About Christopher Harper

Exclusive, Gaming, Interviews, VR World

Interview: Aldric Chang, CEO of Mixed Realms, Developers of Sairento VR

Sairento VR is a VR first-person action game sporting a futuristic neo-Tokyo aesthetic. It earned its place on our Top 10 VR Games of 2017 list, and because of that, we at VR World reached out to Aldric Chang to learn more about the development of Sairento and his insights on the VR industry. VRW: Can you introduce yourself to our readers? My name is Aldric Chang, CEO of Mixed Realms, the company behind Sairento VR. VRW: When was the idea for Sairento VR born? Two years ago, when we were brainstorming what concept we wanted to come up with for a VR game. We

Business, News, startups, VR World

Stories You Might’ve Missed: VR childbirth and Healthful Mind

This week, a lot of health-centric stories broke in the world of VR, including a story concerning VR childbirth. This is Stories You Might’ve Missed, and we’ll quickly summarize the two most strange, interesting VR stories that broke this week. Birthual Reality brings VR childbirth to the masses The aptly-named Birthual Reality is an application from Nordic insurance company Gjensidige Insurance. This VR experience is a 10-minute, 360-degree video showing off the events surrounding childbirth, including the actual childbirth. The purpose of this VR childbirth simulator is to help prepare parents for arguably the most important day of their lives, and if you’re interested in

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

Dave & Buster’s to debut Jurassic World VR Expedition

In a partnership between Universal, VRC and Dave & Buster’s, customers will soon be able to have a Jurassic World VR Expedition. We’ll dive into more detail below. What is the Jurassic World VR Expedition? Jurassic World VR Expedition is an interactive VR experience based on the Jurassic World franchise. The VR Expedition is set to release on June 22nd, to coincide with the theatrical release of Fallen Kingdom. For those who want to go on the VR Expedition, you’re in luck! You’ll be able to do this at Dave & Buster’s. Their role in this partnership is to host the VR experience at their locations- all

aerospace, Business, News, startups, Virtual Reality (VR)

SpaceVR wants to take you to outer space

As its name implies, SpaceVR wants to take you into space. By itself, this isn’t that interesting: there’s already plentiful VR games and simulators taking place in space, for instance. What makes this one interesting isn’t the concept, it’s the execution. How does SpaceVR take you into space? By launching a satellite, called the Overview 1. Overview 1 utilizes multiple 4K cameras to capture 360 degree video from space, and this was made possible through multiple crowdfunding campaigns and a whopping $1.25 million investment from Shanda Group. A render of this satellite can be seen in our banner above. Using this satellite, users will be

Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), iOS, Mobile, News, OSx, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Meet USDZ, an AR file format from Apple and Pixar

As part of Apple’s recent ARKit 2.0 announcements, Apple also debuted USDZ, a new file format from their partnership with Pixar. We’ll dive into this below. What is USDZ? This file format is described as a “zero compression, unencrypted zip archive” by Pixar. It’s made to work with a USD runtime and doesn’t require unpacking on the user’s end. As a new file format from Apple and Pixar, it’s designed expressly for managing 3D objects in Augmented Reality. There’s a number of more features than that, but that dives into jargon-y territory we’d like to stay out of. For now, we’ll just explain what it

Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Mobile, News, Smartphones, Tablets, VR World

Apple reveals new ARKit 2.0 features

Apple is finally iterating on ARKit with ARKit 2.0, and this is big news for AR development on iOS devices. Below, we’ll briefly go over what ARKit is and what 2.0 is bringing to the table. What is ARKit? ARKit is Apple’s solution for AR on iOS devices. Essentially, it provides a backend and multiple features for AR on iOS applications, and it’s used as a backend for many popular iOS AR apps. While it’s possible to create non-ARKit AR applications in Apple devices (Pokémon Go being the most popular by a considerable margin), using ARKit makes things easier and provides access to a wider

Audio/Video, Augmented Reality (AR), Google, Hardware, News, Qualcomm, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Stories You Might’ve Missed: Snapdragon XR1 and Google’s new VR display

This week with Stories You Might’ve Missed, we’ll be covering the announcement of the Snapdragon XR1, as well as Google and LG’s new VR display technology. If you haven’t seen these segments before, Stories You Might’ve Missed is our dedicated segment for relevant stories that we didn’t cover this past week. Below are the stories themselves, as well as links to sources so you can read more if they caught your interest. Qualcomm introduces Snapdragon XR1, their first VR/AR-centric chipset Qualcomm’s interest in XR (Xtended Reality- blanket term for AR, VR, etc) is no secret. We’ve spoken to them directly about it before. At the

Breaking, Event, Gaming, Internet, News, Smart Home

Killer Networking Wireless xtend debuts at Computex 2018

At Computex 2018, Killer Networking is debuting Wireless xTend to improve the home networking experience. Here’s what you need to know. What is Killer Networking, and what do they offer? For the uninitiated, Killer Networking is a subsidiary of Rivet Networks, focused on manufacturing gaming-centric networking hardware included in high-end motherboards, gaming PCs and gaming laptops. The main feature that attracts people to Killer hardware is in its network prioritization features. Killer hardware will prioritize gaming and other low-latency traffic over, say, large file downloads or streaming video, which don’t need nearly as much prioritization as real-time gaming does. How does Wireless xTend change things?

Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Event, Exclusive, Hardware, Mixed Reality (MR), News, Virtual Reality (VR)

Cutting-edge Varjo Mixed Reality coming to Augmented World Expo

At the Augmented World Expo, Varjo will be showing off their latest VR headset, set to release by the end of the year. Boasting two displays per eye, foveated rendering and high-end display technology, the new headset should impress. More important than the new VR headset, however, is their Mixed Reality add-on, planned for release in early 2019 to their Early Access Partners. We’ll cover this below. What makes the Mixed Reality add-on special? According to Varjo, the most important advantage that their Mixed Reality solution boasts over its contemporaries is video-centric technology. The Mixed Reality add-on to their headset captures real-time video with 2

Augmented Reality (AR), Hardware, Mixed Reality (MR), News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

Stories You Might’ve Missed: Disney’s Force Jacket and Firefox Reality

Today, we’ll be covering two other stories you might’ve missed in April: Disney’s Force Jacket and FireFox Reality. Disney’s Force Jacket Disney’s Force Jacket is a haptic jacket from Disney, designed to greatly increase the immersion provided by VR and AR experiences. The way this works is by using advanced haptics and pneumatics to provide pressure on different parts of the body. We’ve covered similar stories before, like Oculus’ haptic gloves or Hardlight’s haptic vest, and this seems to be yet another step forward. If you want to learn more, watch the video above or click here for Disney’s press release. Firefox Reality brings a better

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

The first VR Google Doodle, Back to the Moon, is here

Google Doodles have existed for a long time now, but just a few days ago, the very first VR Google Doodle is finally here. The Doodles serve to spice up Google’s main page every day, and in the past they’ve been quite innovative. As of May 3rd, virtual reality has come to Google Doodles. The first VR Google Doodle: Back to the Moon You can view the first Google Doodle with compatible devices. If you have a proper VR headset and want an even better experience, head here to download it for Android, iOS or HTC Vive. Back to the Moon, in addition to being

Augmented Reality (AR), Business, China, Mobile, News, US, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

China might beat the US in AR adoption, according to forecast

According to a report from Digi-Capital, China is likely to beat the United States in AR adoption. The company posits quite a few things relating to AR/VR in its study, so let’s break them down below. About Digi-Capital’s study Digi-Capital focuses on releasing detailed reports and statistics concerning the AR/VR markets and many related tech segments. Their most recent report, for Q2 2018, provides insights, interviews, and even a database on all kinds of market information. A considerable part of this report focused on VR and AR adoption, which we’ll detail below. How China could win in AR adoption, and our thoughts According to the

Android, Augmented Reality (AR), iOS, Mobile, News, Software Programs, VR World

How Ubiquity6 is changing AR apps

A common challenge for VR/AR apps is social features, but Ubiquity6 is changing that in a big way. Progress has been made prior, to be clear. VR has gotten applications like VRChat, while AR games like Pokemon Go benefit from encouraging an outdoors, real-life MMO gaming experience. The big difference is that, until now, neither AR or VR apps have effectively managed to pull off the same kind of social experience as this. What is Ubiquity6? Ubiquity6 is an AR app that maintains consistent AR environments across multiple devices. Most AR experiences are tied to a single device, so nobody will see the same thing

Google, Mobile, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Stories You Might’ve Missed: JPEG XS, VR180 and more

During the first half of April, JPEG introduced the JPEG XS format and a good few other stories broke. We weren’t able to cover these at the time, but we can now: this is Stories You Might’ve Missed. Google opens their proprietary VR180 format, JPEG introduces JPEG XS First up is Google, with their VR180 format. This is a photo/video format made for use with VR headsets, allowing easy capture of photo and video at 180 degrees. With hardware supporting VR180 launching soon, it’s important that developers and manufacturers are able to utilize the technology to its fullest extent. If you want more details on

Facebook, Hardware, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Oculus debuts varifocal VR headset, the Half Dome, at F8

During the second day of the Facebook F8 Conference, Oculus debuted an in-development varifocal VR headset, called the Half Dome. While this headset hasn’t yet been announced as a consumer product, one would be safe in assuming that the features on display may emerge in the successor to the Oculus Rift. The Half Dome is a prototype boasting a 140 degree FOV (wider than industry-standard 100 degree FOV), eye-tracking capabilities and varifocal displays. In most VR headsets with the feature, eye-tracking is used for a technique called foveated rendering. Foveated rendering renders what the eye is looking at native resolution, while other regions of the

Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Hardware, News, VR World

North Star from Leap Motion is the next level of AR interface

Years ago, Leap Motion made headlines when they released footage of their intuitive Leap Motion device. For those not familiar with their namesake, this peripheral allowed users to control everything on their PCs with intuitive motion controls and gestures, as seen in the video below. In the years since that video’s release, Leap has successfully released that product and used it to supplement VR controls and development. While they haven’t released anything else since, they’ve been working hard in the background on AR and VR, and through Project North Star, they’re hoping to take AR interfaces to the next level. When most people think augmented

Breaking, Event, Facebook, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR)

Facebook F8 Day 1: Oculus Venues makes VR theater a reality

After launching their Oculus Go headset, it was the perfect timing for Oculus to show off their VR theater concept and TV service. There have been whispers abound for a while now about Oculus revolutionizing the VR format by creating a VR theater, and now we know how they’re going to do it. Meet Oculus Venues, which allows users in to view live-streamed events with a large number of other users – all done in VR, and powered by NextVR, a company known for providing sporting events in virtual reality. Venues are also partnered with various musicians, artists, and even Lionsgate, which makes a true VR

Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Event, Facebook, News, Social Media, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

Facebook F8 Day 1: AI being used to create VR Memories and 3D Photos

Have you ever wanted to revisit your childhood home, or have 3D photos? Using the power of artificial intelligence, AR and other technologies, Facebook is making both of those things possible soon. 3D Photos is a new feature announced at Facebook F8 Keynote. These aren’t 360-degree videos or photos: rather, they are photographs that shift objects in the foreground and background as you scroll to provide the illusion of depth. It’s not an extremely-advanced feature, but it does make good use of the technology. Huh, Facebook is also working on “3D Photos” for News Feed, kind of hard to tell from the keynote screen but

Augmented Reality (AR), HTC, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World

HTC releasing Vive Pro AR Dev Kit and Vive Pro 2.0 Kit

After releasing with just the headset, the HTC Vive Pro is now launching with a more complete 2.0 Kit and a Vive Pro AR Kit. The first of the new HTC Vive Pro kits is the Vive Pro 2.0 Kit, which includes the headset itself, two new base stations, and two of its motion controllers. Altogether, the package retails for $1399, a $600 increase from the price of the Vive Pro headset alone. The New Vive Pro 2.0 Kit is targeted at business users who want everything they’ll need in a single package, as well as enthusiasts who don’t already own an HTC Vive. More

Augmented Reality (AR), News, Space and Science, VR World

AR being used to project medical images on the body with ProjectDR

Augmented reality has been staying in the news lately, and today ProjectDR is the reason why. As consumers grow more accustomed to the technology, more innovations in AR are being found and being pushed on the cutting-edge of science and hardware development. Apple’s huge announcement aside, this week also gave us a smaller but just-as-interesting story. Meet ProjectDR. ProjectDR is a system from the University of Alberta, which projects medical images (X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, etc) onto the body of a patient. In the demonstration video above, this is being shown on a realistic mannequin, and these images move in real-time with the rotation of