Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Computing
  3. News

Compute from the beach (or Mars) with Space, a VR office environment

Jon Martindale
By

Virtual reality gaming is great fun – we’ve talked about it a lot in recent months. But VR has the potential to be much more practical than just letting us swing swords and shoot guns at digital enemies. It could help improve our productivity too. That’s what Pygmal’s Space is looking to do, by expanding your desktop to potentially infinite displays, in any location you choose, all through the power of virtual reality.

Space works in a similar manner to Virtual Desktop and Big Screen, but unlike those platforms which look to emulate the real-world monitor you have, Space wants to create a bunch of new ones for you to use. Six in fact, with the beta version, but when the final version launches before the end of this year, we’re told it will support as many as you like.

Recommended Videos

When it does debut, the final version of Space will probably be free

Related

“This could be the future of work,” Pygmal’s founder and CEO, Xiao Jia told us. “You can do whatever you want with it.”

This works because Space does away with the concept of displays altogether. As explained to us by Jia, Space works natively with Windows applications and browsers, letting them essentially “draw,” content into the virtual space. That means you could have a browser open on one panel, a music app in another, a couple of Youtube videos either side and the work you’re supposed to be doing in another.

When viewed through a VR headset, these panels can be moved, changed in size, shape and distance from your face, and they don’t use up any more resources than they would if they were displayed on standard monitors, we’re told.

The backdrop is entirely customizable too. If you don’t like the default environment, change it up with one of the many included backdrops. There’s a beach, or the middle of space – whatever takes your fancy. However if none of that does it for you, you can even load iyour own 360 degree images and use them instead.

SPACE--6_3d_model
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Pygmal is also hoping that 3D modellers pick up on Space’s potential, as it can load in three dimensional images, which you can continue to customize in a 3D space – something that’s just not possible on traditional 2D monitors.

Space is mostly a tool designed to aid the office workers of the world, but it is looking to offer entertainment options too. Instead of taking off the headset or loading up another piece of software to watch a film, you can do that right inside Space’s virtual environment. In-fact if you maximize videos, it automatically switches over to the VR theater mode, which gives you the best seat in the house.

Right out of the gate Space has full support for the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets. The beta doesn’t come with support for either platform’s motion controls, though we’re told that Pygmal is currently playing around with a prototype of Oculus’ Touch controllers and the release version of the Vive’s wand controllers, so we can expect support for those to arrive along with the final version.

This all seems like quite a lot for Pygmal, a relatively new start-up, to take on. However earlier this year it secured funding to the tune of $300,000, so should have enough backing for now to keep it going right through to Space’s commercial release.

Other features set to arrive when that day comes include; support for an infinite number of windows; drawing 3D content with motion controls and even your hands using Leap Motion; better support for more native Windows applications (including games); and support for the HTC Vive’s front-facing camera, to provide a real world view of the user’s mouse and keyboard for easier interaction.

Better yet, when it does debut, the final version of Space will probably be free. Although Jia wasn’t certain on that point, he said the plan was to keep it as such, much like the beta, with only business and commercial users charged for its use.

You can download the Beta 1.0 of Space direct from the Pygmal site, or if you’d rather wait for it to be supported on other platforms, consider giving it a vote on Steam Greenlight.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Jon Martindale
Jon Martindale
Computing Coordinator
Jon Martindale is the Evergreen Coordinator for Computing, overseeing a team of writers addressing all the latest how to…
We now know how Apple’s VR headset may handle video, and it’s pretty awesome
A rendering of an Apple mixed-reality headset (Reality Pro) in a gray color seen from the front.

Ever since the first rumors surfaced that Apple was working on a mixed-reality headset, it has been assumed that immersive video would be a key feature of the device. Yet we’ve never really known exactly how this would work -- until now.

That’s because Apple has just been granted a patent (USPTO number 11570417) that goes into detail on how a user might watch video content while wearing the headset, which will allegedly be dubbed Reality Pro. And that patent presents an intriguing system that could have uses beyond simple video.

Read more
Here’s why Apple’s VR headset may become an ‘expensive flop’
A model poses with a Meta Quest Pro over a colorful background.

Apple’s upcoming mixed-reality headset risks becoming a “high-profile flop” due to its high price and the wariness of potential customers. That’s according to a new report from Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, who lays out numerous hurdles the headset has to clear if it isn’t to end up an embarrassment for Apple.

So far, most leaks and rumors surrounding the headset have been more or less positive, touting the highly advanced technology the product is said to contain. The price, however, has been a point of contention, and it is that point that could drag down Apple’s efforts, the report claims.

Read more
I streamlined my PC VR setup, and now I use it more than ever
HTC Vive Pro review

One of the biggest hurdles of using VR regularly is the setup time. Every time I wanted to use my VR headset, I would have to go through some infuriating setup steps, which included clearing playing space in my office, covering the glass cabinet to avoid Lighthouse tracker reflections, starting up SteamVR, and running any necessary updates for the game I wanted to play. Of course, when I was finished, I had to put it all away again. It became a chore, and resulted in me diving into the virtual worlds of SteamVR less than I wanted.

In an effort to change that, I went on a campaign of streamlining my VR setup to make it easier to get into and faster to get out of. The idea was to make virtual reality as easy to use as flopping down in my gaming chair for standard desktop gaming. After a few weeks of upgrades and adjustments, I'm happy to report that I've almost managed it.

Read more