Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 122

Oculus VR will be announcing the first consumer Rift headset in around 12 hours time, with Futuremark jumping in early to announce VRMark. VRMark is a new benchmark that will test your entire system, both hardware and software, to measure VR performance.

The company explains VRMark as "a VR benchmark that uses a combination of software and hardware to measure VR system performance, latency, and accuracy, the key components in creating convincing and comfortable VR experiences". VRMark is in development right now, with some initial tests to be released to Futuremark's industry partners later this year.

Update: It looks like the Oculus Rift CV1 has been leaked in full, with a detailed look at every angle of the VR headset. We seem to have nearly confirmed a touch-based gamepad, built-in headphones, a passthrough camera and the final design of the Rift CV1 itself.

Oculus VR has just very quietly updated its website, showing off a new logo for the company, something you can see below. The company is also now counting down to its 'Step into the Rift' event on June 11, where we should see the CV1 of the Rift unveiled.

The Consumer Version 1 release of the Rift will be the first VR headset the company has released as a consumer-orientated product, with the release of the Developer Kit 1 (DK1) and DK2 being sold to developers, but open to the general public to buy, too. Oculus will be livestreaming the event, which is set to start on June 11.

Update: We are now looking at some very real-looking images on the NeoGAF forums, which show the Oculus Rift CV1 off in great detail. This includes the confirmation of the touch-based gamepad, and its SID tracker (Simple Input Device).

According to a post on the /r/oculus subreddit, we're seeing some rendered images of the Oculus Rift CV1, the first consumer bound version of the Oculus Rift.

In the leaked images, we can see a large stand for the tracking module, and a good look at the strap and headphones that will arrive with the Rift. To the right, we can see the tease of a touch-based controller, something we reported on last week. From the image we can't tell if it's a controller for one hand, or a dual touchpad controller. I would be putting my money on the latter.

E3 is going to begin next week in Los Angeles, and will feature some of the latest and greatest from the gaming industry. Virtual reality is expected to have a major presence at E3, with gamers learning to become more familiar with the rising format.

VR is expected to eventually take over the gaming market, and the Entertainment Software Association (ESA) apparently is looking forward to the technology.

"I've already scheduled my own demos to make sure I'm seeing and experiencing everything, so I'm looking forward to VR and AR, finding out how those segments have matured over the past year," said Mike Gallagher, CEO and president of the ESA, in a statement to GamesBeat. "There's so much buzz and excitement. The idea that the technology could be used not only for great video games, but that it could be a $150 billion industry by itself..."

Oculus VR is set to unveil the first consumer version of the Oculus Rift on June 11 at its 'Step into the Rift' event, but company founder, Palmer Luckey, has taken to Twitter with quite the tease: a glove-based input device.

What could it be? We could see a Power Glove-like interface, where you have a pair of gloves that you'll use to control the Rift. Alternatively, you could see Oculus unveil a hand-tracking system with the Rift, thanks to their acquisition of Nimble last year. Whatever happens, we're about to be introduced to the future of technology, and we could not be more excited.

The tease comes in the form of a tweet from Luckey on Twitter, with a picture from The Wizard, a movie from 1989 that was pretty much one large Nintendo advertisement.

Magic Leap has added a developers section to its website, as the company reportedly prepares to launch a development platform for augmented reality (AR) software engineers. There is no word when the software development kit (SDK) would be released, but it's expected to be compatible with the Unity and Unreal game engines.

"We're about having a completely open platform for every app developer, artist, writer, and filmmaker," said Rony Abovitz, CEO of Magic Leap, while speaking on stage at the MIT Technology Review's EmTech Digital conference. "We're going to open it up for the world."

It is a monumental step forward for Magic Leap, which has largely remained below the radar - despite its heavy emphasis on bringing objects or characters to life in the world around you. However, it seems a bit strange that developers will have the chance to begin creating apps using the Magic Leap SDK before actually interacting with the company's hardware. Even so, I look forward to seeing what AR developers can create using the tools given to them.

Computex 2015 - NVIDIA wants to help gamers in Taiwan experience virtual reality, and brought its GeForce VR Experience to Computex 2015. The idea behind the effort is to allow consumers to enjoy VR for the first time, ahead of a likely onslaught of VR headsets in the coming years.

Gamers interested in VR will have to be ready to spend for it, especially if they need to purchase new PC components. However, it's expected gamers will see a drastic increase in VR-themed software releases in the coming years - and NVIDIA teamed up with CCP Games for a Tron-like VR experience, which you can read about here.

"VR changes the way you play and experience games by putting you in the game," NVIDIA said. "When you're in VR, you're directly in the action with a full 3D world all around you. Move your head and the view changes. Move your physical body and your virtual body moves with it."

Computex 2015 - One of the more impressive VR demos that I've personally played around with happened today with NVIDIA and CCP Games, the studio behind EVE: Valkyrie.

There were a few demos that NVIDIA and CCP Games walked me through, with the first providing a totally new way of doing things. CCP Games used a Kinect sensor to capture images of your body in real time, and then used that to bake it into their VR demo. This allowed for much more precision in the VR world, and as CCP Games put it to me: it makes your arms, the best thing to use as 'controllers'.

In the demo itself, I was able to press little circles in front of me that would act as the UI, going into different parts of the experience. I was able to pick up flaming energy balls which I could then throw around the world, or electricity balls that would spark and send things flying when you threw them.

The use of virtual reality can help medical patients suffering from strokes and other major brain conditions regain control over themselves, researchers believe.

The Virtual Reality Medical Center is using VR to help medical patients re-learn motor functions, such as walking, sitting, or holding an item. Letting patients work in a virtual environment is a great first step, helping ease embarrassment or discomfort before they physically try to move again.

"What we do first is teach a person how to control their body and thought process," said Brenda Wiederhold, EVP of the Virtual Reality Medical Center, in a statement to CNBC. "Then we put them in VR and have them practice those skills in the virtual world so they feel confident they can use them in the real-world."

The Oculus Rift is expected to bring virtual reality to the mainstream, but consumers must be ready to open their wallets and spend. The headset will be available for around $300, but gamers - and anyone looking to test the VR world - needs to spend an estimated $1,500 to be ready.

"We are looking at an all-in price, if you have to go out and actually need to buy a new computer and you're going to buy the Rift... at most you should be in that $,1500 range," said Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus, while speaking during the recent Code tech conference.

It would seem unlikely that gamers interested in VR would be scared away of investing in the headset, but the overall consumer market may be willing to sit back and wait. To help promote the Oculus Rift, the company hopes to see the estimated $1,500 price tag eventually drop to $1,000, but understands that it will take some time.