Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell takes on VR challenge with new company

Modal VR is not designed for personal use, but more likely targeting arcades.

2

VR is all the rage these days, with more and more players coming in to challenge Oculus, HTC Vive and PlayStation VR. Even Google has joined the fray. But while these contenders are vying for the personal user market, Atari co-founder Nolan Bushnell has started a company that is looking at an even bigger virtual picture.

Modal VR is working on a unit designed for industrial use - such as corporate VR apps - and arcades.  The unit employs full body tracking suits, is completely wireless, and has a low latency of under 10 milliseconds. And the kicker is that it can handle multiple users in areas as large as 900,000 square feet. Imagine using this in warehouses or even sports stadiums.

Bushnell envisions people buying tickets to participate in events instead of just watching them. An FAQ for the product said that a beta for the product should be starting soon, with units being shipped to software developers and business partners. The exact specs are not final so the company isn't releasing those until closer to sipment of the dev units. The units also will not be compatible with any other VR headsets.

Contributing Editor
From The Chatty
Hello, Meet Lola