Theo Valich, Author at VR World

Augmented Reality (AR), Entertainment, Mobile, News, Promoted, Tablets, Virtual Reality (VR)

Tottenham Hotspur’s Exciting New App Shows How VR is Changing Sport

Just a few short years ago, virtual reality was seen as such a complex, advanced technology that a VR headset was viewed as a tool of the distant future, almost like a prop from a science-fiction movie. Fast-forward to today and VR is impacting every industry around the globe, from gaming and entertainment to marketing, hospitality and healthcare and – believe it or not – even professional sports. Over in England at Premier League Association Football Club Tottenham Hotspur, a new Virtual and Augmented Reality technology is taking fans inside the club’s new state of the art stadium before it is even built. The ‘SPVRS’

Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), Back to School, Education, Google, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Thanks to VR, Teachers Could (Finally) become Millionares

Robot classroom assistants and virtual reality learning could see “celebrity teachers” make millions, experts claim. Technology is set to play a vital role in helping the 263 million children globally who are not in school, delegates at the annual Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) heard. Mark Steed, the director of Dubai private school Jess, said the format was already being used by some teachers to offer global internet-based seminars, earning millions of pounds in the process. He pointed to a Korean teacher who offers online lessons on “cramming” learning and made $8m (£6m) in one year. Teachers in the Middle East , Egypt and UAE

Analysis, Augmented Reality (AR), Biotech, Business, Companies, Entertainment, News, Oculus, startups, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

New VR Startups are Helping People with Phobias

In Oxford, according to the Guardian, there is a new startup that is trialling VR for all kinds of conditions, from phobias to pain management to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Can you imagine being professional war pilot and still be afraid of heights? Or, worse, to be afraid of something that cannot possibly harm you? I am scared of grasshoppers and moths. Not just scared. I don’t scream like a girl. If I see one on my building stairs, I’ll rather be jumping from the tenth floor. So yes, I’m really glad that people like Daniel Freeman exist. Freeman is a professor of clinical psychology

Audio/Video, Breaking, Business, Entertainment, Gaming, Graphics, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)

SLIVER.TV Raises $9.8 Million to Transport eSports into VR

There’s no shortage of funding for new and exciting companies which are focusing on providing a new experience for the consumers. One such examples is the “mainstreamization” of eSports, with tournaments receiving as much visitors as many mainstream sport events. That’s not all, as eSport streamers drove YouTube and Twitch to new heights in terms of videos being generated and followed. Building on its launch in 2016, SLIVER.tv signed numerous partnerships to bring their technology into eSports. The company signed agreements and started streaming numerous events, bringing brands such as DreamHack, ESL One and Intel Extreme Masters. Their focus on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and

Breaking, Hardware, Networking Reviews, News, Smart Home

Linksys Kills Lag by Launching Killer Wireless Router for Gaming, VR

The quest for seamless wireless experience still represents a challenge for the network industry. Regardless of are we talking about smartphones, eSports, conventional multiplayer games or even VR, any network-induced lag breaks the user experience. In order to address the issue Linksys teamed with Rivet Networks to develop a Killer-powered wireless router, named WRT32X. If the name WRT sounds familiar, it’s no secret that this product shares the name with WRT54 series, one of most successful networking products of all times, still being sold today, 15 years after its introduction – thanks to Linksys making a decision to endorse support OpenWRT for the fans of

Breaking, Hardware, HTC, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

HTC Responds to Oculus, Slashes Vive Price by 25% to $599

Just as Oculus and their “time limited” summer discount for Oculus Rift + Touch at mere $399 turned into a full time pricing, HTC could not sleep in peace after seeing the tide shifting in favor of its rival, owned by Faceb00k. HTC could not afford to continue selling Vive VR headset for $799 at the time when $458.99 gets you a roomscale Oculus Rift + Touch + Sensor. Ever since its debut, HTC received many accolades and support in the gaming industry. Keeping the open approach to content and not going for exclusives proved to be a winning bet for the company which got

Breaking, Entertainment, Gaming, Hardware, Mobile, News, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

Hollywood and Stephen King Reinvent Fear with IT Horror VR Experience

Hollywood content factory is kicking into high gear when it comes to VR Experiences. After IMAX launched its VR arcades, and a $50 million content fund. The Void came to life promising spectacular multiplayer experiences, and their Ghostbusters VR experience is to dream off. However, there’s new field of VR entertainment coming… scaring the c**p out of you. Stephen King’s IT is coming back into the movie theaters, and this time around the effects are created to give you a proper fright. In order to capture as much audience as possible, Stephen King and Twentieth Century Fox teamed up to bring a scary VR experience

Breaking, Gaming, HTC, News, Oculus, Sony, Virtual Reality (VR)

CCP Invents Cross-Reality, Launches EVE: Valkyrie Warzone

Since its launch, EVE: Valkyrie is one of most immersive VR experiences, a fast paced space combat sim which might serve as a professional training tool for your neck muscles. Still, the fact that this game was VR only was limiting its reach, and given the multiplayer nature of it, CCP expanded the game from Oculus to Vive, added PlayStation VR and now ultimately, is adding a two-dimensional mode, i.e. computer display (PC) or a TV (PS4). “If you can play first-person shooters, you can pilot one of EVE: Valkyrie – Warzone’s amazing ships. Not having access to VR hardware will no longer hold gamers

AMD, Breaking, Graphics, Hardware, News, Nvidia, Software Programs

AMD Releases Blockchain-Only Driver to Help You Make Money

There’s no denying that blockchain technology is taking a strong foothold in the market, and that it can no longer considered a fad. Using a graphics card to mine cryptocurrencies is somewhat a controversial topic, as gamers complain about the inability to acquire graphics cards to be gaming cards. However, financial results from AMD and NVIDIA are showing that a double digit revenue improvement, and profits associated with it will enable both companies to invest more in R&D. We are not far off from companies offering dedicated mining cards which might even split from the brands of today. After all, NVIDIA Tesla used to be

Audio/Video, Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Hardware, Mobile, Mobile World Congress, News, Qualcomm, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

Qualcomm Unveils Depth Sensing Spectra Module Camera

Qualcomm’s AR/VR efforts are accelerating. Following the launch of stand-alone Vive with Snapdragon VR 835 platform, the company launched Spectra ISP camera module for smartphone and headset manufacturers. Goal is to enable several new features which may be the key to simplification of how users around the world use their smartphones and headsets. While we mostly know Qualcomm as the manufacturer of Snapdragon processors, the company is also leading manufacturer of image processing systems, i.e. cameras. Second generation Spectra ISP proves that leadership with innovations such as active or passive depth sensing and biometric recognition (iris scan, facial features) – enabling future smart devices to

AMD, Breaking, CPU, Enterprise, Hardware, Intel, Microsoft, News, Nvidia, Operating Systems, VR World, Windows

Microsoft Launches Windows 10 Pro for Workstations

Microsoft demonstrated today that the company is keeping its flagship product in touch with the advances in computer hardware. The company announced new version of Windows 10 Pro, named Windows 10 Pro for Workstations. This OS is slated to arrive with the Fall edition of Windows Creators Update. With AMD and Intel releasing 32- and 28-core processors, reporting as much as 128 cores/threads in a 2P (dual socket) configuration, the question how will Microsoft follow the breakneck pace of CPU and GPU wars. New Windows 10 Pro represents a highly tuned version of operating system, focusing on reducing system latency and increasing responsiveness as much

Business, Entertainment, Gaming, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables, Wearables

Disneyland Goes VR with Star Wars Experience

During the “great entertainment war,” The Walt Disney Company faced a challenge from the Dalian Wanda Group and decided to go all out on its properties and super-charge the connection between its franchises and entertainment parks. Disney figured that all that it needs to ride the storm is accelerate the production of new content, as well as enhance interactivity between visitors and its content. We already reported on Guardians of the Galaxy in VR, now the time has come for Star Wars and the new VR multiplayer experience called Secrets of the Empire. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire puts a number of players inside

Augmented Reality (AR), Business, Entertainment, News, press releases, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)

Nurulize Launches Creation Engine for Hollywood VR Experiences

While Nurulize isn’t a household name like Crytek, Epic Games, Unity. Atom View and Nu Design aren’t as recognizable as Cryengine, Unity or Unreal Engine. Yet, this rising software developer believes it created a content creation engine which will improve the way content creators port their creations into conventional and new mediums. At the opening day of Siggraph, Nurulize launched Atom View and Nu Design, tools designed to accelerate the workflow and usage of the same digital assets in off-line post-production and real-time rendering. While it sounds like search for the holy grail of content creation, Hollywood experienced quite the revolution over the past couple

Breaking, Event, Gaming, Hardware, HTC, Mobile, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

HTC Unveils Vive Standalone VR With Qualcomm Snapdragon 835

The first day of ChinaJoy in Shanghai, China saw the largest number of VR announcements we’ve seen since we started to talk about Virtual Reality. Perhaps the biggest announcement of the first day is HTC, who launched a Vive Standalone headset. The first Vive Standalone VR headset will be available only on the China market, utilizing Viveport as its official content platform, expanding the user case scenario for HTC’s VR strategy. “The new headset is set to deliver an outstanding standalone VR experience, making it the best-in-class premium device for this segment in the China market. Interested VR developers may register at www.viveport.com/standalonevr-cn to apply

AMD, Breaking, Business, Enterprise, Hardware, News, Virtual Reality (VR)

AMD’s CEO Lisa Su: Virtual Reality Could Grow to 100 million Users in 5 Years

AMD is focused. Those three words best describe AMD’s quarterly results, growing in revenue from $1.03 to 1.22 billion (YoY). Biggest gain was recorded in the Radeon and Ryzen business, i.e. Computing and Graphics. That business segment grew 51%, recording full quarter of RYZEN revenue, and of course, growth in eSports and surprisingly to Wall Street, cryptocurrency demand. In an recorded interview with Sushie Gharib from Fortune, AMD CEO Lisa Su stated that “there is no one thing in magic, when it comes to turning around large corporations, but it is all about focus.” Gong back to the drawing board with CPU and GPU roadmaps

Breaking, Comic-Con, Entertainment, Event, Gaming, News, Virtual Reality (VR)

Steven Spielberg Pushes into VR with Ready Player One

During the Cannes Film Festival, Steven Spielberg expressed word of caution when it came to movie industry adopting the Virtual Reality as a medium. Just a few months later on Comic-Con conference, the famous producer is more open on the subject, and is focused on creating a world that can serve both the interactive medium as VR, as well as the “conventional” movie going experience. Steven is directing “Ready Player One”, famous dystopian book which inspired many Sci-Fi movies, including The Matrix. In a world destroyed by global warming, people survive by using Virtual Reality to play The Oasis, a re-imagined 1980s world. This 2011

Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Business, CPU, Exclusive, Hardware, Intel, Mobile Computing, News, Wearables

Intel Dismisses IoT for Augmented and Virtual Reality

The IoT community recently looked in disbelief as Intel started to dismantle its IoT efforts – the amount of emails we received is quite surprising, as we’re not exactly a logical place to go for IoT information. However, Intel terminated the business division that was developing wearable devices such as fitness trackers, digital clothing, baby monitors, etc. It also EOL-ed (End-of-Life) numerous IoT products with the notable exception of Curie, which is quite popular. There’s a clear reason why, and it can be found in recent ‘resurrection’ of Google Glass in ‘Enterprise Edition’, as well as wanting to react to popular products from Vuzix and ODG (Osterhaut

Augmented Reality (AR), Biotech, Business, Education, Entertainment, Gaming, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables, Wearables

Xenoma Mixes AI with AR / VR, Launches e-Skin Clothing for Gesture Tracking

A year ago, small Japanese company Xenoma launched its concept dubbed e-skin, clothing fit with wires that enable positional and gesture tracking without the use of external cameras. The vision of the company is to create stretchable clothing with built-in electronics that detect user’s movement, all while being a piece of clothing which can be worn comfortably with machine washability just as regular shirt could do. Now, e-skin is coming to Kickstarter. “Connected clothing will be the most natural way for people to interact with others and their smart devices in the future,” said Ichiro Amimori, Co-Founder & CEO of Xenoma. “e-skin apparel is completely different from

Breaking, Education, Google, HTC, News, Sony, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

Study shows VR Could Improve Eyesight in Children

China is spearheading the research on health, and one such study caught our attention as estimates show that over a million VR headsets are being shipped each month (in China alone). Beijing-based research organization recently released a study named “Experiment Report on the Impact of Long-Term Use of Virtual Reality (VR) Head-Mounted Displays on the Vision of Pre-teen Users” (PDF download). This document suggests that extended use of high-end VR headsets might improve or benefit the vision in preteen population, as explored by six researchers and contributors; Bao Yihua, Advanced Innovation Center for Future Visual Entertainment in Beijing Weng Dongdong, Yu Xingyao, Guo Jie from Beijing Institute of

Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Business, Education, Entertainment, Hardware, iOS, Mobile, News, Smartphones, startups, VR World, Wearables

Mira Launches Prism AR Headset for Apple, Can it Break into Mainstream?

The race to be the key Augmented Reality company is on. While some companies are promising the world, some are working in secret to address as much population as possible, and make the experience interactive and appealing to the masses. Mira, an AR startup from Los Angeles completed its seed round and announced pre-orders for its Prism AR headset for palatable $99. What could make the difference for the Prism AR headset is its software platform: unlike numerous Android-powered devices, Mira is focusing solely on Apple iOS devices, and interactive element between persons wearing Prism AR headset and users that can see the AR content through