Back in the 1990s, Virtual Reality headsets were big and clunky. Powered by Commodore Amiga 3000s, these “Virtuality” headsets only had the tech to view the virtual world, with the processing power housed in a pod beneath the user’s feet. But what if the Raspberry Pi was around in the 1990s? Freelance CGI artist Moonshake3D has made this a reality with the Moonshake Stereoscopic Display System. A single-board computer powers this 64-bit VR gaming system.
The Moonshake Stereoscopic Display System renders are stunning, featuring a mix of plywood, leather, and acrylic to create a late 20th-century aesthetic. Under the hood, two Raspberry Pi cameras create the stereoscopic display system. These aren’t the latest Camera Module 3 but the Camera Module 2. Since a normal Raspberry Pi can only have one camera, this must be running a Compute Module unit. Compute Module IO boards have multiple camera connections, and lib-camera can control each camera individually. The Compute Module IO Board is large, and the render shows a virtual circuit board with a microSD card slot and some silver ports that could be USB.
The headset is rendered with plywood construction, with no padding for the face, but a pad on the back of the unit to cushion the user’s head. The Wi-Fi antenna sticking out of the unit indicates that the Compute Module 4 has Wi-Fi, and is reminiscent of 90s Sci-Fi TV shows.
This may not be a real product, but the care and attention put into the render is clear, and makes us want to try our hand at creating something similar. If it ever becomes a reality, our cash is ready and waiting.
