach to their headsets or having to mount positional trackers around the room. This is a huge deal.

The Santa Cruz headset first premiered in October 2016 during the Oculus Connect 3 conference. At it's unveiling, Oculus emphasized that the PC that typically powers VR headsets would be replaced with a small minicomputer placed in the rear of the head strap.

So what components are actually included in the Oculus Santa Cruz prototype? Unfortunately, those details are still unclear, and the company has not yet revealed specifics about the processing power and technical specifications of the system.

For now, we have only these short demos to rely on. But if it works as well as the video showed today, it's certainly something worth being excited about.

---

Featured Video For You

---

KFC's creepy VR training game is a terrifying way to welcome new employees

---

Topics Facebook Oculus Virtual Reality

• Games
• Entertainment
• Digital Culture
• Shopping
• Science
• Life
• Tech
• Social Good

• U.N. confirms the ocean is screwed
• Instagram DMs are now available for everyone to use on desktop
• Polaroid Now review: The most accessible instant camera to date
• Dr. Fauci knows which actor he wants to play him on 'Saturday Night Live'
• The Amazon Book Sale is coming April 23 through 28
• Netflix announces 'The Tiger King' after show with new interviews
• Michelle Obama explains her iconic side
• Jaden Smith accessorized for the Met Gala with the dreads he chopped off
• Best Samsung deal: Save $60 on 64GB Samsung Galaxy Tab A9
• Quibi's 'When the Streetlights Go On' is bite

• Cooking with Hilda Hilst by Valerie Stivers
• The Edison of the Slot Machines by Michael LaPointe
• How to watch Northwestern vs. Utah football livestreams: kickoff time, streaming deals, and more
• Going Blind at the Border by Marcelo Hernandez Castillo
• NYT's The Mini crossword answers for December 22
• Best audiobook deal: Get 4 months of Audible Premium Plus for 60% off
• The Upside of ‘Brandenburg v. Ohio’
• Up to 40% off Logitech simulators and accessories
• The Silurian Hypothesis by Rich Cohen
• The Apple Watch ban is impacting repairs, too

• Asus VivoWatch 6 AERO measures blood pressure and ECG
• Apple is donating 20 million masks and producing face shields to help fight coronavirus
• Jack Dorsey invites you to follow along via Google Docs as he spends $1 billion on COVID
• Google and Apple team up to support coronavirus contact tracing
• Sony PULSE Elite PS5 headset open
• There won't be any new emoji on phones in 2021 due to the pandemic
• The zoo messed up when naming April the giraffe's baby
• Michelle Obama explains her iconic side
• Best roborock deal: Save $400 on Q5 Pro+ Robot Vacuum and Mop
• Sony unveils its new DualSense controller with improved triggers

• 44 GPU Fortnite Benchmark: The Best Graphics Cards for Playing Battle Royale
• 12 best book
• Quibi's 'When the Streetlights Go On' is bite
• Netflix's ‘Love Wedding Repeat’ makes a mess of easy premise: Review
• The Kindle Scribe just dropped to its lowest price ever, but is it worth it?
• 12 best book
• Chinese iPhone manufacturer has a strict coronavirus prevention strategy
• Hero rescues cat from river in dramatic CCTV footage
• Amazon Pet Day: All the best deals
• All the wild looks from the 2017 Met Gala red carpet