Wearable Tech

by Dong Ngo May 30, 2017 3:18 PM PDT

ICVR aims to bring sanity to VR connectivity.

Josh Miller/CNET

As anyone who has delved into the world of virtual reality knows, there are a lot of cables and connectors -- and none of them seem to be the same. But that may be about to change, thanks to a newly formed industry group known as ICVR.

The joint venture, unveiled Tuesday, is initially comprised of Analogix Semiconductor, Tencent, LG Electronics and Dell. It aims to standardize connectivity between VR accessories and the source devices to which they're connected, such as PCs and phones. 

The proposed VR specification will use the DisplayPort video protocol over a USB-C connector. It will be available for current and future ICVR members in the third quarter of 2017. 

Two challenges we can see right off the bat: The new proposed standard doesn't seem to account for the wireless headset prototypes already being shown off by the likes of Google, Microsoft and Facebook. And with the Lightning connector on iPhones and iPads, it's hard to imagine Apple joining this ICVR anytime soon.

But you have to start somewhere -- and USB-C seems like a better option than the tangle of ports that current PC-based VR systems use.