GameFace Labs

GameFace Labs is an American technology company established in 2013 by Edward Mason to develop hardware and software for consumer virtual reality. The company became associated with the effort to make immersive computing less dependent on conventional desktop computers and game consoles by pursuing standalone headsets with their own mobile processors, displays, operating systems, tracking systems, and application environments. Its work was developed across a San Francisco headquarters and offices in London, giving the company an international engineering and technology presence. The company’s early public work centered on a self-contained headset. Its first prototype, shown at Insomnia Gaming Festival 49 in 2013, used a 720p LCD display and Nvidia’s Tegra 3 system-on-chip. An updated prototype presented at CES 2014 moved to a 1080p OLED display and Tegra 4 processor. Later in 2014, GameFace Labs demonstrated an early user interface that allowed users to launch applications from within a virtual environment and interact with friends using content originating on other platforms. The same period saw the public demonstration of the Mk V prototype at E3. Built around Nvidia’s Tegra K1 platform and a 1440p Samsung display, the prototype was designed to support Android content, Google Cardboard content, and graphics technologies including DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.4 through Nvidia’s mobile Kepler architecture. GameFace Labs also pursued ecosystem and standards participation. It was a founding member of the Open Source Virtual Reality project, commonly known as OSVR, and the Immersive Technology Alliance. In December 2015, it joined Valve’s OpenVR ecosystem, linking its development work with a broader software and hardware framework for virtual-reality applications and tracking. At E3 2017, the company demonstrated its seventh standalone prototype. This version supported Android and Daydream content and incorporated six-degrees-of-freedom positional tracking within an Android environment. It used dual OLED panels, low-persistence display technology, and wireless infrared-beacon input tracking. GameFace Labs later disclosed work on an ARM-based implementation of Valve’s second-generation Lighthouse tracking technology, supported by custom firmware. The company also showed an alpha version of a developer platform intended to improve the distribution and sharing of immersive content. In May 2018, GameFace Labs began shipping developer kits based on Nvidia’s Jetson TX2 system-on-chip. The company positioned the kit as an early consumer-electronics implementation of TX2 and as a system combining that processor with Android. The available reference material documents a continuing sequence of prototypes, developer hardware, platform software, and technology demonstrations, but does not establish the company’s current operating status, ownership, commercial scale, or whether a mass-market product reached sustained retail availability.

GameFace Labs was founded in 2013 by Edward Mason as a virtual-reality technology company pursuing standalone consumer hardware. Its approach was notable because the company attempted to place the processing, display, software environment, and interaction model inside the headset rather than requiring a permanent connection to a computer or console. The first publicly described prototype appeared at Insomnia Gaming Festival 49 in 2013. It used a 720p LCD panel and Nvidia Tegra 3 system-on-chip, providing an early demonstration of the company’s mobile-computing strategy. The hardware evolved quickly. At CES 2014, GameFace Labs displayed an updated prototype with a 1080p OLED display and Tegra 4 processor. In June of that year, it demonstrated an initial user interface for launching applications within a virtual environment. The interface also contemplated social and cross-platform use, allowing people to invite friends from other platforms to share or collaborate on virtual content. At E3, the company presented the Mk V prototype, which used Nvidia’s Tegra K1 platform and a 1440p Samsung display. The K1 system’s mobile Kepler graphics architecture was described as supporting Android content using DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.4, while also maintaining compatibility with Google Cardboard content. GameFace Labs developed in parallel with the emerging open and interoperable virtual-reality ecosystem. It was identified as a founding member of OSVR and the Immersive Technology Alliance. In December 2015, it joined Valve’s OpenVR ecosystem. These affiliations placed the company’s headset work within wider efforts to support common software, tracking, and development interfaces rather than limiting hardware to a single closed platform. The company’s seventh standalone prototype was demonstrated at E3 in 2017. This generation supported Android and Daydream applications and offered six-degrees-of-freedom positional tracking in an Android environment. Its design included dual OLED panels and low-persistence display technology. Wireless infrared-beacon input provided six-degrees-of-freedom control, and in January 2018 the company described development of an ARM-based implementation of Valve’s second-generation Lighthouse tracking technology using custom firmware. GameFace Labs also presented an alpha build of a developer platform intended to let users share and download content at substantially higher speeds than conventional downloading. In May 2018, GameFace Labs began shipping developer kits based on Nvidia’s TX2 system-on-chip. The company described the kit as an early consumer-electronics device using TX2 and as a pairing of the processor with Android. The documented record emphasizes prototypes, demonstrations, developer hardware, and platform experimentation. It does not provide reliable information about later commercial launches, funding, ownership changes, financial performance, or the company’s present status, so those matters remain unconfirmed.

• 2018

  TX2 developer kits began shipping

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  GameFace Labs began shipping developer kits powered by Nvidia TX2 and running Android.

• 2017

  Seventh standalone prototype demonstrated

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  At E3, GameFace Labs showed a multi-platform standalone headset with Android and Daydream support, dual OLED panels, low-persistence displays, and six-degrees-of-freedom tracking.

• 2015

  Joined Valve OpenVR ecosystem

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  GameFace Labs joined Valve’s OpenVR ecosystem in December, supporting its interoperability-oriented virtual-reality development.

• 2014

  1080p OLED and Tegra 4 prototype shown

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  GameFace Labs presented an updated standalone-headset prototype at CES using a 1080p OLED display and Nvidia Tegra 4 system-on-chip.

• 2014

  Virtual-reality interface and Mk V demonstrated

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  The company demonstrated an application-launching virtual interface and showed the Tegra K1-based Mk V prototype at E3 with a 1440p display.

• 2013

  Company founded and first prototype demonstrated

  [1]GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org

  Edward Mason founded GameFace Labs. At Insomnia Gaming Festival 49, the company showed a standalone headset prototype with a 720p LCD panel and Nvidia Tegra 3 processor.

Standalone, mobile-powered virtual reality with open ecosystem compatibility, integrated tracking, and developer-oriented hardware and software.

• Virtual-reality hardware · 2013

  Standalone virtual-reality headset prototypes

  GameFace Labs’ principal hardware program consisted of successive standalone headset prototypes designed to operate without a tether to a computer or console. Generations progressed from a Tegra 3 and 720p LCD configuration to OLED displays, more capable Nvidia mobile processors, integrated Android support, and increasingly advanced positional tracking. The prototypes were used to demonstrate the company’s approach to self-contained consumer virtual reality.

• Virtual-reality headset prototype · 2014

  Mk V

  The Mk V was a GameFace Labs prototype demonstrated at E3 in 2014. It used Nvidia’s Tegra K1 system-on-chip and a 1440p display supplied by Samsung. Its mobile Kepler graphics architecture was described as supporting Android content using DirectX 11 and OpenGL 4.4, as well as Google Cardboard content.

• Virtual-reality headset prototype · 2017

  Seventh standalone prototype

  Demonstrated at E3 in 2017, the seventh prototype supported Android and Daydream content and included dual OLED panels, low-persistence display technology, and six-degrees-of-freedom positional tracking. It used wireless infrared-beacon input and was designed to provide a broader standalone platform for immersive applications.

• Virtual-reality developer hardware · 2018

  TX2 developer kit

  The TX2 developer kit was a development-oriented GameFace Labs system powered by Nvidia’s TX2 system-on-chip and paired with Android. Shipping began in May 2018. It was intended to give developers hardware on which to build and test standalone virtual-reality experiences rather than serving only as a consumer retail headset.

• 2018

  Shipping of Nvidia TX2 developer kitsProduct launch

  Background

  GameFace Labs sought to provide developers with more capable standalone virtual-reality hardware based on mobile system-on-chip technology.

  Action taken

  The company began shipping developer kits using Nvidia’s TX2 processor and Android.

  Aftermath

  The kits extended the company’s prototype program into developer hardware. The available source does not establish subsequent retail commercialization.

  Source

• 2015

  Participation in Valve’s OpenVR ecosystemStrategy

  Background

  GameFace Labs was developing standalone virtual-reality hardware while the industry was forming competing software and tracking ecosystems.

  Action taken

  In December 2015, the company joined Valve’s OpenVR ecosystem.

  Aftermath

  The move associated GameFace Labs with Valve’s broader interoperability framework. No commercial or financial outcome is documented in the available material.

  Source

1. 1GameFace Labsen.wikipedia.org