Wednesday, March 5, 2008

The 2008 HMD Market Study Survey

Sensics released today the 2nd annual HMD market survey. In this survey, conducted in February of 2008, we re-examine the same questions asked last year in the 2007 HMD survey, and then go on to compare and contrast the market needs.

The 2007 survey was titled "Are existing HMDs good enough?". The answer was a resounding "no!", and it helped quantify what we all intuitively know - that HMDs with narrow field of view ("tunnel vision") and low resolution may be sufficient for very early adopters, but are certainly not good enough for widespread use.

The 2008 survey is titled "Are we there yet?". The short answer is also "no", though perhaps without the exclamation point. Requirements have not changed much, and vendors are certainly making progress in working towards what users are asking for - wider field of view, higher resolution, in a light-weight, easy-to-use product. Panoramic field of view products such as those that we make are maturing, and other companies have innovative products (though sometimes curious-looking, such as the "wedding cake HMD") that try to solve these problems. However, the "holy grail of HMDs": panoramic field of view, high def, low cost, easy to use - has not been conquered yet. Look for additional fascinating developments in 2008.

I'll be posting additional insight from these survey from time to time. Stay tuned.

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