There's an hour-long line to get into a booth in the South Hall of this year's Consumer Electronics Show, and for good reason. Oculus, which Facebook bought last March for $2 billion, was demonstrating its latest virtual reality prototype headset, dubbed Crystal Cove.
This newest version of the Rift VR headset is in fact astonishing. You strap on a pair of goggles and are transported to a series of different settings, one of which includes a lumbering, slobbering T-Rex. In another, the wearer materializes on a ledge, high above a futuristic city. As I stood on that imaginary perch and looked at the ground far below, I felt actual, heart-palpitating fear.
I spoke to Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe about Crystal Cove and his plans to finally launch the much anticipated device. Among other things, he said that getting acquired by Facebook has allowed the company to grow fivefold, from 50 engineers to more than 250, in a short nine months. Oculus hasn't committed to a ship date for the Rift, but when it comes, it may well be worth the wait.
