Gallery: The Inside Story of How Oculus Cracked the Impossible Design of VR

  • The Oculus Rift currently shipping.
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    The Oculus Rift, currently shipping.
  • Image may contain Accessories Goggles Accessory and Wristwatch
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    An early design experiment involved a ratcheting closure mechanism at the rear.
  • Image may contain Accessories Goggles Accessory Helmet Clothing and Apparel
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    Early efforts at integrating audio into the Rift involved swing-out headphones on oversize side straps.
  • Image may contain Handbag Accessories Accessory Bag and Purse
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    Slowly, the Rift began to look less robotic and more personal.
  • Image may contain Adapter
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    A sample of some early investigations into adjusting the distance between lenses.
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    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    Many design prototypes solved one problem only to introduce others ...
  • Image may contain Accessories Accessory Belt Strap and Goggles
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    ... like looking unduly severe.
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    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    A lens housing from a design prototype.
  • The Crescent Bay prototype first introduced in fall 2014 was the first to incorporate most of the functions and design...
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
    09

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    The Crescent Bay prototype, first introduced in fall 2014, was the first to incorporate most of the functions and design choices that would surface in the consumer version.
  • Image may contain Machine Motor Engine Helmet Clothing and Apparel
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    However, it wasn't so long ago that all that power presented an unruly mess of cables—a "preposterous umbilical cord," as engineer Nirav Patel describes it.
  • Image may contain Helmet Clothing and Apparel
    Christie Hemm Klok/WIRED
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    Today the Rift has narrowed things down to a single cable, but that's still something that Oculus looks forward to being able to leave behind.
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