Road to VR

Oculus 1.17 Update Will Let You Launch SteamVR Apps From Oculus Home

By

-

Jul 26, 2017

Until recently, Oculus Rift owners have had to maintain two separate repositories for games; Steam and Oculus Home. And depending on where you bought a game, that’s usually where you’d launch it from. Revealed in a forum post, Oculus will be pushing a general update soon that will allow you to launch SteamVR apps (provided they have Rift support) directly from Home. A public pre-release build is already available however if you want to start creating your ‘one library to rule them all’.

Magic Leap Researchers Reveal “Deep SLAM” Tracking Algorithm

By

-

Jul 26, 2017

image courtesy Magic Leap

Magic Leap, the mysterious AR startup with a multiple-billion dollar valuation, still doesn’t have a headset to show the world, but in a recent paper published by Magic Leap researchers entitled Toward Geometric Deep SLAM, we get a peek into a novel machine vision technique that aims to bring the company closer to their goal of creating a robust standalone AR headset.

New York City Invests in AR/VR Incubator to Bolster City’s Jobs, Tech Talent

By

-

Jul 26, 2017

nyc-ar-vr-incubator-2 — Photo by Road to VR

New York City’s Deputy Mayor for Housing and Economic Development, Alicia Glen, recently announced the selection of NYU Tandon School of Engineering to “develop and operate” the “first government-funded” VR/AR hub for education, training, research, investment and business creation at a 15,000 square foot space in the Brooklyn Navy Yard. In the Bronx, CUNY (City University of New York) Lehman College’s VR/AR Training Academy and Development Lab will prepare students for careers in the virtual and augmented reality sectors.

Google Expects 11 Daydream Ready Phones Available by Year’s End

By

-

Jul 26, 2017

daydream-view-hands-on-7 — Photo by Road to VR

In a few years’ time Google expects to operate Daydream on “Android scale,” one day opening the VR door to “hundreds of millions of users.” But in order to get there, the company needs a much wider selection of Daydream ready Android smartphones. This week Google said they expect 11 Daydream ready phones on the market by the end of 2017.

Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus Daydream VR Update Begins Rolling Out

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

clay bavor google io vr — Image courtesy Google

Announced back in May, an update bringing Google Daydream support to the Samsung Galaxy S8 and S8 Plus has begun rolling out, making those phones the only two to support both Daydream VR and Gear VR.

‘Smashbox Arena’ Now Available on PSVR – Launch Trailer

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

Smashbox Arena, one of SteamVR’s best rated titles, today launches on Playstation VR. The game plays like a mashup of a first person shooter and a game of dodgeball.

Motorola to Launch 360 Camera ‘Mod’ Alongside Latest Moto Z Phone

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

moto 360 camera - moto mods Motorola US(2) — image courtesy Motorola

Motorola today unveiled their latest phone, the Moto Z2 Force Edition, and alongside it will come a 360-degree camera that the company says snaps onto any phone in the Moto Z lineup.

‘Bigscreen’ Overhaul Brings High-Quality Multiplayer Video Streaming, More Users Per-room to Follow

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

Bigscreen is a social VR app which lets VR users bring their PC desktops into virtual reality, as if sitting at their computer next to friends or co-workers. Users inside of Bigscreen can see each other’s desktops which means you can watch movies or play games together. With Bigscreen still in beta, the streaming functionality has been hit or miss, but a new update promises to bring “flawless” 1080p streaming at 30 FPS to everyone.

Arcade Slot Car Racer ‘Tiny Trax’ Launches on PlayStation VR

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

Tiny Trax (2017), the tiny slot car racing game, is now out for PlayStation VR. Created by Brighton-based studio FuturLab, Tiny Trax gives you the tiny HotWheels-sized cars from your childhood and lets you tear around and the room, do incredible jumps and drift around bends on a slot track otherwise impossible outside of VR.

Facebook Update Adds 4K 360 Video Streaming Support to VR Headsets and More

By

-

Jul 25, 2017

gearvr-360-video — image courtesy Facebook

Facebook today announced new updates coming to their 360 streaming service including live 4k streaming support to VR headsets, image stabilization and a number of features that puts VR-ready 360 video more in line with the company’s standard streaming video service. Facebook also released a list of vetted 360 cameras and software suites so prospective content creators can jump straight into the 360 deep end with full knowledge that what they’re doing conforms to the company’s 360 streaming standards.

Using Google Earth VR to Study Awe – Towards a Virtual Overview Effect

By

-

Jul 24, 2017

google-earth-vr — Image courtesy Google

One of the unique affordances of virtual reality is its power to convey the vastness of scale, which can invoke feelings of awe. Denise Quesnel is a graduate student at Simon Frasier University’s iSpace Lab, and she has been studying the process of invoking awe using Google Earth VR. She was inspired by Frank White’s work on The Overview Effect, which documented the worldview transformations of many astronauts after they observed the vastness of the Earth from the perspective of space.

HoloLens 2.0 to Put a Custom A.I. Chip at the Heart of Its On-board Processor

By

-

Jul 24, 2017

hpu microsoft hololens — image courtesy Microsoft

Microsoft has undoubtedly been working on the next version of HoloLens, the company’s AR headset, but now we know a little more about what’s going into the next iteration: a Microsoft-built custom AI chip designed to carry out low-latency computer vision tasks.

10 Oculus Exclusives HTC Vive Owners Should Play Using Revive Hack

By

-

Jul 24, 2017

Thanks to ReVive, a hack that lets SteamVR-compatible headsets play Oculus Rift exclusives, anyone with an HTC Vive can enjoy a number of unofficially supported games from the Oculus Store. Here we take a look at 5 of the games you shouldn’t miss—of course with the appended “buyer beware” warning that the Revive hack caries with it.

Oculus’ Nate Mitchell on the Fate of ‘Rooms’ and ‘Parties’ on Rift

By

-

Jul 24, 2017

nate mitchell (2) — Nate Mitchell on stage at Oculus Connect 2 | Image courtesy Oculus

VR is in many ways awesome, but still in many ways lacking. Ease-of-use, especially when it comes to playing in VR with friends, is presently a huge pain point for the experience. Oculus’ solution to that pain point—announced more than seven months ago—launched on Gear VR where it was welcomed with open arms. Bizarrely, the same features remain painfully absent from Rift, Oculus’ high-end VR platform, especially in the face of major improvements to multiplayer VR gaming on SteamVR. Nate Mitchell, Head of Rift at Oculus, offers an update on the fate of Rooms and Parties on the Rift.

Acclaimed ‘Racket: Nx’ Getting Major ‘Early Access 2’ Update This Week

By

-

Jul 23, 2017

racket-nx-early-access-2-update-screenshot — Image courtesy One Hamsa

Racket: Nx is an impressively polished and physical VR arcade sport which plays like a mashup of futuristic racquetball and pinball. Currently in Early Access (and rated 99% positive), the game is due to get a major ‘Early Access 2’ update on July 27th that brings with it a host of improvements from physics to gameplay to music.

1...433434435...744 Page 434 of 744

Latest Headlines

Features & Reviews