Entertainment Archives - Page 2 of 62 - VR World

2018, Artificial Intelligence, Auto, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Entertainment, Hardware, Intel, Internet, Mobile, News, Sport, Virtual Reality (VR)

CES: Intel CEO Krzanich keynote highlights AI and VR

Intel CEO Brian Krzanich used Monday’s CES 2018 keynote to highlight how data is changing our work and personal lives, while simultaneously pushing forward technological innovation both at his company and within the larger technology sector. His keynote also specifically addressed Intel’s new initiatives in the VR space. “Data is going to introduce social and economic changes that we see perhaps once or twice in a century,” Krzanich said. “We not only find data everywhere today, but it will be the creative force behind the innovations of the future. Data is going to redefine how we experience life – in our work, in our homes,

Entertainment, Gaming, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Meet The Rift, An AR/VR Adventure Park

The Rift is an AR/VR Adventure Park, based in Malaysia. It’s a large, indoors area offering all kinds of different augmented reality and virtual reality installations, from basic VR gaming installations to things a little more advanced. For instance, an AR rock-climbing game and Zero Latency, a free-roaming VR shooter. What’s on offer at The Rift may be reminiscent of a VR arcade (like the one I interviewed an owner in), and it even offers a few standard arcade titles. Where it sets itself apart is in its sheer size and number of attractions, many of which utilize different AR and VR technologies. There’s a

Artificial Intelligence, Companies, Entertainment, News

Robot DJ Kuka Makes You Wanna Dance All Night Long

Nowadays robots can do a lot for you. They are your brokers, chefs, doctors, or even lovers. This one, however, will make you jump and dance your night away. In the Prague’s Karlovy Lazne Music Club there is a new employer. A DJ. A robot DJ. DJ Kuka, which is also the name of the company that manufactured the robotic arm, began life as an automotive industry robot, and ended up with the record-spinner gig after the club issued a challenge to a robotics firm. The versatile Kuka robotic arms can be programmed for a variety of tasks, which you can see in the Nigel Stanford-robot musical

Artificial Intelligence, Business, China, Companies, Entertainment, News, Technology Security

WeChat Now Issuing ID Cards for Chinese Customers

WeChat, the popular mobile application from Tencent Holdings, is now becoming more indispensable in the daily lives of Chinese consumers under a project that turns it into an official electronic personal identification system. The government of Guangzhou, capital of the southern coastal province of Guangdong started a pilot programme that creates a virtual ID card, which serves the same purpose as the traditional state-issued ID cards, through the WeChat accounts of registered users in the city’s Nansha district.This project will try to prevent online identity thefts. The new WeChat ID card project is supported by the Ministry of Public Security’s Research Institute and other government

Entertainment, Gaming, News, Sony, Virtual Reality (VR)

Sony announces new VR music campaign featuring Khalid

Sony last week announced that it will be showcasing its technologies as part of a brand campaign centered on singer-songwriter, Khalid. Named “Lost in Music,” the campaign will debut with a live event at the LA Hangar in January. Spatial audio technology will play a role in creating immersive experiences “which can create space where sounds are virtually moving around.” They have named these two experiences “Odyssey” and “Dreamscape.” A follow-on event will occur in New York in February, and at SXSW in March. A new VR music video will also be unveiled at SXSW. Although the company is short on details of what it

Entertainment, HTC, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR)

Paramount and Bigscreen to offer free VR screenings of Top Gun

Virtual reality cinema company Bigscreen has partnered with Paramount Home Media Distribution to virtually screen showings of Top Gun for 24 hours, commencing at 6pm EST on December 29th. The Bigscreen experience aims to bring the movie theatre experience to home audiences, allowing them to interact in a virtual lobby and watch videos on a virtual movie screen, complete with immersive sound and lighting. “Bigscreen’s virtual reality platform offers a new way for fans to experience films in their homes,” said Bob Buchi, President Worldwide Home Media Distribution, Paramount Pictures. “We’re excited to be a part of this experiment using cutting-edge technology to give fans

Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Entertainment, News, startups, Wearables

Magic Leap Finally reveals their AR Goggles

After a really long time of waiting, Magic Leap surprised their fans for christmas by unveiling its augmented reality goggles – Magic Leap One. Dubbed Lightwear, the goggle-style headset promises “amazing experiences that feel natural,” all powered by a hip-mounted, puck-shaped computer called a Lightpack. “Engineered to be lightweight and comfortable for hours of exploration. We’ve combined our Digital Lightfield technology with environment mapping, precision tracking and soundfield audio to produce amazing experiences that feel natural,” it says on their website. In terms of the possibilities of the Magic Leap One, it looks like it has somewhat similar AR features as Microsoft HoloLens and ARKit: digital graphics seamlessly merged

Artificial Intelligence, Companies, Entertainment, News

Your Own Purring Robo-Cat Will Take Care Of Old-You

When talking about senior citizens, especially the ones living alone – it’s important to be as empathic as possible. Cats are known as cuddly little creatures, and there are scientific proofs that by just cuddling the cat – you minimize your risk of heart attack. However, as every living creature, cats need to be taken care off. This little kitty doesn’t. An artificially intelligent ‘robo-cat’ that would keep elderly people company, is currently being developed by scientists. That’s the vision of toymaker Hasbro and scientists at Brown University, who have received a three-year, $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation to find ways to add artificial intelligence to

Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Entertainment, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)

Google-backed Magic Leap Reveals Mixed Reality Music App

Way in October, Magic Leap, the still-in-stealth-mode company developing an augmented-reality headset, announced that it has raised $502 million in Series D equity funding, led by Singapore investment firm Temasek Holdings. The problem was, that at that time, they just promised to create a headset using a type of light-field technology that would result in superior augmented reality experiences, an area most major consumer technology companies are chasing. But it has never given a launch date for its device, nor offered much detail on how it would work. But it seems, something is actually happening. They invited a reporter from Pitchfork, an online music magazine, to

China, Companies, Entertainment, News, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

VR Sexy Secretary Vivi Has Been Taken Offline

A Chinese tech company pulled offline a virtual-reality avatar depicted as a flirtatious secretary in revealing clothes, designed to flirt with users, following criticism the avatar depicts women as sex objects. The virtual-assistant avatar, named “Vivi,” was in beta testing for a virtual-reality headset device sold by iQiyi, the online streaming unit of Baidu Inc., which owns China’s biggest internet search engine. Dressed in revealing clothing, the erotic assistant was in beta testing for a virtual reality headset when she was pulled. Shortly after, the company iQiyi, the streaming unit of Baidu, issued a swift apology for “concerns it might have raised”. Vivi used to

Entertainment, Google, News, Videos, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

YouTube VR comes to Steam Early Access, issues ensue

YouTube is the biggest video distribution platform in the world, but it’s still prone to issues. Every major update to the site results in some backlash or another, and this often extends to YouTube implementations on other platforms as well. Today, that platform is SteamVR. So what happened? The YouTube VR application on Google Daydream lets users browse YouTube in a 3D space with full 360-degree visuals, allowing 360 videos to be watched in VR. This same application was ported from Daydream to SteamVR, and unfortunately, the Steam counterpart doesn’t seem to function quite as smoothly. For some users, the YouTube VR app outright doesn’t

Entertainment, Gaming, Mobile, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Doctor Who Comes to Virtual Reality

Doctor Who is one of the most massively-popular franchises out there, with a legacy spanning decades of TV and other media. Earlier this year, BBC released a web application called “Doctor Who Time Vortex 360“, which served as an interactive game that fans could play in their browsers. Time Vortex 360’s concept was controlling the TARDIS as it hurtled through space and time, and Time Vortex VR seems to follow the same concept. In addition to serving as a port to VR with extra features, Time Vortex VR is available on most popular headsets. All Daydream and Cardboard headsets are compatible, as well as the

Entertainment, Event, Game Reviews, Gaming, HTC, News, Oculus, Sony, VR World

December’s Top VR Gaming Announcements

Thanks to PSX (PlayStation Experience) and The Game Awards 2017, December has been chockfull of VR gaming announcements. We’ve gone through all of them and picked the most notable ones. New Game Announcements Vacation Simulator Platforms: PC, PSVR Launch Window: 2018 Vacation Simulator is billed as a sequel, since “after you job, you vacation”. In contrast to the small office environment of Job Simulator, players will tackle a full island of activities in this game, accompanied by a few robots. Judging by the trailer and Owlchemy Labs’ former work in the industry, this game is gonna be a good one. Accounting+ Platforms: PSVR, PC (eventually)

Blockchain, Business, Companies, Entertainment, Mobile, News, Sport

Leo Messi Becoming Brand Ambasador for Sirin Labs

Sirin Labs, the developer of the Solarin ultra-secure mobile phone, announced that it has signed up Barcelona star Lionel Messi as its brand ambassador. Except the Solarin, the company is now preparing to release an all-in-one PC, called Finney, for Blockchain enthusiasts that will make Blockchain integration much more user-friendly. Messi’s endorsement is meant to open up a wider audience for those who haven’t ever heard of Blockchain technology. In a promotional paid Facebook post, Messi said: “I am usually busy trying to decentralize defenses and after digging deeper into Blockchain and decentralized systems, I’m excited to join Sirin Labs as an ambassador to make

Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), Entertainment, Mixed Reality (MR), News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

VR, MR and AI features to play prominent role at Sundance Film Festival

Next year’s Sundance Film Festival will see a very prominent role for VR, MR and AI-centric productions, based on a media release by the Sundance Institute. More than twenty films, experiences and installations variously utilizing AI, MR, and VR technologies will be part of the upcoming festival, which runs from January 18 to 28, 2018, in Park City, Utah. The productions have been fostered as part of Sundance’s New Frontier initiative. Launched in 2007, it is directed at curating productions “at the convergence of film, art, media, live performance, music and technology.” This latest production batch follows from an open call for VR work earlier

Companies, Entertainment, Facebook, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

Facebook’s Oculus Home gives you your own VR mancave

Facebook’s VR subsidiary started offering a pre-release version of Oculus Home, a virtual room that you can outfit pretty much however you want. Think of it as a computer-generated IKEA catalog which now turns to a fully customizable environment that you can decorate with furniture and various interactive objects. You’ll have a catalogue of several hundred items to pick from, but some will need to be unlocked by completing in-game achievements or other challenges. You will also be able to visit friends’ space, and Oculus says it’s working on a real-time hangouts feature for multiple users to build together. Oculus announced that Rift Core 2.0

Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Business, Companies, Education, Entertainment, News, Smartphones, Tablets

With Parker AR Bear kids learn through play

I guess many of us remember Tamagotchi or Furby. Those first tech-enhanced toys were already then thought of as a “parents nightmare”. They were blinking, beeping (often in the middle of the night), they needed batteries and sometimes they were a cause of a humongous amount of child tears (when mum accidentaly washed it). However, nowadays it’s easier to live (at least for parents). Parker: Your Augmented Reality Bear is a new iPad and iPhone-enhanced toy from Seedling. This charming bear is fully squeezable with no caveats: it doesn’t have any wires or batteries inside, and it won’t make a peep or start to glow

Augmented Reality (AR), Business, Companies, Cryptocurrency, Entertainment, Gaming, News, press releases, Virtual Reality (VR)

Gameflip ICO Is Now Live with Target of 15,000 ETH

Following an oversubscribed and successful pre-ICO last month, Gameflip, the veteran Silicon Valley gaming marketplace, has officially launched its highly-anticipated ICO. Crypto and global media have been buzzing about Gameflip, which has been highlighted as a prime example of a successful Silicon Valley startup turned ICO. Gameflip’s digital goods marketplace has 2+ million gamers with millions of USD in transactions each month. With FLIP, its digital token and ecosystem, Gameflip is extending its proven marketplace onto the blockchain — creating significant value for gamers and game publishers. With 2 million registered gamers and 500,000 active monthly users, Gameflip is already the industry’s most comprehensive digital goods

Entertainment, News, Software Programs, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Foundry upgrades Cara VR toolset

Creative software developer, Foundry, this week announced the launch of Cara VR 2.0, the latest version of its virtual reality plug-in toolset for its Nuke digital compositing application. The software combination helps VR producers work more efficiently when producing VR and 360 video content. Nuke is used by many professional studios, including Digital Domain, Walt Disney Animation Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Sony Pictures Imageworks, Sony Pictures Animation, Framestore, Weta Digital and Industrial Light & Magic. “To fully realise the potential of VR, we need to enable content creators to build experiences that are more immersive than anything before,” the company said in a media release. “The

Entertainment, News, Space and Science, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

BBC striving to bring VR to the mainstream via new studio

The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has announced ambitious plans to expand the scope of their VR content production. The broadcaster says that it has now formed a studio dedicated to virtual reality, enabling it to build upon its previous VR content. The BBC’s previous VR efforts have included We Wait, addressing the global refugee crisis; The Turning Forest, a fairy tale based in a magical forest; and Trafficked, a 360-degree documentary regarding human trafficking in Mexico. Concomitant with this week’s announcement was the wide release of A VR Spacewalk, an experience based on NASA and European Space agency training programs. While A VR Spacewalk had