Virtual reality
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Google I/O 2017 VR keynote live blog
We’re here at day two of Google I/O 2017, and the show starts with a keynote specific to Google’s work in VR, led by its head of virtual reality and augmented reality, Clay Bavor. The keynote gets started at 9:30 AM PT (12:30 PM PT) so tune in. Read More
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Improbable grabs $502M led by Softbank at a $1B+ valuation for its virtual world Spatial OS
Improbable, the London startup that has developed a platform for third parties to build vast virtual and simulated worlds, has landed a stratospheric round of funding to double down on its product and expand its ecosystem of developers. The company, which also has offices in San Francisco, has raised $502 million in funding led by SoftBank, with previous investors Andreessen Horowitz and… Read More
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Microsoft announces its own motion controllers for mixed reality
Microsoft doubled down on its commitment to what it called “mixed reality” today at its Build developer conference, revealing motion controllers that work closely with VR headsets from Acer. With a $399 bundle containing all you need coming later this year, it could be one of the more affordable ways out there to get into the VR game. Read More
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Crunch Network
XR is a new way to consider the reality continuum
We are smack dab in the middle of the widespread proliferation of a new medium that plays with and alters our perception of space, time and physical presence. It’s a new something-reality, and folks in the industry and consumers alike are all scrambling to come up with the best way to describe these burgeoning modalities of interacting with physical and virtual space. Read More
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Exploring Virtualities, a Utah VR arcade and theater startup taking over a dying mall
Virtualities founder Ryan Burningham has a new idea for abandoned retail spaces — VR. VR theaters and arcades like Virtualities are starting to pop up in warehouses and other empty spaces around the U.S., including Burningham’s startup, located in what used to be a Hot Topic on the second floor of the Gateway Mall on Salt Lake City’s west side. Read More
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Facebook launches React VR, a new JavaScript framework for building basic VR apps
Facebook today announced the launch of React VR, a new JavaScript framework that lets developers build virtual reality experiences with the help of JavaScript. React VR takes its cues from Facebook’s existing React framework; just like with React for standard web apps, VR developers can now use the same declarative model to write apps for their 360-degree experiences. Read More
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A second life for open-world games as self-driving car training software
A lot of top-tier video games enjoy lengthy long-tail lives with remasters and re-releases on different platforms, but the effort put into some games could pay dividends in a whole new way, as companies training things like autonomous cars, delivery drones and other robots are looking to rich, detailed virtual worlds to provided simulated training environments that mimic the real… Read More
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Facebook opens up 360-degree live streaming to all
Facebook just made live streaming 360-degree video relatively easy, provided you have the equipment to capture the content. Users of devices like the new 2017 model Gear 360 just announced at the S8 smartphone launch, or the Insta360 Nano (for iPhone) and Air (for Android), or a host of higher-end models designed for pros, you can go live and broadcast an immersive feed for your… Read More
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As the Oculus Rift turns 1, Facebook is still responsible for where VR industry goes next
Today, the Oculus Rift turns one. 🎂🎂🎂 The virtual reality system very well may have been the most important consumer gadget to be released last year, and for all the critiques and praise that have pushed it through 2016, it’s clear we’re still looking at a technology that hasn’t scratched its fullest potential. For better or worse, Facebook’s Oculus has… Read More
Latest Crunch Report
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NASA is using a mixed reality space station to train astronauts
NASA has always embraced emerging technology for visualization, even if that tech was seemingly developed for frivolous entertainment. We recently covered its holographic Mars exhibit, and the many 3D resources that NASA makes available to developers and educators. Now, the US space agency has partnered with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine to create a mixed reality International Space… Read More
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New augmented reality visualization app Dotty has launched in the app store
As augmented reality continues its march into the workplace, new tools are emerging to integrate collaboration and visualization tools into virtual and augmented reality. One application, which recently launched on both iOS and Android, is DOTTY, which provides three-dimensional visualization tools for augmented reality viewers. Recently accepted into the Plug and Play [Internet of Things]… Read More
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BMW taps Unreal Engine for a mixed reality vehicle development process
BMW is combining the best of real and virtual worlds to make the process of creating new car designs as quick and painless as possible. The carmaker has tapped Unreal Engine’s rendering capabilities to generate virtual surfaces and objects overtop 3D-printed prototype vehicle pieces, letting designers and engineers preview how various materials or surfaces will look on a final… Read More
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Crunch Network
SVRF may have the answer to VR’s search problem
For websites we had Google. For videos, YouTube. For products, Amazon. For general reference, Wikipedia. For gifs, Giphy. How will we find what we’re looking for in a brave, new, 3D world? In an interview for Flux, I sat down with Sophia Dominguez, co-founder and chief executive of SVRF, a search engine for VR content, which just launched in open beta. Read More
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Tilt gesture keyboard could hold promise for typing in VR
A group of researchers are demonstrating a tilt-based typing technique they’ve designed that could be an alternative option for users of larger smartphones or for inputting text when in VR. Read More
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In the future there will be mindclones
This an exciting excerpt from the new book Thinking Machines by Like Dormehl. The book offers a detailed history of primitive machine learning and a dense and fascinating look at the future of true artificial intelligence. The book is available now. Marius Ursache wants you to live forever. It’s not a shock to find out that, in an industry that skews as young as tech, few people spend… Read More
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Transcend VR sues investor Mike Rothenberg for fraud and breach of contract
Mike Rothenberg has been in a heap of trouble over a series of purportedly fraudulent transactions within his investment firm Rothenberg Ventures and his virtual reality startup River Studios. Now Transcend VR, as first reported in The Wall Street Journal, is suing the venture capitalist on allegations of fraud, breach of contract and deceptive diversion of funds. Read More
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Making VR less painful for the vision-impaired
You don’t have to have perfect vision to enjoy VR, but brother, it helps. Otherwise you’re looking at having to worry about accommodating glasses, eye tracking not working, ocular distances maxing out and so on. Stanford researchers want to make things easier for people with vision problems to use VR, but it’s not going to be easy. Read More
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Cambridge is giving cancer the 3D VR treatment
It’s always good to hear that scientists are bringing the latest technology to the fight against cancer, but virtual reality doesn’t seem like an obvious addition to the arsenal. Yet it’s VR and 3D visualization that Cambridge University researchers are planning to explore under a multi-million pound grant. Read More
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Rock Band VR arrives on Oculus Rift March 23, pre-orders now open
Harmonix has finally revealed when you can get your hands on Rock Band VR (virtually and physically, as it were): The game is set to debut on Oculus Rift on March 23, and fans can pre-order today if they’re interested in making sure they get in early. The Rock Band VR pre-order ships with a controller for $69.99, and the controller can also either work with your Xbox One or PlayStation… Read More
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Hugo Barra joins Facebook to lead its VR efforts, including Oculus
Hugo Barra, who previously held a positions as a key VP for Android at Google, and led Xiaomi’s international efforts in a VP role at the Chinese company, is now joining Facebook. Barra announced his departure from Xiaomi on January 22, after a three-and-a-half year stint at the company. Barra will lead all of Facebook’s VR efforts, including Oculus, according to Facebook CEO… Read More
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