SAN JOSÉ, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pico Technology Inc. announced today that it will launch the Pico Neo, a stand-alone, dedicated Virtual Reality (VR) Head Mounted Display (HMD) system ideal for gaming and entertainment applications. The device features the Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ 820 processor, a product of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc., a subsidiary of Qualcomm Incorporated. Pico Neo delivers a fully immersive experience without the need of a PC or smartphone. It offers a 2K (1080*1200 per eye) stereoscopic rendering of high quality 3D graphics and 360 degree HEVC video to an AMOLED display with a 90Hz refresh rate. Pico Neo is designed for motion to photon latency under 20ms, and its integrated 3D audio enables a realistic 3D experience. The device also offers haptic feedback capabilities spanning 123 distinct simulated modes. Pico Neo is planned to be available in June 2016 in China and can be pre-ordered today through JD.com.
The Pico Neo integrates a sleek design with cutting-edge application software, all enabled by the high performance and power efficiency of the Snapdragon 820 processor incorporated into the gamepad. Co-developed with Goertek, the system is designed to provide the consumer with a unique VR experience.
“We are confident that this product demonstrates a new level of 'mobile' VR HMD performance, leveraging the portability of smartphones and tablets, and the high performance of dedicated systems,” said Henry Zhou, CEO of Pico. ”The Snapdragon 820 processor provides leading computing, graphics, and connectivity performance, all crucial for truly immersive VR. Goertek provided its advanced optical solution, system integration and world class supply chain support. We believe that this new Pico dedicated product could be a milestone in VR HMD technology.”
“We are excited to be working with Pico and Goertek on this new virtual reality headset,” said Hugo Swart, senior director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “We’re committed to delivering high performance yet power-efficient VR technologies with Snapdragon 820, and we’re pleased to see it being used in untethered, mobile VR solutions like Pico Neo, that will significantly improve the user experience of immersive VR games, 360 degree VR videos and other types of interactive VR applications.”
To help achieve the performance, latency and power efficiency targets, Pico plans to utilize Qualcomm Technologies’ Snapdragon VR software development kit (SDK). The Snapdragon VR SDK provides developers with access to advanced VR features of the Snapdragon 820, including advanced DSP sensor processing and GPU algorithms to enable smooth navigation through virtual worlds, reducing the “motion to photon” latency by up to 50 percent when compared with not using the SDK.
Pico is working with key content providers to build a complete VR experience, particularly in video and gaming. iQiYi VP, Mr. Duan You Qiao, said: “VR is becoming very hot these days. Pico is the first one to integrate key technologies, product development and supply chain to launch the new product.” iQiYi is one of the biggest video content platforms in China. Pico is also working with video content providers such as PPTV and Wasu.
Pico Neo is also making available a development kit aimed to attract gaming developers to the Pico platform. The company has engaged early movers in this area to collaborate with the release of the Pico Neo to developers, including Frank Shen, Archiact CEO, who has demoed their new gaming products and have three games customized for Pico devices.
About Pico Technology, Inc.
Pico is a startup focusing on VR technology development with operations both in the San Francisco Bay area and in China.
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