Pimax launches innovation center: 314 Labs

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Pimax launches innovation center: 314 Labs

Pimax, a VR headset maker based in the US and China, has launched its own innovation center to accelerate R&D for virtual reality. The new center, titled 314 Labs (inspired by the number π), is located in Elkton, Maryland, as well as in Qingdao, China — both locations working closely together.

Founder of Pimax, Robin Weng:

"Pimax is essentially an R&D company, and to have a separate business entity for innovation serves to our purpose. We want to accelerate the rate of advancement of technology in VR. Leaps, not small iterations. Since 314 Labs has its own budget and goals exclusive for researching new technologies, it's more separate from the main company. It thus has more autonomy and a much faster decision process as a result. We want to continue to develop our core technologies, such as glass lenses, the SLAM algorithm, 60G wireless transmission, and our changeable optical system. In the future, we hope that with 314 Labs we can open doors to more deeper collaboration with other hardware and software companies, and organize user events to let them test and feedback new features, both in software and hardware."

Kobe Zhou, head of 314 Labs:

"314 Labs provides an open and innovative environment within the company, creating an innovative cultural atmosphere, aiming to attract and cultivate top talents from around the world. We firmly believe that with meaningful technical innovation, we sets ourselves apart from competitors. And especially in this complex and changing industry, only by doing so continuously can we work well on the long-term future of the company."

Elkton, Maryland

The location in Elkton, Maryland focuses on Pimax's self-developed SLAM algorithm, for headset, controller and hand-tracking. It features an OptiTrack tracking system to cross-reference the headsets inside-out tracking with extremely accurate outside-in tracking, and look for any inaccuracies.

Edgar Chen: "Our algorithm mainly perceives the world and people. The scope includes head & hand SLAM positioning algorithms, gesture tracking, eye tracking, 3D reconstruction, and more. To develop this was not a small task, but we feel this is a core technology to have internally."

 

Qingdao, China

Pimax's Qingdao office focuses on four other key technologies, such as the wireless protocol used in the 60G Airlink, as well as the changeable optical engine that is used for the first time in the Pimax Crystal Super. Also the glass aspherical lenses used in Crystal, Crystal Light, and Crystal Super, which were developed (but not produced) in Qingdao.

Headquarters

San Jose and Shanghai remain the headquarters of the Pimax company. In San Jose and Shanghai, main operational tasks are handled, such as logistics and afterservice, and customer care — but also hardware and software engineering in user-based scenarios. 314 Labs brings a separate entity with the same mission to suppliment the mission of pushing VR forward.

Software & hardware engineers at Pimax also play (and test) VR games in user-based situations, to use the headset in real to life scenarios.
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