Monday's update to the Oculus VR blog reports that the Oculus Rift developer kit now comes with three pairs of removable eyecups instead of a single, permanent set. What this means for consumers and the final retail version is unknown at this point, but the new modification shows that the team is working to bring the goggles to everyone despite anyone's visual impairment.
According to the blog, developers who wear contacts or who already have great vision will use eyecup set A, as the Rift will match the user's vision in real life. Developers that are farsighted will have no vision problems in the Rift because the optics are focused on Infinity, meaning the specs makes your brain think it's looking at something far away. Thus farsighted developers will use set A as well.
For nearsighted developers, Oculus has provided the additional B and C eyecup sets. These will allow users to see within the Rift as if they were wearing glasses by changing the focal distance. Developers that are moderately nearsighted will use set B whereas those who are very nearsighted will need to use set C.
"This isn’t the perfect solution: the B and C cups won’t be ideal for everyone, but we’re hoping that they help some of the nearsighted developers," Oculus said. "If you have other eye issues like astigmatism, the additional lens cups may not be sufficient. In short, your mileage may vary."
The blog also reports that Oculus has produced over 40 complete Oculus Rift "pilot run" developer kits and are on schedule to ship full kits in March. This pilot run is the final test for the team's calibration, assembly, and testware pipeline before they officially kick off mass production, the company said.
"The kit is produced on a standard assembly line by the factory’s team. Assembly is broken up into sub-tasks like attaching the plastic pieces together, sealing foam on the facemask, and connecting display and tracker components," Oculus said.
To read the full blog, head here. It talks about manufacturing the goggles, fixing production errors on the fly, adding a geared mechanism for extending and retracting the assembly that holds the screen and the eyecups, and more.
