HP Reverb G2 is getting a big upgrade, but not for you

HP today announced that the Reverb G2 VR headset will soon be the at the center of a new platform called the HP Omnicept Solution. The HP Omnicept Solution includes the Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition and a matching SDK that gives developers "an ecosystem to create hew hyper-personalized, engaging, and adaptive VR experiences for enterprises." Even though the Omnicept Solution is still some time off, the capabilities of the platform HP described today sound pretty impressive.

It seems that the HP Omnicept Solution is one that was born out of this new age of working from home amid the pandemic, with the headset geared toward capturing the emotion of the use more effectively. As HP points out in its announcement today, facial recognition and body language are big parts of communication, but those are both something that standard VR headsets don't always capture effectively.

The Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition is outfitted with a face camera and a number of sensors that are capable of eye tracking, heart rate tracking, and pupillometry tracking. HP says that all of these sensors make the Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition capable of capturing the "physiological responses" of users, while the Omnicept SDK can use machine learning algorithms to interpret that data. The result is a platform that allows developers to create "a user-centric VR experience that provides actionable insights into how end users engage and respond during the experience."

Because of that, HP isn't just positioning the Omnicept Solution as a tool for remote collaboration, but also as a potential training tool, with the company saying that VR has been proven to "significantly increase retention rates for learning and training." So, while average consumers probably won't be using the Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition, it sounds like it could have a lot of benefits for enterprise customers who are open to using VR as either a training or remote work tool.

Of course, a big question is pricing, but HP isn't ready to reveal that yet. The company does say that the both the Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition headset and the Omnicept SDK will be available in spring 2021 and promises a "flexible business model" for the SDK. As for the headset, we're told that pricing will be revealed closer to launch, so stay tuned.