Shanghai-based Pimax Technology Co. Ltd. announced the launch of its new high-resolution virtual reality headset Tuesday with the unveiling of a Kickstarter project asking for $200,000. Less than 24 hours later, the project has been fully funded, tripling its original ask to over $680,000 from 1,063 backers.

The Pimax 8K headset is designed to greatly upgrade the VR experience by providing a much larger field of view – approximately 200-degrees compared to the FOV of the current standard which is 110-degrees – and the highest resolution of any headset at 3840×2160 on two screens (one for each eye).

“Pimax 8K offers 200-degree field of vision, which is far closer to matching the natural human FOV of 220-degrees,” Pimax wrote on the Kickstarter page. “Users can simply use their peripheral vision instead of constantly moving their head, making for a more intuitive experience.”

The company says that its design for an 8K resolution VR headset represents the first of its resolution to enter the market. Pimax previously built a 4K resolution headset, launching it in a year ago, and it aims to build on what the company learned from building that for consumers. The 4K headset was recognized as the best VR product at CES Asia 2016.

“We are closing the gap between reality and the digital world,” said Pimax founder and Chief Executive Officer Robin Weng. “The 8K VR headset allows people to become a part of the ultra-high definition environment, by digitizing 2-D illustrations from a screen and transforming the very environment around you, invoking a whole new level of emotion while in this 3D virtual space. The 4K was a brilliant breakthrough, and we have grown from that into the next step with the 8K headset, bringing a more genuine realism to virtual reality.”

Alongside improved resolution and field of view, the 8K Pimax headset will help do away with the “screen door effect” that many current-generation headsets suffer from to produce a cleaner, seamless view of virtual environments. The hardware also supports better transitions between visual scenes and presents little to no lag in viewing panoramic images and videos. That will translate into the ability to use the Pimax 8K for hours without experiencing the motion sickness from which many people suffer when using VR technology.

The Pimax 8K headset includes a pair of motion tracking controllers. Together with eye-tracking technology inside of the headset itself allow users to interact with virtual environments in an intuitive manner. The system allows for seated VR, standing VR and room-scale positional tracking – essentially allowing a user to walk around a small room while in VR.

For long sessions, the headset also includes fans and an automatic demisting system in the headset design.

For VR content, the Pimax 8K will connect to its own distribution system called PiHome as well as Valve Corp.’s SteamVR and Oculus Home, via a third-party tool. At launch, the Pimax VR headset will be compatible with more than 1,700 VR games and videos across mainstream VR platforms.

Currently, Pimax has priced the 8K headset at $399, and when bundled with tracking controllers it’s $649. That price places it on par with current tethered headset prices from major VR developers such as the Sony PlayStationVR headset, at around $300, the Oculus Rift bundle, whose price dropped to $399 for a limited time in July but is now $499, and the HTC Vive bundle, which sells for near $599.

The Pimax 8K VR Kickstarter still has 44 days to go and opportunities still exist for backers to prepurchase the upcoming headset, with other options such as deluxe and limited-edition headset bundles.

Image: Pimax