Jimmy Fallon has a strong pedigree for bringing on some of the world’s most exciting technology and showing himself goofily playing around with it. In the past he’s tested both the Oculus Rift and PlayStation VR, so it only seems right that with mere months to go before commercial VR becomes a reality, he’s tested out the HTC Vive.
Amidst some other rather retro-looking tech and a headset that beams video directly on to your retinas, Fallon donned the Vive and was immediately put into a frigid world, with a snowman companion. He was in the universe of Tiltbrush, a Google project that lets people paint in 3D using the HTC’s dual-wand controllers.
Although much of the demo is Fallon flailing around, he does manage to give the snowman a mouth and eyes, before signing his name in the air nearby in an impressive showcase of how intuitive and accurate the control scheme is.
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The part that really impressed him and members of the audience however is when he manages to change the environment. Immediately transported from his snowy home, Fallon quickly found himself surrounded by the stars, with distant galaxies and star nurseries for company.
Even Fallon had to halt the silliness for a few seconds to appreciate how pretty it all was.
The model of headset Fallon used during testing appears to be the new HTC Vive Pre, the second developer kit that is currently being sent out to those developing content for it. While he didn’t push the technology to its limits, Fallon’s short session with the headset did show off its room-scale VR capabilities, as well as its high-fidelity tracking. Not once did the controls seem to flicker out of existence or jump around.
This is just a baby step towards the general public understanding how much VR is upon us, but it is a step nonetheless.
