Boston (June 26th, 2018) – VRgineers, developers of the VRHero 5K Plus head mounted display (HMD), introduce XTAL, their latest headset designed specifically for a professional user base, providing high visual fidelity and developer-friendly tools to meet the demands of users and developers.
“XTAL is a short way of writing ‘crystal’,” said Martin Holecko, one of the VRgineers’ co-founders. “It symbolizes the new crystal-like polygonal structure of the headset and our obsession with a crystal-clear image in virtual reality (VR). Plus, it refers to XTAL’s country of origin, known for its ancient craft of Bohemian crystal glass.”

Image courtesy of VRgineers

Based in Prague, VRgineers, Inc. is a virtual reality engineering company that develops and manufactures the latest in enterprise-grade VR gear for professionals. Their specialized high-resolution VR HMD platform empowers clients in the automotive, architecture, industrial design, and training sectors.
“Over the last year, we’ve invested hundreds of hours talking to our enterprise users across industries, gathering feedback and learning what makes VR usage in professional applications difficult,” said Marek Polcak, VRgineers CEO. “Then we put all our passion into creating the next generation VR headset that addresses these issues. We firmly believe XTAL will become an indispensable component of engineering, manufacturing, designing, and training processes, and enable you to do more while saving resources, money and time.”
XTAL was developed with the challenging task of combining several conflicting requirements: keeping the best-in-class image quality with 5K resolution and 170º field-of-view with patented non-Fresnel lenses, all while embedding new technogy and reducing the size and weight of the HMD. XTAL’s design accomplishes this challenge, bringing the weight down 12% from VRgineers’ previous headset, the VRHero. The slimmer, more compact body, and genuine leather face cushion makes XTAL comfortable to wear even for prolonged time periods, according to the company.

Marek Polcak, VRgineers CEO Source: Twitter

With XTAL, VRgineers implement AutoEye, the company’s proprietary technology that automatically aligns lens positions with the user’s eyes. Though the setting of interpupillary distance (IPD) is often neglected, it is crucial for optimal image quality. AutoEye ensures that the IPD is always correct, allowing for easy switching of headset users.
VRgineers’ focus on bringing a full hardware-software stack for professional VR users and industrial use cases has further expanded through collaboration with Autodesk, Dassault Systemes, and ESI, who are integrating XTAL into their software suites.
“For Škoda Auto engineers, it is crucial in the design revision process to display the digital model of the car in the highest true-to-life image quality possible and a corresponding field-of-view,” said Leos Cerveny, Virtual Reality and Digital Factory Coordinator in ŠKODA AUTO, a part of Volkswagen Group. “For that purpose, the VRgineers headset is the only choice on the market achieving such quality standards.”
The new VRgineers XTAL headset is available for purchase in the U.S. for the price of $5,800. Orders can be placed at vrgineers.com/order.
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