A Volvo personnel wears a Varjo augmented reality headset while driving image: Volvo/Varjo

Volvo has announced an investment in Varjo — a Finnish maker of high-end AR headsets that raised $31 million in funding October last year — from the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. The amount invested and stake taken is undisclosed. This investment comes as part of a new creation: a mixed-reality app for use while driving, not by mainstream consumers but by engineers for development and safety evaluation purposes.

Varjo has debuted the XR-1 AR headset which Volvo personnel are able to wear while driving cars at its research facilities in Sweden, to test virtual car safety systems imposed by augmented reality on a real-world environment. Compared to its predecessor, the $6,000 VR-1 headset, Varjo says the XR-1 adds high-definition cameras and also enables use of mixed reality. This allows Volvo designers and engineers to test its cars in simulated environments, providing better insights on how to develop car safety and create a better user experience.

An engineer makes tests on a Volvo vehicle leveraging input from a Varjo XR-1 headset image: Volvo/Varjo

Features of the XR-1 headset include:

• Eye-tracking technology.
• Ability to switch between mixed reality and full virtual reality modes.
• Depth sensors that allow mapping of real-life objects and environments.
• A front plate with dual 12 mpx cameras.
• < 15 ms latency.
• Color matching technology

The new headset will ship in the second half of this year for an unspecified price.

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