Oculus shows off 140-degree FOV Rift prototype that has moving displays

As Oculus's latest VR headset, the Oculus Go, began flying off the shelves this week, the company was busy revealing the next prototype of the Rift, and it makes a number of significant changes. The "Half Dome" headset looks very similar to the existing Rift, but offers a 140-degree field of view—up from around 100 on the current model—and displays that move towards or away from your eyes automatically to help you focus on objects.

Oculus did not confirm whether the "varifocal" displays would require eye tracking, but head of product management Maria Fernandez Guajardo told Facebook's F8 developer conference that the headset will automatically "move the screens depending on what you're looking at". The alternative to eye tracking that I can think of is that the headset calculates what you're most likely to be looking at based on what's on screen.

Basically, if you hold an object close to your face in virtual reality, the screens will shift to help you see it in more detail. It's a neat trick, and apparently doesn't come with any noise or vibrations, nor does it require a larger headset.

The other major change is the field of view, and it's a big step up. It's not quite the 200-degree field of view headset that Tuan tried out in January, but that extra 40 degrees should make a big difference. You can see a comparison between the current Oculus Rift and the Half Dome prototype in the image below. Remember, it's just a prototype for now, and Oculus gave no clues as to when we can expect a consumer version.

Thanks, ArsTechnica.

Samuel is a freelance journalist and editor who first wrote for PC Gamer nearly a decade ago. Since then he's had stints as a VR specialist, mouse reviewer, and previewer of promising indie games, and is now regularly writing about Fortnite. What he loves most is longer form, interview-led reporting, whether that's Ken Levine on the one phone call that saved his studio, Tim Schafer on a milkman joke that inspired Psychonauts' best level, or historians on what Anno 1800 gets wrong about colonialism. He's based in London.