HP debuts virtual reality workstation that you wear on your back

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HP Inc. has unveiled a virtual reality PC aimed at the enterprise -- but rather than sitting on workers' desks, it'll be worn on their backs out in the field.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Photo by: HP

Caption by: ZDNet Editors
The hardware, known as the Z VR Backpack, is aimed at workers in the areas including product design, architecture, healthcare, first responder training, automotive, and entertainment.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Photo by: HP

Caption by: ZDNet Editors
The backpack could be used for training emergency services personnel, or to create scale models of buildings for use in industries such as architecture. It could also be used to visualise products during development, according to HP.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Photo by: HP

Caption by: ZDNet Editors
The wearable workstation runs on Intel's Core i7 vPro chipset, and uses Nvidia's Quadro P5200 GPU with 16GB of video memory for graphics processing. It runs Windows 10 Pro, and has 1TB of SSD storage.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Caption by: ZDNet Editors
The 4.66kg backpack workstation is designed to work with HTC's Vive business edition headset or HP's own Windows mixed-reality headset.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Photo by: HP

Caption by: ZDNet Editors
The hardware can also be taken out of the harness and docked for office use.
The backpack is scheduled for release in September, with prices starting from $3,299.

Published: August 2, 2017 -- 10:02 GMT (03:02 PDT)
Photo by: HP

Caption by: ZDNet Editors