Virtual & Augmented Reality and 3D News - Page 123

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.

Augmented reality is evolving into a suitable virtual environment for consumers and in the workplace, with Microsoft interested in pushing the boundaries of 3D interaction. HoloLens could allow wearers to view the actions of other people right in front of you, instead of just interacting with objects or environments.

The company currently has a custom holographic TV studio that uses around 100 cameras to track movements of humans. Captured video footage and custom software allows for an accurate creation that is much more immersive than a regular computer animation.

"There's something magical about it being real people and motion," said Steve Sullivan, who is currently involved with the HoloLens project, in a statement published by the MIT Technology Review. "If you have a HoloLens, you really feel these performances are in your world."

It looks like virtual reality is still destined to rule video games and movies, but that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of other uses. Silicon Valley company STRIVR Labs is developing a virtual reality sports tool that allows football players to make play reads, learn plays interactively, and execute game-type reps using an Oculus VR Rift headset.

"It was one of the few times in your coaching career when you're watching something and you think, 'This is a game-changer,'" said Bret Bielema, coach of the Arkansas Razorbacks college football team, in a statement to the media. This is gonna change the way we teach young men."

Technology is fully embraced by collegiate and professional sports, with game film and plays distributed via HDTVs, smartphones and tablets - with VR expected to add a new element. It's especially helpful in sports because coaches can have players make natural movements like they were in an actual game or scrimmage, while all the data is immediately captured.

What if I told you that these VR glasses can work with any Bluetooth device? What about if I told you that this product offers a claimed 2K resolution, a 120hz refresh rate and a lightweight design all wrapped up into one small package?

You'd likely join many other users in doubting the legitimacy of these claims - "Better features than Oculus without anyone knowing who you are? Impossible!" exclaims friends on my Facebook news feed. However, we're going to sit here and cross our fingers really hard that it's a reality.

The company on display here is Dlodo. Coming out of China, these Virtual Reality innovators are pushing their first product to the market, self named as 'Dlodlo VR Glasses'. Photoshopped product images aside, the spec sheet is certainly astounding and shows direct comparisons between what this new company has on offer when compared to other players in the market.