Wearables Archives - VR World

Hardware, News, Promoted, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

What Does Vive Focus 3 Bring to the Table?

Facebook’s Oculus Quest 2 price and performance created a challenging situation for competitors. However, the financial strength of Facebook allowed them to sell Quest 2 at a relatively low cost, which is unrealistic for for-profit searching hardware manufacturers. With that said, HTC introduced its standalone VR headset Vive Focus 3, which is a clear upgrade over Oculus in many things. Unfortunately, the new HTC VR product is not for the consumer market. Instead, this Taiwanese company pushed the Vive Focus for business users. Self-sufficient VR The third generation of HTC standalone VR headset comes with a modern, high-quality design with matte black color. Though the

Analysis, Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Hardware, Mobile, News, Qualcomm, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

Qualcomm pushing mobile VR: Lighthouse-free 6DOF and exclusive Q&A

Ahead of the 2018 Mobile World Congress, Qualcomm is pulling out the big guns with the announcement of their Snapdragon 845 chipset and its VR-centric features. They’re pushing these features under the wider “Xtended Reality (XR)” umbrella, which includes AR as well. With the Snapdragon 845 reference design, Qualcomm is bringing a number of features to the table. Foveated rendering, for instance, uses eye-tracking to render what you’re not looking at in low-res to save on performance. Most interestingly, Qualcomm is also hoping to provide a full, roomscale 6DOF (six degrees of freedom) VR experience. 6DOF tracks full head-and-body movements, while 3DOF only tracks the direction

Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), News, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables

Taser manufacturer Axon bolsters VR efforts

Public safety technology company Axon announced last week that it has hired an imaging engineering team that will work from a new R&D office in Tampere, Finland. The engineers will focus on improving Axon’s wearable and in-car products, in addition to building solutions that utilize AR, VR and AI. While Axon is perhaps best known for their widely-used “Taser” electroshock weapons, the company also markets a range of other products and services, including body-worn and in-car cameras, digital evidence management solutions, and systems to assist prosecutors. “We are thrilled to bring this talented group of imaging engineers on board,” said Axon CEO and founder Rick

Facebook, Hardware, Mobile, News, Oculus, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables, Wearables

First look at Oculus Go via Twitter and Reddit

Photos of what is perhaps the most hotly-anticipated VR headset of 2018 appeared today on Twitter, only to quickly be removed — but not before at least one image ended up on Reddit. According to multiple sources, at least two developers tweeted snapshots of Oculus Go devkits that they received today, with one of those photos making it to Reddit. The Oculus Go is intended to be an ultra-affordable, all-in-one VR solution, with units pricing in at a $199 US MSRP. Distribution of devkits also suggests that Oculus is on track to deliver the headset according to their “Early 2018” timeline. Moreover, if product photos

Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Dell, Hardware, HTC, Microsoft, Mixed Reality (MR), News, Samsung, Sony, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables, Wearables

VR Headset Price Cuts Lead to Quarterly Sales of More Than 1 Million Units

Virtual reality has taken the world by storm in the last couple of years – except it has not. Although the excitement about its potential to become nothing short of awesome has been discussed in great detail in the press, this hasn’t translated into sales. While people will gladly pay amounts close to $1,000 for smartphones that allow them to play real money online video casino games and others as fluidly as possible, they seem to be reluctant to invest a smaller amount into VR gear that has a similar – or often smaller – price. And while it would be a bit harsh to

2018, Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Entertainment, Gaming, Hardware, Mobile, News, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables, Wearables

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

2018, Apple, Augmented Reality (AR), Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Mobile, News, Wearables, Wearables

CES: Lumus provides sneak peak of its AR pipeline

Lumus, a developer of transparent displays for augmented reality hardware is showcasing its latest technological innovations this week, at CES 2018. The company is demoing both its new Vision optical engine — a solution in the AR visor space — and is also providing a sneak-peak of technologies that will be used to empower a glasses-style AR device. The Vision engine boasts a top-down, 40 degree field of view at 1080 pixel resolution in full colour and daylight viewability, displayed via transparent lenses that do not distort the user’s view of their natural environment. “From ongoing discussions with tier one companies and major ODMs working

2018, Amazon, Augmented Reality (AR), Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Google, Internet, Microsoft, Mobile, Mobile Computing, News, Smartphones, Wearables

CES: Rokid unveils AR glasses prototype

AI and robotics firm Rokid has unveiled a prototype of its planned augmented reality product, Rokid Glass, this week at CES. The company, better known for its home assistant products (that bear similarities in looks and functionality to Amazon’s Alexa Dot and Google’s Home Mini), appears to be making its first foray into the augmented reality space. Reportedly, the glasses will operate as a standalone headset, but also provide functionality to connect to smartphones or other devices via Bluetooth or WiFi to bolster processing power and network range. The glasses run a variant of Android 6.0 — suggesting it may eventually leverage Google’s ARCore to

Companies, Intel, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables

Intel and TNT partner to bring VR to basketball broadcasts

Chipmaker Intel and US-based television network TNT this week announced a partnership that will bring virtual reality to NBA fans, beginning with the 2018 NBA All-Star Game. The companies intend to use Intel’s True VR camera technology to enable fans to watch NBA games from multiple perspectives. This will allow viewers to virtually place themselves in a range of vantage points, including high in the stands and at courtside. Intel and TNT indicated this will provide an opportunity for those who cannot attend games in person to have what is essentially an in-the-stadium experience. In their announcement, the companies also said they will be using

Augmented Reality (AR), Breaking, Business, Companies, Facebook, Mobile, News, Oculus, press releases, Social Media, Sony, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables, Wearables

Zuckerberg Introduced new $199 Oculus Go

Facebooks very own CEO, Mark Zuckerberg introduced a new $199 headset, Oculus Go, and permanently cut the price for the flagship Rift to $399 as he talked up VR’s potential. “At every step along the way, the future is built by people who believe it can be better” he said. In a blog post, the company said the new price for its immersive headset will be available for a “limited time” as part of a summer sale. In January, Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey said that even at the initial $599 price tag, the Rift headset didn’t offer Oculus a profit. This isn’t the first price drop

Augmented Reality (AR), Business, Companies, News, Virtual Reality (VR), Wearables, Wearables

Upskill Hopes to Bring AR to Mainstream

Upskill wants to be the development platform for our smart glasses, regardless of the brand. This agnostic approach is fairly unusual for companies building augmented reality applications and it provides enterprises with a neutral way to build these applications to work across different smart glasses systems. GE, Coca-Cola, Johnson & Johnson, and Boeing are all Upskill customers that use the Skylight platform in conjunction with Google Glass. The AR market is booming, with Google Glass reborn and ABI Research expecting AR in enterprise applications to hit an inflection point in 2018, with a 227% CAGR. Also, a week ago, ABI Research announced that Augmented Reality (AR) logistics will account for

Amazon, Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality (AR), Companies, Entertainment, Mobile, News, Operating Systems, VR World, Wearables

Amazon Wants You to Wake up and Travel with Alexa

Amazon, hoping to replicate the success of its Echo device, is poised to extend its eyes and ears into every part of your life with the launch of new voice-controlled and camera-equipped Alexa devices designed for bedrooms, living rooms and even your car. Amazon prides itself on its almost pathological focus on what its customers want, rather than what its competitors are doing. But its new Alexa products are clearly a response, at least in part, to new smart speaker offerings from Google and Apple. Amazon is betting that it can defend its franchise by using an old trick – aggressive pricing – and by finding ways

Business, Entertainment, Google, News, Smartphones, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables, Wearables

Google Enables to Browse the Web in VR with Chrome

Virtual reality is something every gamer is talking about. Sure it’s great to win wars, fly in a space or kill a handful of zombies but, what about everyday usage for not-so-gaming population? Google (who else) is working rapidly on transforming the way we experience the everyday stuff – like watching movies or browsing the web. At Google’s I/O developer conference in May, the company announced that it was working on a VR version of Chrome (Chrome 61) that could work in Daydream. Last week, Chrome development team member and “happiness evangelist” François Beaufort announced that the first set of features are now ready for

Breaking, Hardware, News, Virtual Reality (VR), VR World, Wearables, Wearables

19th Century “VR headset” Expected to be Auctioned for More than $2500

A “virtual reality” headset hand-crafted by Sir David Brewster, a Victorian instrument-maker from Dundee, Scotland – is to be offered for sale at an auction next week, according to The Times. The Brewster stereoscope gave the illusion of depth using the same optical technology as VR headsets. The device, made of walnut and satinwood, held two images side by side which, when observed through lenticular lenses, converged into a single three-dimensional image. It was developed by Sir David Brewster, a Scottish physicist, mathematician, astronomer, inventor, writer, historian of science and university principal. Most noted for his contributions to the field of optics, he studied the

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

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

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

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

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

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