Oculus VR announced on Tuesday that Atman Binstock, one of the lead engineers behind Valve Software's VR project, is now the company's new chief architect. He will be leading the new Oculus VR research and development office based in the Seattle area.
"Atman and the Valve VR team helped prove simulator sickness could be overcome and a true sense of 'presence' could be delivered. He helped set the bar for consumer virtual reality and is dedicated to making sure Oculus delivers the highest quality VR experience," states the company's blog.
Binstock originally joined Valve thanks to Michael Abrash, who convinced Binstock to work on the studio's AR and VR efforts.
"Michael convinced me that this was basically the myth of technological inevitability: the idea that because technologies were possible, they would just naturally happen," Binstock writes. "Instead, the way technological revolutions actually happen involve smart people working hard on the right problems at the right time. And if I wanted a revolution, and I thought I was capable of contributing, I should be actively pushing it forward."
"Two years later, we've solved some of the basic problems, proven great VR is not only possible but truly magical, and now I want to bring it to the world. I'm incredibly excited and humbled by the opportunity — We're just scratching the surface of what's possible, and I can't wait to discover what's next!" Binstock concludes.
Prior to Valve, Binstock led several projects at top companies in the industry, including RAD, DICE, and Intel.
Binstock follows John Carmack, who left id Software to become Oculus VR's Chief Technical Officer. Carmack took on the role back in August 2013, but didn't leave id Software until November. He works out of the Dallas, Texas office, while the main Oculus VR team resides in Irvine, California.
