Ridley Scott Associates (RSA), the film production company of famed director Ridley Scott, is launching RSA VR, a new division dedicated to the production of high-end immersive films using VR, AR, and mixed reality. Scott and co. is known for work on acclaimed films such as Alien (1979), Blade Runner (1982), Gladiator (2000), Black Hawk Down (2001), and more throughout his career as a director now going on 40 years.
360 Designs have revealed a new drone which carries the company’s 6k 360 VR video camera and a payload capable of broadcasting that imagery “over 5 miles” from a companion base station, which the company says means live-streamable, “broadcast quality” aerial 360 video is now a possibility.
Known as a brilliant comedian and capable writer/director, but not quite for his tech insight, Ricky Gervais has high praise for what he has ostensibly seen at Magic Leap. Gervais’ statements come as the company seems to be courting celebrities.
StarVR is a VR headset in development by Starbreeze Studios which aims to excel in two places: field of view and resolution; presently offering a whopping 210 degree field of view and 5120×1440 resolution. The latest version of the still in-development headset adds low-persistence to keep the image sharp even during head movement, better emphasizing the impressive pixel density which makes for a nearly invisible screen door effect.
Criterion Games, the EA studio that developed the PSVR-exclusive Star Wars Battlefront Rogue One: VR Mission, could be working on new VR experiences for the upcoming Battlefront II.
Impeller Studios’ crowdfunding goal of $150,000 was reached with around 40 hours to go, meaning the Starfighter Inc. project has the resources to complete in a timely manner. Stretch goals are now being hit, starting with new pilot and ship skins.
Social VR platform TheWaveVR is now in open beta and delivering weekly DJ sets in its wild and weird environment filled with psychedelic interactive art. Distributing free of charge on Steam Early Access for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, the platform lets you watch, host, and socialize in shows while music is mixed live.
One of the most immersive VR flying experiences that I’ve had a chance to try so far is Mindride Airflow. I got to experience it last fall at VRLA 2016, and the weightless harness combined with a variety of different wind speeds gave me a deep sense of immersion and presence beyond what I would’ve expected.
In a new Virtual Reality Industry Report, Greenlight Insights forecasts modest VR industry growth in the short term, growing into a major global content marketplace by 2021.
VR First, the global initiative to seed academic institutions with VR/AR hardware and software, today announced that it’s nearly doubling the number of its VR labs in universities and science parks across the globe by the end of 2017. With currently 26 labs operating in the United States, Europe, Asia and Oceania, VR First is bringing the number to 40 labs by the end of year.
Although HTC has hardly even hinted at a Vive 2, the company is continuing to make subtle improvements to their first headset that’s been selling in stores since April 2016. In addition to a 15% reduction in weight, the latest headsets are shipping with tweaked SteamVR Tracking (AKA Lighthouse) Base Stations and redesigned packaging.
A short video (heading this article) of two people wildly hitting a giant ball with foam swords (captured by Super Ventures) is an amusing showcase of PhaseSpace’s motion tracking technology. Planet Whack is a whac-a-mole-inspired game, where two players participate in the same VR space trying to hit cartoon worms emerging from a sphere, with the giant beach ball providing haptic feedback.
Rick and Morty are finally making their way to VR in Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality. Coming to HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets on Steam and Oculus Home, you can take part in the dimension-hopping adventure starting Thursday, April 20th for for $29.99.
Canadian technology company Globacore have created an AR homage to video game classic Lemmings (1991), now for Microsoft HoloLens. HoloLems, which is free on the Microsoft Store, uses HoloLens’ spatial mapping technology to generate an obstacle course from the player’s real environment.
