Pico 4 Face Tracking

[Margaret Sieverding]

Inaddition to the consumer-focused Pico 4 headset launched this week, the company is also getting ready to release a business-focused variant called Pico 4 Enterprise, which brings to the platform eye and face-tracking for a price that aims to compete.

Alongside the announcement of Pico 4, the company announced Pico 4 Enterprise. Apparently due out later this year, the headset appears to be largely the same from a hardware perspective but with the addition of three internal cameras for eye and face-tracking.

Aside from eye and face-tracking, it appears the Pico 4 Enterprise will be essentially the same hardware otherwise, including a Snapdragon XR2 processor, 2,160 2,160 (4.7MP) per-eye resolution, and pancake lenses with a claimed 105 field-of-view. You can see a detailed list of specs for the headsets here.

I did some back-of-the-envelope calculations when news came out that Sony was partnering with Tobii for eye tracking to guestimate how much of the PSVR 2 price could be licensing fees, mostly by looking for the price at which it would become cheaper for Sony to simply buy Tobii.

But the price should be nowhere near the USD 250 that a completely assembled Tobii eye tracking module for the Focus 3 would costs, the calculation of which is based on it being a niche product within the VR niche selling at very low numbers and having to recoup development costs with these. 10%-20% of that just for the license of software and patents seems more likely.

Christian I appreciate your comments here and your insights, but please lets not equate the value of eye tracking to a simple dollar figure based on what the B2B companies have agreed on, you know as well as I do that any R&D that Tobii have done on eye tracking is irrelevant compared to what the value is that advertisers or propaganda pushers see in the technology and are willing to spend after the PSVR2 and future headsets begin to come out. For all we know Sony could have a licensing agreement that enables them to get telemetry on ALL future headsets using Tobii technology, and we probably will not know for a number of years if any such agreement is even made. The sheer value of eye tracking data (compared to just head and controller tracking data) though should make us all very concerned as to who is involved and where that data is going.

On a phone developers get access to the cameras (if the users grant it), because recording images is the primary purpose of putting cameras onto phones and people intentionally record and want to be able to manipulate the images or movies with apps. Users also have full control what and where they are filming.

In theory one could create AR HMDs that only activate when pressing a button, but the more likely use will be always-on usage like with Siri or Alexa. Those require an activation word that is processed only locally, and only after this trigger recordings are send to a remote server for analysis. Which works because it is never clear if what was said was even directed at the device, while a head set will always be pointed at what the users is currently interested in, making a separate activation unnecessarily cumbersome.

You would set that up later as and when you choose to do so. All that needs to be there out the gate is the store app, ready for you when you want to buy new games and apps. But, until then, the headset would come with and only require the bare minimum stuff pre-installed and with no requirements to set up any online store accounts or avatars or link with any social media or anything like that, so people can actually get into it and use it with zero friction.

Fully agree. A VR headset is just a peripheral for me, to be able to step into stereo3D/VR. A peripheral with the function of a monitor and the complex (and hidden) interface of a hard disk. All the friction bullcrap of the Quest 2 is what made me lose interest in VR, besides lack of proper games or at least game ports of proper games (AAA).

Besides the tracked hands the only real AR we have seen so far is for a few keyboards from Logitech and Apple, which can actually be tracked based on their regular shape and key layout and therefore be moved. These will be overlaid with images of the letter for each key, making them readable despite the lowres b/w passthrough on the Quest 2. And with Meta giving developers access only to the abstract 3D map of the room, no app can actually interact with any real object and in any way augment them, which I would consider a condition for calling it AR.

If Pico can pull hand-/eye-/facetracking and AR off with their Pico 4 enterprise with the same precision as Meta, it sure will be a good option which is much cheaper, BUT the Quest Pro does have the advantage of the XR2+.

It is currently extremely hard to compare the two. Technically they seem similar, but besides the optics/resolution, it is very difficult to tell how the new features will work and what they will require. It might turn out that eye tracking is comparable as long as you restrict it to gaze detection for selecting objects or correct eye rotation. ETFR could work better or at all on the Quest Pro thanks to the added processing power, or it could be mostly useless on both. The Quest Pro has to process ten camera feeds compared to eight (?) on the Pico 4 Enterprise, which might eat some of the increased performance, but deliver (noticeably?) better results.

And the Quest Pro might tightly lock down access to sensor data due to privacy concerns with companies using it for VR conferencing, while Pico might give access to them, allowing developers to create apps not possible on the Quest Pro, even if the Pro ends up having the better sensors and the more advanced software to run them. The things that make the Quest Pro or Pico 4 Enterprise interesting (at least to me) are those that enhance them over Quest 2/Pico 4 beyond the more easily comparable resolution, optics and comfort, the price of the device is only part of the calculation. Which of the features turn out to be actually useful and usable is another part, and it will take some time and reviews to get this sorted out.

The Pico 4 Pro / Enterprise is a standalone VR headset powered by the Qualcomm XR2, similar to the Quest 2 and Quest Pro headsets from Meta.Unlike the "consumer" version of the Pico 4, the Pro and Enterprise versions of the headset have additional eye and face tracking cameras, in addition to a few more hardware upgrades.The Pro and Enterprise editions only differ in the available system software and region availability: the Pro only being sold in mainland China, while the Enterprise is sold in Europe with "limited" enterprise software.

The Pico 4 Pro/Enterprise module will currently (erroneously) always initialize, and will fail to shutdown its own update thread when tearing down modules (closing VRCFaceTracking).You may need to shut down VRCFaceTracking forcefully.

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The headset's four SLAM cameras enable high-precision tracking and mapping of the environment. Under the front is a powerful 16MP RGB camera that brings to life a high color saturation display that covers 100% of the sRGB color gamut.

The PICO 4 Enterprise is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2, which enables state-of-the-art display and graphics processing. The headset features a 90Hz refresh rate, 4K+ screen, 105 field of view, and 1,200 PPI.

With the PICO 4 Enterprise's new face and eye tracking, a more immersive VR experience is provided, enabling meaningful connections for businesses no matter where they operate. The PICO 4 Enterprise controllers allow users to move their hands closer together while providing protection through hit and room detection. and a HyperSense broadband motor for more realistic haptic feedback.

The headset's four well-placed SLAM cameras, positioned around the thin frame, allow for highly accurate tracking and mapping of the environment without compromising the sleek appearance. Combined with the 5,300mAh battery on the back, with Qualcomm Quick Charge QC 3.0, it gives users a clear, uninterrupted workflow in virtual environments.

The PICO 4 Enterprise comes with adjustable straps and uses a double PU foam mask which is quickly removable with magnetic clips and easy to clean. The headset is equipped with a large rechargeable battery that allows up to three hours of operation and has a quick charge function.

ByteDance-owned VR device maker Pico released its 4 Pro virtual reality headset on Wednesday, touting its eye and face-tracking features. The company says that the Pico 4 Pro can rapidly determine who is using the device by measuring pupil distance. The headset adjusts to different eyeballs and can remember several pairs of eyes so that, for instance, family members of the owner can share the device easily. Pico says the VR device is adept at reading human expressions via its double eye-tracking infrared cameras and its face-tracking infrared camera, with the company claiming its 4 Pro is the first all-in-one VR headset in China to realize this function. Pico has upgraded storage capacity for the 4 Pro to 512GB, twice that of the previous generation, and offers LRDDR5 memory and 6,070mAh battery capacity. The 8GB + 512GB version is priced at RMB 3,799 ($552). [IThome, in Chinese]

Named the Pico 4 Pro in China but marketed as an Enterprise device worldwide, this device is more of a premium VR device than a mixed-reality one, though it does have full-color passthrough. Face/eye tracking at a lower price makes this ideal for businesses that want whole teams to work together virtually, though we're not certain what applications it'll have. But it's lighter, longer-lasting, and packs more pixels per inch than the Quest Pro.

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