First look at Oculus’s exciting new VR headset

Facebook’ Oculus Connect developer conference had some exciting news. Virtual Reality (VR) enthusiasts had been waiting with bated breath for the release of the new VR headset from Oculus. The new headset has been dubbed the Oculus Santa Cruz and promises to provide an unprecedented level of the immersive experience at extremely affordable costs.

The Santa Cruz is the very first headset from Oculus to feature inside out tracking. What it means is that the sensors required to track a user’s position and movements in a room and render it in real time into the VR simulation are all embedded inside the headset itself. Previous ones by Oculus required sensors placed around the user to track his or her movements in order to mirror them in the virtual world. Furthermore, the Santa Cruz also features what is commonly known as six degrees of freedom tracking (6DOF), which would mimic actions like crouching, leaning and walking, in addition to looking and render them in the virtual reality.

What’s even more exciting is that this new headset would have two controllers to properly track movements in the real world. This enables users to add hands to their simulated self and interact with their virtual environment, like reaching out and touching an object. This will definitely allow for a significantly enhanced immersive factor for video games. The new headset is a leap forward in the VR industry and could be indicative of the future of entertainment and video gaming.