Topico Geral sobre Realidade Virtual (RV)

[Jorge-Vieira]

AMD’s Director Of VR Believes Console VR Is Positive For PC Front

AMD’s director of VR, Daryl Sartain, believes that virtual reality for consoles, is positive for the PC Front and to get VR into the market.

A lot has been said regarding VR lately, and no matter your opinion on virtual/augmented reality, VR is gaining popularity among the public, and developers. According to a recent survey from the GDC, developers are gaining more confidence in VR development, and the Oculus Rift was picked to be the most popular VR platform among current VR developers.
Oculus recently announced the pre-order price for its VR device, the Oculus Rift. The device will start shipping in March, and will make you $ 599 lighter. For this price, customers will receive the Oculus Rift headset, sensor, Oculus Remote, cables, Xbox One Controller, EVE: Valkyrie, and Lucky’s Tale.
On the console front, Sony is developing its own VR device, PS VR. Microsoft is taking a different direction with their augmented reality headset, the Hololens. In an interview with Tom’s Hardware, AMD’s VR director, Daryl Sartain, talked about console VR and its impact on PC VR. According the VR director, development of these devices are a great thing for the VR industry in general, and he thinks that console VR is “absolutely an opportunity to get VR into the market”. Sartain believes that console VR “can only be a positive opportunity” for AMD on the PC front.

TH:Can you give us your thoughts on console VR [as inPlayStation VR]?
DS: What I will say, more in the category of AMD’s role in the VR Council, is that I think it’s a great thing. I’m not pro or con, positive or negative on phone-based VR. I think it meets and addresses a particular opportunity. I think console VR is absolutely an opportunity to get VR into the market. If we do this right, my belief is that the console VR I think can only be a positive opportunity for us on the PC front.
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AMD’s VR director states that console VR will do one of two things: drive up console sales, or drive up PC sales. Both of which are good for AMD.

“Meaning, the cost of entry for someone to take what they already have as a console and add a console [VR] headset — I would expect that’s not a high barrier [to entry]. In the end, if that user base starts to understand and like VR, and has the opportunity to see PC-based VR, which is going to have higher performance potential, at least initially, it does one of two things: It drives up console sales, which is good for us [because AMD APUs power both the PS4 and Xbox One], or it drives up PC sales, [which is] also good for us. I see it as a positive thing either way. I don’t think [console VR] detracts from what we’re doing”.

Do you think console VR will have a positive effect on PC VR in general, or will it only benefit AMD? Leave a comment.

Noticia:
http://wccftech.com/amds-director-vr...#ixzz3yWmOJNeI

[Jorge-Vieira]

Leap Motion 3D Jam 2.0 Winners Announced

Leap Motion launched its second 3D Jam competition in July of 2015. Developers had until November 9 to submit their applications for the event. All of the applications that were successfully submitted were then subject to a community vote, as well as ratings from Leap Motion. The company said there were nearly 200 submitted applications, from which the top 11 were selected to win a share of the $75,000 prize pool.
Leap Motion had two different categories for the competition: the AR/VR Track, which had five winners, and two community favorites, and the Open Track, which had three winners and two community favorites.
The first place prize in the AR/VR track was awarded to Lyra VR, which lets you create music in 3D space. The developer of this application took home $10,000, a license for the Unity Suite, two OSVR hacker development kits, and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980Ti.
Second place was presented to Warlock VR. This game lets you “cast spells, shoot plasma balls, and harness cosmic power.” Warlock VR also has a multiplayer mode that lets you battle other warlocks. Leap Motion awarded the developer with $7,500, Unity Pro, a single OSV HDK, and a Geforce GTX 980Ti.
RPS Island took third place, which awarded the dev with $5,000, a copy of Unity Pro, an OSVR HDK, and a GTX 980Ti. RPS Island is a game that revolves around rock-paper-scissors and pits you against “a never-ending onslaught of enemies” that you need to defeat by playing the classic game.
The fourth place prize went to Vox Rocks Dino Destroyer. Leap Motion described this game as a “shooting-gallery-slash-puzzle game.” The game has you manipulating magnetic forces to kill dinosaurs. The fourth place prize was $2,500, a copy of Unity Pro, and an OSVR HDK.
Fifth place went to HellVibe, a puzzle game inspired by Hellraiser and Myst. The developer was given $1,000, Unity Pro and an OSVR HDK.
The two community choice winners were both awarded $500 and a copy of Unity Pro. These were PotelRVR, which is exactly what it sounds like -- a pottery-making game for VR -- and Virtual Real Meeting, which is virtual meeting space that lets you share videos, slideshows, and other media forms with other participants.
In the Open Track, which encompassed any submission that didn’t revolve around VR, there were three winners and a single community choice award.
First place went to Spiders of Mars, which pits you against never-ending waves of robot spiders. The developers take home the same prize package as the first place winner in the AR/VR Track. Leap Motion awarded the developers of Spiders of Mars with $10,000, Unity Suite and an Nvidia GeForce GTX 980Ti.
Second place was given to Zombies Shall Not Pass, a game that places you as a zombie that is out to get the last survivors of the human race. Leap Motion gave the developers from this game $7,500, Unity Pro and a GeForce GTX 980Tis.
Hand Capture, a motion capture and animation plugin for Autodesk MotionBuilder 2016, took home the third place prize -- $5,000, Unity Pro and a GeForce GTX 980Ti.
The community favorite for this category goes to Universal Accessibility Vehicle (UAV). This application is an experimental interface to control household appliances using a Leap Motion sensor attached to a wheelchair. The developer took home $500 and a copy of Unity Pro.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/lea...ers,31082.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Star Wars to enter a new reality in the future, with VR a big focus

With Star Wars continuing to make huge profits at the box office, Slashfilm visited the Sundance Film Festival and tried out Lucasfilm and Disney's experimental New Frontier showcase that has been there in a bigger presence over the last few years, but this year Industrial Light & Magic joined in on the VR fun, teasing their new experimental work from the ILM x Lab.





ILM were showing off a project they call Holo Cinema, which Slashfilm explains: "which is basically an installation that lets you step into the world of Jakku from Star Wars: The Force Awakens. But this isn't just another Oculus VR demo. Instead, it's presented using projections on the walls and floor that are synced up to your point of view using 3D head tracking. It's hard to describe exactly what this looks like, and even the videos can't accurately explain it. But the feeling is that what you are seeing is really in the room with you. BB-8 rolled around me, I could kneel down and look into his droid eyes. I walked around C-3PO".

This is all the tip of the iceberg, too - as they explained to Slashfilm that Holo Cinema is "just one of the many things they were developing at ILM x Lab. The experience is more augmented reality than virtual reality, although it sounds like ILM will be working on many VR experiences to be released in the coming years". The company plans on working with big-name filmmakers and screenwriters on future VR content for Star Wars experiences.

ILM says that big-name filmmakers are excited to get involved, as they're able to tell stories using the new 360-degree/VR medium. ILM isn't ready to provide any dates, directors, or writers that they've been talking to - but we're sure that these details won't be too far away. For the full story, check out Slashfilm's article.

Noticia:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/50030/...cus/index.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Puzzles Are Fun In Virtual Reality

While I was taking in the various experiences at the Steam VR Developer Showcase, a couple of themes started to materialize, one of them being puzzles. Of course, puzzles of some form are generally found in most games, but of the 12 games that were shown, three of them use puzzle solving as a core mechanic for their game play.
Nothing But Puzzles

Fantastic Contraption, from Northway Games, is easily the most recognizable as a puzzle game. There’s no mistaking this one -- all you do is solve puzzles. You may have seen some of the videos that have recently surfaced about the game. It’s actually a re-imagination of a 2D game Northway released in 2008 (and is still available,) which shares the same name.

Fantastic Contraption

To play Fantastic Contraption, you must build things (read: contraptions) that can get a pink ball to its goal, located somewhere in the environment. You are given a selection of items that you can use to create your “contraptions,” including sticks and bars that you can stretch or shrink to any length you desire, and cylindrical “wheels” (with rotation direction markers). There is also a glue substance available that can make the attachments more rigid, but you don’t need to use it in all cases.
Fantastic Contraption features quite an intriguing menu system. Your items come from two different locations: an animated cat with parts all over it that you can reach down and grab at any time, and a shortcut system that has you reaching for parts on various areas of your own body. Reach behind your head for the two types of sticks, one for each hand. Wheels are found on your head, and glue comes from your ear. Just for fun (as far as I can tell), you can also pull a bouncy ball from your mouth and start bouncing it around the room.
Fantastic Contraption will be released with HTC’s Vive in April, and it will feature 100 levels on day one. The company has plans to add a level editor to the game that will come out at a later date. We were told this will be free DLC when it comes out. Northway Games is also working on implementing a multiplayer aspect of the game that is planned for later this year, which may end up being a free addition as well.
Key Element In Gameplay

The Gallery: Call of The Starseed is another game that relies heavily on puzzle solving. This game is being developed by Cloudhead Games and has been heavily influenced by the Myst series of games. The Gallery will feature a range of puzzles to figure out, and the Blink system used for navigation is very reminiscent of the point and click system used in the classic games.
When you first start playing The Gallery, you are launched into a training world that teaches you the basic mechanics of the game. It shows you how Blink works, which is a fairly similar mechanic to the system that Budget Cuts uses to navigate through the world (minus the preview portal). The training session asks you to “Blink” to various spots in the world that have bottles sitting on pillars. Your mission is the smash them all. Once that is done, the actual game will start.
My short time with the game didn’t allow me to really dive into it fully. I was able to get a feel for moving around in the world, and I started to collect a few items that were found on the ground. One of those items happened to be an old Walkman cassette player (an object that one journalist noted that his kids would never recognize.)
The Walkman is required to play back cassette tapes that you will find strewn about the world. These tapes have clues that will lead you to the next puzzle (I told you it’s like Myst). My time with the game ended before I figured out any of the puzzles, but it left me wanting more.
Though I barely scratched the surface of The Gallery: Call of The Starseed, I can already see the direct influence that Myst had on the development of this game. Myst was one of my favorites PC games in those days, and I look forward to spending many hours with The Gallery.
The Gallery: Call of the Starseed will be available on day one of the Vive launch.
MORE: Motion Capture Inside VR Now Possible, Cloudhead Games And Noitom Did It With HTC Vive
Puzzles Secondary, But Necessary

Budget Cuts, while not inherently a puzzle game, also features a puzzle-solving aspect. You have to time your movements to avoid the roaming robotic security guards, and you have to locate things like hidden keys within the world so that you can progress through the game.
Puzzles have always been part of video games, but solving them in VR adds a whole new level of fun. I was given just a glimpse of each of these games, but all them offered interesting takes on puzzle-solving in virtual spaces.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/htc...ase,31097.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Watch Movies Home Alone with the Cardboard Home Cinema

Are you tired of visiting the cinema, only to find that your experience is marred by babbling mouth breathers, rustling sweet wrappers, and lit-up smartphones, and too cheap to buy a home cinema system? Don’t despair, because Firebox has developed a private home cinema, free from extraneous distraction, that will only cost you £24.99.

The Cardboard Home Cinema. It’s a box with a couple of holes cut in it.

As the Firebox product description puts it: “for the paltry cost of a couple of movie tickets this immersive cinematic experience can be yours. Made from super rugged cardboard, it arrives flat-packed and can be quickly assembled in a matter of minutes. Your smartphone/tablet sits atop the box and plays your movie of choice while you lay down beneath it. The height of the box is easily adjusted so that your eyes are a comfortable distance from the screen (e.g. lower for an iPhone, higher for an iPad).”
While the Cardboard Home Cinema is a novel idea, its £24.99 price feels excessive, especially since it’s made from cardboard. I’ve got some old boxes in my spare room that I could use to construct the IMAX equivalent for less than the price of a box of Poppets.

Noticia:
http://www.eteknix.com/watch-movies-...d-home-cinema/

[Jorge-Vieira]

VR Devs Approaching FPS Games In Very Different Ways

When people first hear about virtual reality, they start to consider what they might want to do in VR. Playing a first person shooter often comes to mind. At first thought, games like Call of Duty or Crysis may seem like they would be amazing in VR, but making it work is a whole different story. Barring a fancy peripheral such as Virtuix’s Omni, you can’t really walk far in VR, which severely limits your ability to play existing FPS titles with a VR HMD.
Early solutions included using game controllers or keyboard-and-mouse setups to use the traditional control schemes, but that approach made too many people sick, so most developers have scrapped the idea of linear movements done with a controller for VR games.
Shooter games for virtual reality require a different approach altogether. Even with a system like HTC’s Vive, where you can walk around your room and be tracked within the game, you are limited to a small confined space. Games designed for this kind of setup need to be adapted for this limitation.
Fortunately for FPS fans, there are a number of developers working on ways to make compelling games within these constraints. I had the chance to try out three different shooters during Steam VR’s Developer Showcase this week, and each one had a very different way to solve the problem.
Make Your Play Area Movable

Stress Level Zero’s Hover Junkers was the first of the three FPS games that I had a chance to preview. The game solves the long distance travel issue by placing you on a hovercraft that you can move around as you need. The surface of the craft never changes orientation, so you never see the game world rotate (which can be very off-putting when that movement comes from an external source.) However, you can still move around freely on the surface of your craft.


A big part of the game is the cover system. Each ship lets you add a certain number of scrap pieces to its sides that act as cover. You can duck behind these barricades to avoid getting shot. There’s no button to press when you want cover, either -- you really do have to physically duck down or crouch. Hover Junkers is definitely an active game.
For the demo, I was shown only one ship, but Brandon Laatsch, Founder of Stress Level Zero, told me that there will be 17 different crafts to choose from when the game ships in April with the Vive launch. The hovercraft options are more about room size than anything else. The company had to account for all the different room setups that potential players might have to at home. The game requires movement and room-scale tracking, so its solution is to provide a ship for every size.
Hover Junkers includes two different guns, a revolver and a single-handed triple-barrel shotgun. Laatsch told me the game is staying away from two-handed weapons because they don’t feel natural when using two separate controllers, but the company is experimenting with a couple other weapon choices, including grenades.
Look To The Past

Stress Level Zero took on the problem with a modern solution, but there are other ways to get around it. Vertigo Games looked at arcade games from decades ago and took inspiration from them to manage travel with Arizona Sunshine, its upcoming VR zombie game. Several showcase attendees remarked that the game reminded them of the House of the Dead Arcade game from the mid-1990s.
Arizona Sunshine is broken into small zones that you take on one at a time. Rather than running away when things get crazy, you have to actually clear the area before you can move to the next zone. In each section you basically stand your ground and defend your position. You rarely feel like you have to move at all -- the zombies will come to you -- and if your aim is decent, you probably won’t have much to worry about.
Once the stage is clear, a target will appear in the air. Shoot the target, and you will be transported to its location, where you will likely find a pile of ammo clips, and sometimes a new weapon or item. The process feels very similar to the old on-rails shooters from the arcade games, but instead of the camera moving forward in an animation, the new area just loads into view, which avoids any potential nausea-inducing animations.
The demo of Arizona Sunshine that was playable at the showcase was a simple linear path mission, but John Coleman, Director of Business Development for Vertigo Games, told me that in the final game, story mode will have multiple branches you can follow; it won’t just be linear. There will also be a co-operative multiplayer story mode, and a co-op mode where you simply defend your ground together from wave after wave of zombies. He also noted that there will be roughly 25 guns in the final game.
Coleman said that Arizona Sunshine will not be making the launch window. Instead, the company is targeting a September/October launch for this title.
And Even Further To The Past

I-Illusions’ founder, Dirk Van Welden, took inspiration from a little further back than the '90s for his company’s game, Space Pirate Trainer. Welden compared his game to Asteroids from the 1970s, but I feel like there’s some Space Invaders in there, too.
In Space Pirate Trainer, you are tasked with defending a spaceship that is parked on a space station from incoming drones that are trying to destroy it. They come in from above, below and around 180 degrees or so in front of you.
You are on foot, armed with two laser pistols that can be switched for rail guns or shields, in any combination of two. You have to shoot the droids out of the sky before they hit you with their own laser weapons. To avoid getting shot, you have to move around, dodging incoming laser beams, and manage incoming enemies from different directions at once.
I-Illusions has managed to create a very fun (this was definitely my favorite game at the showcase) shooter experience, while removing the traveling element altogether, and it works really well. It puts more emphasis on using the available space for roomscale VR, and completely eliminates the “How do I get from here to there?” problem.
The company has been working in VR for only four months, and only submitted the first alpha of Space Pirate Trainer to Valve in December. If the fact that the game is already being showcased at the Steam VR Developer Showcase doesn't give you an idea how well it plays, consider that it was the talk of the group at the event, and likely the most popular choice for favorite experience.
Just Figuring It all Out

After spending some time playing all three of these games (and a little bit of Epic’s Bullet Train with Oculus Touch at CES), it’s clear to me that there is much potential for some great VR FPS experiences. Developers are still just figuring out how to approach many of the problems that these new games are presenting, and it’s clear there isn’t just one solution at this point in time. Each of these games managed their own way of getting past the same limitation, and they all succeeded at minimizing the issue of traveling around.
None of these are be-all-end-all solutions, but we don’t need full-range movement to have a compelling game. First generation VR titles will have their teething pains, but there are already a few solid entries into the shooter genre to look forward to this year.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/vr-...mes,31100.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Logitech CEO: 'you bet we'll jump into VR'

While VR is set to change everything from gaming to social interactions and entertainment, the actual virtual reality HMD's like the Oculus Rift have pretty much soaked up the limelight. But what about VR peripherals? Logitech is ready to jump into the new platform with a slew of VR-ready accessories.

Although most HMD's like HTC's Vive and PlayStation VR have their own controllers, Logitech wants to create its own unique line of VR peripherals, too. In a recent interview with the Australian Financial Review, Logitech CEO Bracken Darrell discussed his plans for VR: "Just like with the mouse and keyboard, optimizing the experience of the peripherals that go with VR will be an interesting place for us."

Rather than jump in right away, however, the renowned PC hardware manufacturer is biding their time and betting on the second or third generation of VR hardware. "We're in the middle of many discussions in that space ... and at some point you can bet we'll jump in," Darrell continued. "But we're years away from viewing that as a serious category. We'd rather come in late and better than come in early and awkwardly."

What kinds of VR hardware would Logitech make? Maybe some lightguns for shooters, or even a wireless lightsaber-esque controller for RPG's--or, heaven forbid, a Star Wars VR game? Whatever Logitech is cooking up, we'll probably have to wait a while before we see anything new...but VR isn't expected to fully hit its stride until gens 2 and 3.

Noticia:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/50089/...-vr/index.html



Será por causa disto que deixaram de fazer ratos?

[Jorge-Vieira]

‘Adult’ VR controller appears on IndieGoGo – NSFW

Cover your mother’s eyes before starting the video on this one ladies and gents, it’s a little racy. The VirtuaDolls adult VR game controller is now available to pre-order on IndieGoGo, offering a touchable, feelable, real-world controller for certain adult ‘games’ that will be available for virtual reality headsets when they launch in the next few months.





Developed by Eos, a one many company founded by William Spracklin, the VirtuaDolls controller features a specially sized hole, in a motorised hunk of silicon that can simulate a variety of different motions. It also have sleeve options, a vacuum addition and various skin coloured exterior coatings. It even comes with its own starter game, Girls of Arcadia, which has you saving a woman in peril, or just jumping right ahead to “sim” mode.
The device will also (in the future) synch up with VR video pornography too, letting you become more immersed in the scenes than ever before.
The developer is looking for $20,000 and are offering the VirtuaDolls controller at just shy of $200 each with a hope of bringing in enough money to expand the development team so there is more compatible content. It will also need upfront funds for manufacturing costs.

It is what it is.
Although you don’t need a headset to experience it, VR compatibility will be limited to the Oculus Rift CV1 headset on the PC and only Unreal Engine games and experiences will be compatible at launch. However the developer does plan to make it possible to use the HTV Vive, OSX and Unity3D as well. If stretch goals are met, Android, IOS and Google Cardboard will also be supported.
The VirtuaDolls controller will ship in June 2016, unless you want a developer version and then you can get hold of it by March.
While this is a unique device, and is perhaps the most “controller,” like since it features handles and inputs, I think Kiiroo beat Eos to developing the very first adult VR controller.

Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/channel/generaltech/jon-martindale/adult-vr-controller-appears-on-indiegogo-nsfw/









Magic Leap funding reaches $1.4 billion for ‘Mixed Reality Lightfield’

As much as VR hardware is almost upon us, many of those working in the fledgling industry are looking far into the future. Oculus is considering future camera tracking hardware and Microsoft wants to blend the virtual and augmented realities into one, but Magic Leap has something clever in the works too, and it’s raised almost one and a half billion dollars in funding to do it.
Although that money has been raised over the past six years from companies like Google and Qualcomm, almost $800 million was raised in a recent round, led by Chinese ecommerce giant, Alibaba (via UploadVR). Clearly whatever Magic Leap is working on is impressive, but what is it?

Described by the developers as a “mixed reality lightfield,” the suggestion is that it will be a Google-Glass-like product, but instead of featuring a display, it’s thought that it beams digital additions directly into the eye of the user, making for seamless, wide-angle augmented reality.
“It comes to life by following the rules of the eye and the brain, by being gentle, and by working with us, not against us,” said CEO of Magic Leap, Rony Abovitz when discussing the technology. “By following as closely as possible the rules of nature and biology.”





This could allow for supremely detailed images too, as can be seen in the above demonstration. It’s described quite poetically by Arbovitz, as being almost art-like in its implementation of augmented reality. In his latest address, he details how the company is currently setting up supply chain operations, manufacturing and several other important factors for a finalised product.
So it may not be that much longer until we learn a little more about what Magic Leap’s product actually is.

Noticia:
http://www.kitguru.net/components/vr...ty-lightfield/

[Jorge-Vieira]

Steven Spielberg teases he's working on a new project 'solely for VR'

Virtual Reality Company (VRC) co-founder and the director of Maleficent, Robert Stromberg has teased that his company is working with legendary filmmaker Steven Spielberg on a new project that is "solely for VR".

When he was asked about taking VR filmmaking to the next level, Stromberg replied: "it is about getting other filmmakers interested of course, from the independent level to getting major players involved as well... I can say here, my company - VRC - we're working with, for instance, Steven Spielberg on a project that's solely for VR".

Stromberg didn't say exactly what they were working on, but he did work on the movie tie in VR experience for The Martian most recently. Considering Ready Player One has been in the works for a while, with DreamWorks SDK (Spielberg helped create the company), it makes sense that Spielberg is stepping into the VR game at this period of time.

Noticia:
http://www.tweaktown.com/news/50124/...-vr/index.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Unheard of AR outfit gets cash for production

Coming from no-where
An AR outfit which has had little in the way of publicity has just been given millions to get its technology into the shops and if it works like it is claimed it could clean the current generation's clocks.

Magic Leap has kept its supposedly revolutionary AR tech under wraps to the public but the outfit is worth $4.5 billion and has some AR tech which looks super cool.
Magic Leap CEO Rony Abovitz said that the new capital will advance the timeline of adoption for the company’s AR technology and get it into production.

“Here at Magic Leap we are creating a new world where digital and physical realities seamlessly blend together to enable amazing new experiences. This investment will accelerate bringing our new Mixed Reality Lightfield experience to everyone.”

What it has is an augmented reality headset with a proprietary light field display which mixes augmented elements into the real world in a more natural way than other display technologies.
What should have held it back is that the tech needed miniaturisation and a special photonics chip which can accommodate what the eye-brain system is used to getting. In the past such a chip had not been invented. Abovitz said the company had developed a photonics chip, sorted out the design, materials and designed the fab that will make it.
He added that the company had achieved mass miniaturization and stepped out of the days of computer simulations and one-off prototypes.

“We’re not on the risk side. We’re on the other side. It’s like talking about making an Intel chip versus actually making them,” he said.

The extra $793.5 million the company picked up from Alibaba might just be enough to indicate that they have sorted everything out and are close to manufacturing at a large scale.
So far the only thing we have seen from the out fit is the short video released toward the end of last year which the company says was shot using its tech.

Noticia:
http://www.fudzilla.com/news/wearabl...for-production

[Jorge-Vieira]

GogglePal Brings Augmented Reality To The Slopes

Following a successful Kickstarter campaign, GogglePal is accepting preorders for its universally mounted augmented reality heads-up display (HUD). The GogglePal is a small, lightweight HUD that can be magnetically mounted on any pair of snow goggles. For those of us who have already spent a pretty penny on our goggles, we’d be hard pressed to buy another set just for AR. By virtue of being universally mountable, the GogglePal is much more accessible than a standalone set of AR snow goggles, which would cost much more.
Development on the GogglePal was primarily based on community feedback. Skiers and boarders wanted a way to track their stats and compare them with those of their friends. GogglePal users will receive real-time information based on their skiing or snowboarding stats, including speed, time, location, calories burned, etc. Additionally, a complementary iOS app was developed to share and compare stats with friends.The GogglePal, at first glance, appears to be a niche product, but I can think of more than just a few ways an AR HUD such as this would be useful. GogglePal admits that while the available goggle-mounted HUDs are optimized primarily for snow sports, they do plan on developing solutions for other sports such as mountain biking, motorcycling, skydiving, and more.
The GogglePal is available for preorder on the GogglePal website starting at $149 for the Sport edition and $225 for the Connect edition.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/gog...hud,31128.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Consumer-grade EEG could be headed for VR

Must have read your mind

Boffins from the University of Memphis have been looking at the use of consumer-grade EEG equipment to provide meaningful and accurate recognition of the wearer’s mental state.

Apparently what they found opens up possibilities not only for useful medical or health-oriented implementations, but of incorporating similar sensors into virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) headsets.
In their paper Mental Recognition via Wearable EEG the researchers said they tested 16 subjects, ten men and six women who had their reactions to both instructional videos and cute cat videos measured by commercial EEG head-set the InteraXon Muse.
You can pick up a Muse device for $300 and it has notably fewer sensors than medical-grade EEG monitors, and is marketed as a meditation aid.
UoM researchers Pouya Bashivan, Irina Rish and Steve Heisig set various machine-learning algorithms to work filtering out artefacts in the feedback from the sixteen subjects watching the educational or amusing videos.
The Muse’s limited array of four prefrontal and occipital/temporal sensors yielded enough data in terms of oscillatory responses to satisfactorily deduce the mental state of the subject in terms of a ‘rational’ or ‘emotional’ response to the videos.
This opens the way for VR machines which are controlled by your mind. However the one downside which could tigger the development is that the contacts could be effected by the user having too much hair. It was better that contacts were made directly onto the surface of the scalp with gel.
Still the technology could be there even at a consumer level which bodes well for future development. If using EEG signals gets good enough it could mean that you don’t need things like gloves or full suits and you can control everything in your mind.

Noticia:
http://www.fudzilla.com/news/wearabl...-headed-for-vr

[Jorge-Vieira]

AltspaceVR Goes Mobile: Gear VR Client Launches Today

AltspaceVR announced the release of its Gear VR client. Now you can bring AltspaceVR wherever you go.
AltspaceVR is a virtual reality social platform where you can gather with others online in virtual spaces. In AltspaceVR, you can participate in a wide range of social activities, including group-gathering to watch Twitch or YouTube videos, play games, or attend scheduled events hosted by members of the community, such as training sessions and trivia games.
The AltspaceVR platform has been available to PC users for some time. It first launched on PC with support for Oculus DK2 and traditional 2D screens. In September 2015, AltspaceVR added support for HTC’s Vive developer kits and offered an SDK. The Gear VR client is the first version of AltspaceVR available for mobile platforms.

“Our focus at AltspaceVR is creating the most natural and fulfilling communication experience possible online, and we’re thrilled to bring it to Gear VR,” said AltspaceVR Founder & CEO Eric Romo. “AltspaceVR on Gear VR brings nearly all the features of our PC experience, but with the ease of use of mobile.”

We had the chance to chat with Eric Romo, Founder and CEO of AltspaceVR, prior to the launch of the new client, and he clarified what he meant by “nearly all the features” of the PC client. Romo said that the Gear VR client for AltspaceVR supports every feature except for the Dungeons and Dragons games. He wasn’t clear if this feature would eventually come to the mobile version, but DnD is currently not cross platform compatible.
Romo told us that every other feature in the AltspaceVR experience is fully cross platform. You can be using a Gear VR and sharing the experience with someone using a Rift DK2, or Vive, or both.
Romo told us that the Gear VR client was a challenging undertaking for the company, and they didn’t know if it would be possible when they took on the project a year ago. He said his engineering team had to “Go deep into optimization of the code of altspace, the way that our app runs, the way that we do web browsing, and synchronization, the way that we do VoIP. We had to go deep, deep into all of those pieces of code and just optimize them like crazy” in order to provide the full AltspaceVR experience on Gear VR. Romo called the result a “well-rounded piece of software,” and he said that he's been using the Gear VR client as his primary way to access AltspaceVR ever since he started testing it.
To celebrate the launch of the new Gear VR AlspaceVR client, the company will be hosting various events in AltsaceVR throughout the day, including various sessions of Sketchy Quiz, AltspaceVR’s own live trivia game.

• 10:00 AM PT Welcome Space Fun
• 11:00 AM Sketchy Quiz 30 minute version - gaming, live event (SQ is AltspaceVR's take on interactive bar trivia)
• 12:00 Open Mic with Love - live event (20-30 minutes)
• 1:00 Game Time! (Feature our apps in the skyrise, and rotate games)
• 1:30-2:30 PM Sketchy Quiz with Eric Romo - Live event, gaming
• 3:00 Game Time!
• 4:30 Movie Streaming (will also be happening all day)
• 5:00 Buzzfeed Hour
• 6:00 15 -20 minute set with Sophia (Deep Rifters' Daughter)
• 7:00 PM Critical Role Streaming Party
• 8:00 PM Sketchy Quiz - Late evening edition with Debby
• 8:30 PM Sketchy Quiz - Late evening edition with Debby

AltspaceVR’s Gear VR client is available today through the Gear VR Oculus Store.

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/alt...ent,31132.html

[Jorge-Vieira]

Wevr Scores $25 Million In VC To Bring You The First VR 'Transport' Network

We've been hearing about modern virtual reality (VR) for what seems like forever, but with some leading headsets soon to launch, 2016 is shaping-up to be a pivotal year for the technology. That being the case, if you think you've been hearing about VR quite a bit up to this point, to quote Bachman Turner Overdrive, "You ain't seen nothing yet."
The biggest concern most VR enthusiasts have currently is the lack of content, or at least the lack of high-quality content. It's hard right now to find the great stuff amongst all the lackluster demos and use cases, although the situation will of course improve as time goes on and the technology matures. One start-up, Wevr, wants to make sure that the content and application issue is solved sooner than later.
image: http://hothardware.com/ContentImages...nt/Wevr_VR.jpg
Wevr's upcoming product is called Transport, and based on its name alone, it's not too hard to figure out what it's all about: "transporting" you into virtual environments. It's going to act as a VR content network, sort of like Valve's Steam or perhaps YouTube ,for example. It will act as a hub for a wide variety of content: games, films, and tools. Users will be able to strap up and peruse a large selection, while content creators will be able to get their content out there, and at some point, monetize it.
The Wevr team consists of industry experts Neville Spiteri, Scott Yara, and Anthony Batt, and they've already proven there's significant interest in their efforts with an impressive $25,000,000 venture capital cash infusion. Spiteri sums up Transport as such:

• For makers to proudly present their VR work to fans,
• For everyone to easily experience VR and enjoy sharing feedback,
• Where brave, inspiring VR is created, consumed and celebrated.

Transport sounds impressive, and it indeed could be a VR killer app or powerful enabler but its release date, or what it will truly become ultimately, is still a mystery. Reportedly, Transport is designed to work with any HMD (head-mounted display) VR solution whether Oculus Rift, HTV Vive or what have you. It's even going to be made available in a software format that will be shared with the community.
If you want to sign up for Transport's beta, you can do so here.

Noticia:
http://hothardware.com/news/wevr-sco...YP2tOrpvzHT.99

[Jorge-Vieira]

Basemark Becomes Newest Immersive Technology Alliance Member

Basemark announced that it has joined the likes of AMD, Crytek, Starbreeze, Futuremark and many other prominent companies working in the VR/AR space. Basemark is now an official member for the Immersive Technology Alliance.
Basemark is a benchmarking and analysis company focused on the semiconductor industry. The company develops tools that analyze performance and power consumption of hardware and is used by “leading semiconductor and OEM companies around the world.” Basemark’s product portfolio includes Basemark Metal, Basemark ES, Basemark X, Basemark OS and Browsermark, and it will soon include a tool designed specifically for testing performance in VR.

“Given our weight within the VR ecosystem, we have to be very selective in choosing the right bodies and consortiums where we participate,” said Tero Sarkkinen, Founder of Basemark. “We evaluated and found that the Immersive Technology Alliance is a definitive key player and therefore we feel confident that our joining the membership roster is the right decision for us and the industry. The ITA have already done important work in bringing various stakeholders together and we look forward to further contributing to the members and the industry by providing our high quality VR testing tools and technologies.”

Neil Schneider, Director of ITA, said "The ITA is very excited to welcome Basemark because their valued expertise will benefit the alliance, and their membership is proof that key industry players are jointly learning, building, and collaborating for the best user experience possible in virtual reality.” He added that the ITA is “particularly excited that Basemark is developing a benchmarking toolset for virtual reality alongside ITA member Crytek. Very exciting stuff!”

Noticia:
http://www.tomshardware.com/news/bas...nce,31166.html