Welding with Oculus VR Glasses

The welding camera is a Cavitar C300. Size:  30mm x 45mm x 99mm. The compact unit has a CMOS sensor with 640nm light source and bandpass filter. The C300 is connected via ethernet to a computer where it is controlled with proprietary software. The camera has the unique ability to record unobstructed high resolution video and photographs of welding operations that produce high intensity UV light. Typically, the welder views the welding operation through a passive tinted lens where it can sometimes be difficult to see the work.

As an experiment, the Oculus Quest 2 was linked to the computer with Virtual Desktop software via WiFi where the operator could see the live image of the welding task in real time with very low latency. Viewing the welding on a screen rather than line of sight presents an unusual hand eye coordination condition that takes some getting used to but offers an unprecedented view for the welder. After welding for the last twenty years, seeing these images in real time is startling, I think only a welder would completely appreciate it.