Gambling is one of the oldest and most established businesses in the world. And, like many industries in the latter part of the 20th century and over the subsequent past couple of decades, the gambling world has moved and transformed online. The biggest casinos in the world don’t have a strict door policy anymore, nor do they care what shoes you’re wearing. Indeed, nowadays, the biggest casinos don’t care if you’re sat in your underwear. And that’s because the internet has revolutionized people’s relationship with betting. Poker, roulette and blackjack now take place in online halls ranging from animated simulations, to live video feeds from studios
Plex brings big screen social experience to VR
This week, client-server media player maker Plex, Inc. announced the availability of Plex VR, an app that brings the company’s product suite to Google Daydream-enabled VR devices. As explained on the company’s blog, the new app allows users to view Plex Media Server content while immersed in a VR environment. Not only does this equate to a “big screen” viewing experience for video content, including 3D and 360/180 video, but it also brings real-time social features to the platform. Those using Plex VR can join up to three friends in a virtual, “sleek” apartment or drive-in movie theater to watch the same content in real-time,
MIT-hosted tech accelerator opens for second batch of applications
Play Labs, LLC and the MIT Game Lab announced this week that they are open to applications from a new round of startups who wish to participate in their “playful technology” accelerator program. Successful applicants will receive mentoring, facilities, and funding (in cash or Bitcoin) in return for common stock. The incubator hopes to receive applicants from startups developing technologies for use across a broad spectrum of industries, including finance, healthcare and manufacturing. Examples of technologies the incubator hopes to see amongst startups span the realm of digital currency/blockchain, eSports/video games, VR/AR and machine learning/AI. The program will be ran by Rizwan Virk, an MIT
VR and AR at the Sundance Film Festival
The bastion of cinema — the Sundance Film Festival — is bravely exploring the VR medium and trying to engage its audience into the new immersive experience this week in Park City, Utah. While gaming and simulations are the most common applications for virtual and augmented reality, some creators want to take these experiences in a more cinematic direction, using Sundance as the fitting platform to showcase their tech inspired entertainment. Prominent VR attractions include Awavena, a VR experience following the Yawanawa, an indigenous people based in the Amazon. There’s also BattleScar, an impressive CG animated film following a homeless teen based in a fictionalized 70’s New York,
Top 10 AR/VR Stories of 2017
Although 2017 has come and gone, its impact on the augmented/virtual reality industry will undoubtedly be felt for decades to come. While it remains to be seen if 2017 will be recognized as the year AR/VR finally made its first real push into the mainstream, there were a veritable plethora of events that occurred last year that will continue to influence the industry. After substantial contemplation, we have picked what we at VRWorld believe to be the Top Ten VR/AR Stories of 2017. Here they are, counting down from #10: #10 – Pimax 8k First discussed by VRWorld last January, the Pimax 8k would go
CES: Lenovo introduces quartet of new AR and VR technologies
Lenovo used this week’s CES in Las Vegas to highlight several aspects of their 2018 product and service lineup in the augmented reality and virtual reality spaces. These announcements spanned both consumer and commercial/industrial applications, and include the Lenovo Mirage Solo headset, Mirage Camera, C220 Smart Glasses and NBD AH Cloud 2.0. Lenovo Mirage Solo and Mirage Camera with Daydream Billed as a “new take on VR consumption and creation,” this complementary product duo is targeted primarily at consumer markets. The Mirage Solo stands as the first stand-alone headset offering that is part of Google’s Daydream platform; an ill-fated offering from HTC was announced and
CES: Pico Interactive and uSens join hands
Headset manufacturer Pico Interactive, Inc. and HCI system developer uSens., Inc. have established a partnership that will see the Pico Goblin all-in-one VR headset incorporate uSens’ hand-tracking technology. The announcement came at this week’s CES 2018 in Las Vegas. “uSens and Pico already have a long-standing relationship, originating from developing custom business solutions together,” said uSens CTO and co-founder Dr. Yue Fei. “We are excited to formally work together into 2018 to bring our HCI solutions to their user base, as we see all-in-one and mobile headsets as the driving force behind growth in the VR market,” he continued. The partnership will see uSens’ 26DOF
CES: LUCI shows off immersion-on-demand wearable and VR headset
Entertainment experience company LUCI has unveiled their immersion-on-demand wearable and VR headset products at this week’s CES 2018 in Las Vegas. Dubbed “LUCI immers” and “LUCI alyx,” respectively, the company appears to be looking to be a transformative player in the burgeoning wearable and VR sectors. “LUCI wants to fundamentally change how people consume content by giving users the most visually stunning experience possible through wearable technology,” said Josh Littlefield, vice president of global sales and marketing for LUCI. “We want users to be amazed by the nuances of every frame, every scene and every minute detail through an uncompromised viewing experience,” he continued. The
CES: LooxidVR headset will track your eyes and brain
Tech startup Looxid Labs announced this week that it was awarded a Best of Innovation Award in CES 2018’s Virtual Reality category for its LooxidVR headset. Previous winners in the category have included Samsung, for their Gear VR headset, and Google, for their Tilt Brush 3D/VR painting system. LooxidVR is a mobile-based VR headset, similar in design to Samsung’s Gear VR and Google Daydream View, with the added features of having embedded EEG sensors and eye-tracking cameras. The result is that the headset can empower tracking its wearer’s brain activity, eye movement and pupil dilation. “It is really encouraging to see our technology and potential
CES: DisplayLink unveils their latest untethered VR solution
DisplayLink, a maker of graphics products including wireless VR solutions, announced that it is showcasing their newest multi-user wireless VR solution at CES 2018. The technology demo features the virtual racketball game Racket: Nx, and places participants in a mixed reality arena that boasts complete freedom-of-movement in a cable free environment. Spectators can view the competition, in real time, in mixed reality. “VR opens so many new opportunities for business, enterprise and gaming. We cut the cord last year and now we’re showcasing VR in an untethered, multi-player virtual arena,” said John Cummins, Senior Vice President Sales and Marketing at DisplayLink. Wireless VR technologies are
CES: YI Technology and Google introduce VR camera
Imaging technology firm YI Technology today announced details of its YI Horizon VR180 Camera at CES 2018 in Las Vegas. The camera, created in collaboration with Google’s Virtual Reality team, is billed as an easy-to-use, stereoscopic 3D camera. The camera features seamless integration with YouTube and Google Photos, and is compatible with Google Cardboard, Google Daydream, PlayStation VR and other certified viewers. Notably, content created by the camera can also be viewed easily in 2D. “We truly believe that it should be easy for everyone to create and share virtual reality experiences,” said Sean Da, CEO of YI Technology. The camera supports 3D video at
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,
CES: NextVR announces realism-boosting upgrades
NextVR, a leading provider of systems for broadcasting live sports and music events in virtual reality, yesterday previewed several upgrades to its technology platform. The announcement was made in conjunction with the opening of CES 2018 in Las Vegas. In what was billed as a “sneak peek,” NextVR unveiled three major initiatives: introducing Six Degrees of Freedom (6DoF) technology; improving fidelity of transmitted content; and adding augmented reality to their platform. NextVR is currently compatible with the Samsung Gear VR headset or Google Daydream View combined with an appropriate smartphone, PlayStation VR, or Windows Mixed Reality system. “VR is the most demanding visual medium ever
Smartphones gain PC-strength VR capabilities via new codec
NGCodec, a company that specializes in developing algorithms, silicon logic and FPGA implementations for cloud video processing, this week announced the availability of their potentially transformative cloud-based encoding technologies via the Amazon AWS Marketplace. The company’s RealityCodec acts as a low-delay H.265/HEVC encoder, which allows much of the processing load of VR video streams to be shifted into the cloud. The codec also boasts sufficiently low latency that it can reliably deliver VR streams to untethered, mobile, VR head-mounted displays. “We have worked diligently to bring our advanced video codecs to the Amazon Cloud and to demonstrate the potential for cloud media and virtual reality,”
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
New Pico Neo VR Headset With Vive Wave Support Coming Soon
The original Pico Neo headset was, well, pretty forgettable. It was an Android gaming-centric VR headset that bundled all of its hardware into a small, SNES-esque gamepad, and decent tech specs. It released in 2016 to little fanfare, but now the Pico Neo is making a comeback with a truly standalone VR headset. The new Pico Neo comes with the same Snapdragon 835 chipset, but now has full head tracking and is compatible with Vive Wave, like the upcoming HTC Vive Focus. In addition to Vive Wave/Viveport support, the Neo headset will also have access to the Pico Store to download VR games and applications. Interestingly,
VR and AR shipments to grow 517% by 2021
Market intelligence firm IDC sees substantial growth in store for the VR and AR markets, with shipments expected to reach 59.2 million headsets by 2021, up from 9.6 million this year. These projects come in IDC’s “Worldwide Quarterly Augmented and Virtual Reality Headset Tracker” research report, published last week. The firm notes that low-cost, screenless VR viewers (e.g. headsets that utilize smartphones) have dominated the market to date, but sees this category losing market share going forward, with a shift into tethered and standalone VR/AR solutions. According to their report, screenless viewers will represent less than 15% of the total VR/AR market in 2021, with
Facebook Spaces now available on Vive, other platforms pending
Facebook has brought its beta social VR app, Spaces, to users of the HTC Vive. First announced in April, Spaces had previously only been available to users of the Oculus Rift. Spaces is among a handful of apps that combine social media with an immersive VR experience. Using the app, users can meet in VR; go Live; play games; make video calls; and create and share 3D objects, videos, and photos. These features are identical to those available to Rift users. Interestingly, however, the Spaces app is not available via the Steam store, and is instead being offered for direct download via Facebook’s website. “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
Most powerful Mac ever could cost you over $13,000
Those in the market for a very expensive, last-minute Christmas gift may be in luck — on December 14, Apple made its new iMac Pro available for purchase. Lauded as the most powerful Mac in the company’s history, the workstation-class iMac Pro features Xeon multi-core processors, a 27” 5K Retina display, and heaps of additional features. That this new machine is being released at the same time as a significant upgrade to Final Cut Pro X is not coincidental. This is decidedly not a computer intended for consumer audiences — it is, rather, a powerful workstation intended to provide the raw computing power needed for
