VRgineers VRHero 5K Plus
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| VRgineers VRHero 5K Plus | |
|---|---|
| |
| Basic Info | |
| VR/AR | Virtual Reality |
| Type | Head-mounted display |
| Subtype | PC-Powered VR |
| Developer | VRgineers |
| Manufacturer | VRgineers |
| Announcement Date | 29 November 2017 |
| Release Date | 2017 (sales launch 29 November 2017) |
| Price | US$9,000 plus installation costs (2018 list price); discontinued |
| Predecessor | VRgineers VRHero 5K |
| Successor | VRgineers XTAL |
| Display | |
| Display | 2 x 5.7-inch Quad HD OLED (one per eye), 518 ppi |
| Resolution | 2560x1440 per-eye (5120 x 1440 combined) |
| Refresh Rate | 70 Hz |
| Image | |
| Field of View | 150-170 degrees (depending on IPD and focus settings, per VRgineers) |
| Horizontal FoV | Up to 170 degrees (per VRgineers) |
| Optics | |
| Optics | Custom non-Fresnel lenses |
| Ocularity | Binocular |
| IPD Range | hardware adjustable (manual) |
| Adjustable Diopter | Focus adjustment |
| Tracking | |
| Tracking | External 6DoF: SteamVR Tracking via HTC Vive Tracker, AR Tracking, OptiTrack |
| Hand Tracking | Optional clip-on Leap Motion sensor |
| Audio | |
| Audio | Built-in sound card with spatial 3D sound (per VRgineers) |
| Device | |
| Weight | 1.08 kg with counterbalance (Road to VR measurement) |
| Input | Leap Motion hand tracking, HTC Vive controllers, AR Tracking controllers |
VRgineers VRHero 5K Plus is a virtual reality head-mounted display released in 2017. It was made by VRgineers, a company based in Prague, Czech Republic, with a U.S. office in Los Angeles, and was sold to businesses rather than consumers.[1] The headset uses two 2560 x 1440 OLED displays, one per eye, and custom non-Fresnel lenses that VRgineers rated at a 150 to 170 degree field of view. It refreshes at 70 Hz.[2] The "5K" in the name refers to the combined horizontal resolution of the two panels (5,120 pixels), not to a 5K frame per eye.[3]
VRgineers launched the 5K Plus on 29 November 2017 as an OLED-based version of its earlier VRgineers VRHero 5K.[4] Its list price was US$9,000 plus installation costs.[5] VRgineers said its VRHero 5K platform was used by clients in the automotive, architecture and training sectors.[4] In June 2018 VRgineers succeeded it with the lighter and cheaper VRgineers XTAL.[6]
History
Background
According to the company, VRgineers was founded in 2017 by Marek Polcak together with Etnetera Group, which was represented by Martin Holecko and Vaclav Bittner.[7] Design News reported in May 2018 that Polcak, Holecko and Bittner had started working together on a headset five years earlier, and that Polcak had not been satisfied with the image quality of the headsets then on the market. The team built prototypes of the VRHero with feedback from automotive engineers and architects, and Holecko said several car makers, including Audi, BMW and Volkswagen, had signed on to test early units.[8] The first VRHero "5K" appeared in 2017 and used LCD panels.[3]
Launch
VRgineers announced the VRHero 5K Plus in a press release dated 29 November 2017, issued from Prague and Los Angeles. The company said the new model had "high-density OLED displays" with more pixels and a higher pixel density than the display of the iPhone X. It described the display changes as lower latency, low persistence, faster color switching and better blacks, and said the headset also had a more comfortable and more durable head strap. Sales opened that day. Pre-orders from existing VRgineers customers were due to ship in December 2017, and new orders in the first quarter of 2018.[4] UploadVR reported that, based on customer feedback, VRgineers had also removed the rarely used programmable buttons on the upper side of the headset.[9]
The launch release quoted Otto Fabri, a former lead design engineer at Tesla and Faraday Future: "As automotive designers, we've been waiting for someone to come up with [VR] technology that actually works."[4] VRgineers issued a second release about the headset on 28 January 2018.[10] In February 2018 Digital Engineering reported the US$9,000 price.[5]
Partnerships in 2018
On 8 March 2018 VRgineers and Leap Motion announced that Leap Motion hand tracking would be built into future VRgineers headsets due later that year. The announcement described the VRHero 5K Plus as the model VRgineers was then marketing.[1][11] On the 5K Plus the Leap Motion sensor stayed an external attachment. Holecko told Design News that the next generation would embed it.[8]
VRgineers showed the 5K Plus at NVIDIA's GPU Technology Conference (GTC) in 2018, where Electronic Design tried a demo of a car in which the surfaces and dashboard display could be examined in detail.[12] VRgineers paired the headset with the new NVIDIA Quadro GV100, a Volta-based professional GPU, and said the combination let complex 3D scenes, high-poly models and high-resolution textures run smoothly at the headset's full refresh rate.[13] VRgineers also promoted a mobile setup that paired the headset with HP's Z VR Backpack PC and its NVIDIA Quadro P5200 graphics card.[14] It announced a collaboration with Ultrahaptics, whose ultrasound technology produces touch sensations in mid-air, to combine mid-air haptics with the VRHero 5K Plus.[15]
Replacement by XTAL
VRgineers announced the XTAL on 26 June 2018. It was priced at US$5,800 in the U.S., with shipping set for September 2018. The company said XTAL kept the 5K resolution and 170-degree field of view, cut weight by 12% compared with the VRHero, and added automatic lens alignment (AutoEye) and an embedded Leap Motion sensor.[16] Road to VR contrasted the new price with "the $9,000 of the prior VRHero headset".[6] Speaking to Forbes, Holecko named the price drop from US$9,000 for the Hero to US$5,800 for XTAL as one of the new model's two main differences.[17] By August 2018 the order page on the VRgineers website offered only XTAL.[18] As of September 2026, the company website lists XTAL and Somnium headsets and pilot training systems. No VRHero model appears there.[19]
Design and hardware
Displays and optics
Each eye has its own 5.7-inch Quad HD OLED display with a resolution of 2560 x 1440 pixels (3.7 megapixels) and a density of 518 ppi. VRgineers compared these figures with the 5.8-inch, 2436 x 1125, 458 ppi display of the iPhone X. It also stated that the displays support full 24-bit RGB color.[4] The official product page lists the combined resolution as 5120 x 1440, the refresh rate as 70 Hz, and the field of view as 150 to 170 degrees depending on IPD and focus settings.[2] In the Leap Motion announcement, Polcak said the company's headsets let users see 170 degrees horizontally.[1]
The lenses are custom-made non-Fresnel optics, which VRgineers told Road to VR were tuned for clarity "even at the expense of weight and other factors".[3][2] VRgineers' own material describes the optical system as patented.[20] Road to VR found that the view is limited by the displays rather than the lenses, so the image has a sharp edge instead of a soft vignette. The two displays are canted, meaning angled relative to each other.[3] The headset has independent IPD and focus adjustments.[3]
Tracking and input
The 5K Plus has no built-in inside-out tracking. It relies on external systems for 6DoF tracking.[8] VRgineers listed support for AR Tracking active-marker tracking, OptiTrack, and Lighthouse tracking with HTC Vive controllers through an HTC Vive Tracker.[4] Road to VR reported that VRgineers expected enterprise customers to attach professional tracking systems. It also noted that SteamVR Tracking through the Vive Tracker had improved thanks to sensor fusion with the headset's internal sensors, and listed direct mode, reprojection and low persistence among the model's tracking and latency improvements.[3]
For hand input, VRgineers offered a clip-on mount for a Leap Motion sensor, letting users interact with the virtual scene using their bare hands.[4] The product page also listed HTC Vive controllers and AR Tracking controllers as input options.[2] Design News described the headset as hardware-agnostic, working with third-party sensors and controllers so that customers did not have to adopt a proprietary tracking ecosystem.[8]
Ergonomics and audio
Road to VR measured the headset, counterbalance included, at 1.08 kg, which it said was more than twice the weight of the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive.[3] Design News reported in May 2018 that VRgineers had not published a weight figure.[8] The launch release described the new head strap as usable either as a quick on-and-off strap for showrooms or for long-term daily wear.[4] VRgineers' product page says the headset has spatial 3D sound from a built-in sound card.[2]
Software and integrations
At launch VRgineers offered SDKs for Unreal Engine and Unity, C++ libraries for proprietary 3D engines, and integrations with professional software such as Autodesk VRED, MoreViz and ESI IC.IDO.[4] VRgineers stated official support for NVIDIA VRWorks features including Direct Mode, Single Pass Stereo and Lens Matched Shading.[4] In a July 2018 VRgineers announcement, Autodesk's VRED technical product manager said VRED 2019.1 added native support for the VRHero and XTAL headsets.[21]
VRgineers marketed the headset as ready for corporate IT environments. It stated that the device was manufactured and assembled in the EU, that no data was captured or sent to third parties, and that customers had full control over updates.[2]
Uses
VRgineers said the VRHero platform was used by automotive designers at BMW, Audi and Volkswagen for design validation and evaluation.[4] In Forbes, Leoš Červený, who headed virtual reality for the Škoda Auto design group, described using the Hero in the company's car styling department to present virtual car concepts. He said the headset made it possible to read the text on a car's dashboard and buttons, which he said was not possible with the HTC Vive.[17] Most of VRgineers' early customers worked in computer-aided design, such as car designers, architects and interior designers, who wanted to check how a design looked before paying for physical mockups, according to Road to VR.[3]
Other deployments included construction machinery maker Wacker Neuson, which used the headset to visualize and evaluate prototype vehicles.[22] Maritime simulator developer Morild Interaktiv paired the 5K Plus with Leap Motion hand tracking in a Unity-based ship training simulator. Its chief executive said image clarity mattered because operators read information from virtual displays on the bridge consoles.[20]
Reception
In a February 2018 hands-on, Road to VR's Ben Lang called the clarity of the lenses "quite astonishing". He found individual pixels very hard to pick out, saw no god rays and very little chromatic aberration, and judged the overall image clearer than that of the Pimax 8K. He also criticized the size and 1.08 kg weight, which made turning the head feel unnatural, and he saw ghosting on high-contrast elements at 70 Hz. He also noted blurring at the left and right edges of the view and some difficulty with stereo fusion, which he suggested might stem from an unfinished distortion profile and the canted displays. Lang argued that these trade-offs limited presence, but wrote that the clarity-first approach "may be a perfectly valid strategy" for the company's enterprise customers.[3]
Design News tried the headset at NVIDIA's GTC and found it comfortable, even with prescription glasses. Its reviewer said it did not feel heavier than the Vive or Rift, and the Leap Motion hand tracking worked smoothly with very low latency.[8] Writing in Forbes, Charlie Fink said that in a house demo he could read the titles on the spines of books on a shelf, and that a BMW convertible demo was convincing enough that he looked for the handle when he wanted to get out.[17]
Specifications
| Specification | Value |
|---|---|
| Display | 2 x OLED binocular; 5.7-inch Quad HD, 518 ppi[4] |
| Resolution | 2560x1440 per-eye (5120 x 1440 combined)[2] |
| Refresh rate | 70 Hz[2] |
| Field of view | 150-170 degrees, depending on IPD and focus settings[2] |
| Optics | Custom non-Fresnel lenses[2] |
| IPD range | Hardware adjustable (manual), with independent focus adjustment[3] |
| Color | 24-bit RGB[4] |
| Tracking | External: AR Tracking, OptiTrack, Lighthouse via HTC Vive Tracker[4] |
| Hand tracking | Clip-on Leap Motion sensor[4] |
| Weight | 1.08 kg with counterbalance (Road to VR measurement)[3] |
| Price | US$9,000 plus installation costs (discontinued)[5] |
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "VRgineers And Leap Motion Team Up To Create The World's First Professional VR Headset With Integrated Hand Tracking". PR Newswire. VRgineers. 2018-03-08. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vrgineers-and-leap-motion-team-up-to-create-the-worlds-first-professional-vr-headset-with-integrated-hand-tracking-300610777.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 "VRHero". VRgineers. 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180329042153/https://vrgineers.com/vrhero/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Ben Lang (2018-02-01). "Hands-on: VRHero "5K" Plus Headset Aims for Visual Fidelity Above All Else". Road to VR. https://www.roadtovr.com/hands-on-vrhero-5k-plus-aims-for-visual-fidelity-above-all-else/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 "VRHero 5K Plus Launch: The world's first VR headset with high-density OLED displays". VRgineers. 2017-11-29. http://web.archive.org/web/20171204061935/http://www.vrgineers.com/vrhero-5k-plus-launch-worlds-first-vr-headset-high-density-oled-displays/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 DE Editors (2018-02-20). "VRgineers Offers VRHero 5K Plus Headset for Professionals". Digital Engineering 24/7. https://www.digitalengineering247.com/article/vrgineers-offers-vrhero-5k-plus-headset-professionals/design. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Ben Lang (2018-06-26). "VRgineers Reveals Improved 'XTAL' Professional VR Headset with Auto IPD Adjustment & Leap Motion". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vrgineers-reveals-xtal-professionla-headset-price-release-date-weight/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "About Us". Vrgineers.com. https://vrgineers.com/about-us/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Chris Wiltz (2018-05-15). "How VRgineers Built a VR Headset With Engineers in Mind". Design News. https://web.archive.org/web/20211023231611/https://www.designnews.com/design-hardware-software/how-vrgineers-built-vr-headset-engineers-mind. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ David Jagneaux (2017-12-04). "The VRHero Plus Is A 5K Resolution Headset With 'High-Density OLED Displays'". UploadVR. https://www.uploadvr.com/vrhero-plus-5k-resolution-headset-high-density-oled-displays/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers Puts the 'Real' in Virtual Reality Experience with its VRHero 5K Plus Headset for Professionals". Vrgineers.com. 2018-01-28. https://vrgineers.com/press-release/vrgineers-puts-the-real-in-virtual-reality-experience-with-its-vrhero-5k-plus-headset-for-professionals/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ Scott Hayden (2018-03-13). "VRgineers to Integrate Leap Motion Hand-tracking Into Its Wide FOV VRHero Headset". Road to VR. https://roadtovr.com/vrgineers-integrate-leap-motion-hand-tracking-wide-fov-vrhero-headset/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ William G. Wong (2018-04-13). "High-Res VR Goes Commercial". Electronic Design. https://www.electronicdesign.com/technologies/embedded/article/21806386/high-res-vr-goes-commercial. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers Teams with NVIDIA to Bring Enterprise VR to its Highest Level of Performance". Vrgineers.com. 2018-03-27. https://vrgineers.com/2018/03/27/vrgineers-teams-with-nvidia-to-bring-enterprise-vr-to-its-highest-level-of-performance/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers Team with HP and NVIDIA to Create the Most Advanced Mobile VR Setup". Vrgineers.com. 2018-03-25. https://vrgineers.com/2018/03/25/vrgineers-team-with-hp-and-nvidia-to-create-the-most-advanced-mobile-vr-setup/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Putting the "real" into virtual reality with Ultrahaptics and VRgineers". Vrgineers.com. 2018-03-25. https://vrgineers.com/2018/03/25/putting-the-real-into-virtual-reality-with-ultrahaptics-and-vrgineers/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers Unveils XTAL New Headset For Professionals Packed With Novel Technology". PR Newswire. VRgineers. 2018-06-26. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vrgineers-unveils-xtal-new-headset-for-professionals-packed-with-novel-technology-300671742.html. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 17.2 Charlie Fink (2018-07-05). "New XTAL 5K VR HMD Beats Giants To High End Enterprise". Forbes. https://web.archive.org/web/20191118051305/https://www.forbes.com/sites/charliefink/2018/07/05/new-xtal-5k-vr-hmd-beats-giants-to-high-end-enterprise/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "Order". VRgineers. 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20180818094435/https://vrgineers.com/order/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "High-resolution professional VR headsets". Vrgineers.com. https://vrgineers.com/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 "Morild Interaktiv, Leap Motion, and VRgineers Partner to Set a New Standard for VR Ship Simulations". Vrgineers.com. 2018-03-25. https://vrgineers.com/2018/03/25/morild-interaktiv-leap-motion-and-vrgineers-partner-to-set-a-new-standard-for-vr-ship-simulations/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers and Autodesk VRED Put High-Performance Auto Designing on the VR Superhighway". Vrgineers.com. 2018-07-25. https://vrgineers.com/2018/07/25/vrgineers-and-autodesk-vred-put-high-performance-auto-designing-on-the-vr-superhighway/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.
- ↑ "VRgineers Streamlines Manufacturing Processes with Wacker Neuson". Vrgineers.com. 2018-03-28. https://vrgineers.com/2018/03/28/vrgineers-streamlines-manufacturing-processes-with-wacker-neuson/. Retrieved 2026-09-27.