As immersive technology has continued to develop, what comes under the banner of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) has developed as well. Some now refer to the group as XR – or eXtended reality – as everything adapts and changes. Many believe that as those lines between the technologies shift, blur and evolve, that eventually it’ll all be under the one banner anyway. Headsets providing support across the board.

We’re now in the period where the next generation of headsets have begun to be released onto the market, however this iteration has been more focused about standalone VR and cutting the cord between the PC and the headset wearer than bringing the technologies together. As seen with the likes of the Oculus Go, Oculus’ Santa Cruz and the Vive Focus head mounted displays (HMDs). That does not mean though, that there have not been developments to bring AR and VR ever closer together. Step forward the HTC Vive Pro.

In this video below, Project Ghost Studios reveal what they have been doing with the Vive Pro, and offer an early demonstration of what it can do in conjunction with its SR SDK, SR in this instance referring to ‘See through Reality’. Their work was the result of an invitation to the studio by HTC to help develop the SDK which utilises the Vive Pro Dual Cameras to provide a form of AR support.

“Earlier this year, we were honoured to be part of a small select group of developers invited by HTC to work on a new SDK involving the Vive Pro Dual Cameras.” Explains Gaspar Ferreiro, the President of Project Ghost Studios. “We finally have been allowed to open the curtains on our work, which attempts to blur the lines between reality, augmented reality (well See Through reality), and virtual reality. We hope the link provided shows you some of the new capabilities that can be attained with the Vive Pro, and the new possibilities it opens for storytelling and immersive content.”

The demonstration involves a Vive Pro user donning the headset to play what is initially a form of immersive whack-a-mole game, taking place in the real world albeit with the addition of a ‘night vision’ filter. This is eventually revealed to be straight AR when the user incurs damage and loses the filter. Gameplay continues until the user is interrupted by a very different style of character who indicates the videogame their are playing is nothing more than a distraction and that the real work they need to be getting on with is waiting. The character then expands a portal, which the player is encouraged to step through, literally crossing over from an AR experience into a VR experience (what appears to be the studio’s title Project Ghost) where gameplay continues.

According to Project Ghost Studios they will be showcasing more video of their developments at a later date which will including interactions with other products such as Noitom’s Hi5 VR gloves. You can see the video below which shows off the SR SDK. VRFocus will bring you more news about the SR SDK as we get it.