Amazon May Look to VR to Enhance Shopping Experience, Job Ad Indicates
A new job opening at a division of the online retail giant Amazon my indicate the firm is looking to immersive technology to enhance its shopping experience.
The Future of VR Arcades with VRsenal
HTC announced the Vive Tracker at CES this year, which will enable a range of VR peripherals that are targeted to from consumers to high-end virtual reality arcades. One of the higher-end peripherals that debuted was VRsenal’s VR-15, which has built-in haptics and the same weight distribution as a M-16 and AR-15. I had a chance to catch up with VRsenal CEO Ben Davenport who talked about targeting the digital out-of-home entertainment and VR arcade market with their integrated solutions of commercial-off-the-shelf VR hardware, VR backpacks and haptic vests with customizations and top-of-the-line gun peripherals with an integrated Vive tracker.
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While VR hardware is expected to continually improve over each successive generation, Davenport makes the claim that
limited real estate within the homes will drive consumers to VR arcades that will be able to provide better compelling experiences given extra space. He says that competitive VR games are limited by teleportation and locomotion constraints, and that being able to physically move around large spaces will open up the types of social interactions that are possible with laser tag or paint ball.
He expects to see a return to the golden era of arcades when they could provide a more compelling and visceral experience than what’s possible with consumer VR within a home. High-end haptic devices will also likely be a differentiating factor as the passive haptic feedback from the VR-15 peripheral combined with embodied gameplay is able to deliver a compelling experience that people will be willing to pay for. He also expects to people eventually going through non-gaming and non-entertainment virtual and augmented experiences while they are co-located in the same physical environment.
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Music: Fatality & Summer Trip
Preview: VR Music Video ‘Chocolate’ by Director Tyler Hurd is a Slice of Pure Psychedelic Joy
VR music videos seem to be digging out a sweet spot of quick and fun VR experiences that use the depth of virtual reality to immerse viewers in music with powerful and impossible visuals. Chocolate, a new VR music video directed by Tyler Hurd, furthers the case for VR music videos with electro-kittens, masked dancers, and champagne.
PlayStation VR is the First Tethered Headset to Score YouTube VR Support
While YouTube is rapidly growing as a leading source of 360 degree video content, an official YouTube VR app has been notably absent from the high-end tethered headsets, even after its debut on Google’s Daydream VR platform. Now, PlayStation VR is the first to get support for the app, while the Rift and the Vive will likely have some time still to wait.
Tricking the Brain is the Only Way to Achieve a Total Haptics Solution
Deep in the basement of the Sands Expo Hall at CES was an area of emerging technologies called Eureka Park, which had a number of VR start-ups hoping to connect with suppliers, manufacturers, investors, or media in order to launch a product or idea. There was an early-stage haptic start-up called Go Touch VR showing off a haptic ring that simulated the type of pressure your finger might feel when pressing a button. I’d say that their demo was still firmly within the uncanny valley of awkwardness, but CEO Eric Vezzoli has a Ph.D. in haptics and was able to articulate an ambitious vision and technical roadmap towards a low-cost and low-fidelity haptics solution.
VRGE VR Dock Hits Kickstarter with Support for Multiple Headsets and Controllers
VRGE’s VR Dock is a storage and charging unit compatible with multiple headset and controller designs. Featuring a wood finish and protective rubber bumpers, the prototype has an elegant appearance, and is currently seeking crowdfunding via Kickstarter.
‘Dear Angelica’, Oculus Story Studio’s Latest VR Film, is Out Now for Free
After its announcement nearly a year ago, the much anticipated illustrative VR narrative from Oculus Story Studio, Dear Angelica, finally makes its way onto the Oculus Store. It stars Geena Davis and Mae Witman and it’s out now for free on the Rift.
‘HOLOSCOPE’ Headset Claims to Solve AR Display Hurdle with True Holography
Holo-this, holo-that. Holograms are so bamboozling that the term often gets used colloquially to mean ‘fancy-looking 3D image’, but holograms are actually a very specific and interesting method for capturing light field scenes which have some real advantages over other methods of displaying 3D imagery. RealView claims to be using real holography to solve a major problem inherent to AR and VR headsets of today, the vergence-accommodation conflict. Our favorite holo-skeptic, Oliver Kreylos, examines what we know about the company’s approach so far.
HTC Plans to Certify Accessories Approved for Use with Vive Tracker
At CES earlier this month, HTC announced the Vive Tracker, a standalone tracking device which taps into the Vive’s Lighthouse tracking system, and which can be attached to objects to track them in VR, including purpose-built accessories. The company plans to have an official certification process for accessory makers.
‘The Lawnmower Man’ is Coming to VR as an Original Multi-Episode Series
Jaunt, the cinematic VR company, has today revealed 5 different content deals slated to go into production in 2017, one of which—love it or hate it—will be based on the seminal ’90s VR flick The Lawnmower Man (1992). And no, neither Pierce Brosnan nor Jeff Fahey have signed on to reprise their roles as the eccentric scientist Dr. Lawrence Angelo and the intellectually disabled gardener Jobe Smith.
Within and Fox Partner to Create VR Content, Spike Jonze to Co-Produce Original VR Film
Content distribution platform and VR studio Within is partnering up with FoxNext, a recently created immersive media division of 21st Century Fox. The new partnership is promising to “bring viewers a new slate of virtual reality experiences this year,” the first of which will be based on Fox’s Planet of the Apes franchise.
Plex VR App ‘Plevr’ Shows Major Update with 3D Video Support, 360 Videos Coming Soon
Plevr is a third-party application in development which brings the popular personal media streaming platform Plex to VR. The app is due for an initial release by the end of the month, and a new devlog video shows a major update including 3D video support.
Prolific VFX Artist Kevin Mack Brings Surrealist Sculpture to Life in ‘Blortasia’
Kevin Mack is a digital fine artist and prolific visual effects designer known for his work across films such as Fight Club (1999), A Beautiful Mind (2001), The Fifth Element (1997), and What Dreams May Come (1998) for which he won an Oscar. Outside of supervising VFX for big budget Hollywood films, Mack creates abstract surrealist art, realizing them as 3D printed sculptures, 2D renderings, and now through his newly founded VR production house Shape Space VR, immersive virtual reality experiences that let you explore his strange and beautiful globular creations up close and personal. Enter Blortasia.
VR Livestreaming to Facebook Now Supported by NVIDIA GeForce Experience
At CES 2017 it was announced that users with NVIDIA’s Geforce Experience software will be able to stream gameplay of whatever they’re playing, including VR content, to Facebook Live. An update now available for the software enables the feature, including the ability to share 360 degree screenshots.
Facebook Study Finds Introverts Feel More Comfortable with VR Social Interaction
A recent study by Facebook IQ, in which people completed one-on-one conversations in VR, concluded that most people respond positively, and introverts in particular feel more comfortable. Facebook IQ is a team established to assist marketers in understanding the way people communicate online and offline.
