Extended Reality (XR) - Page 65

Starbreeze Studios, the developer behind the Payday series of games, has just surprised the world by unveiling their own VR headset, known as Project StarVR.

The new VR headset will be shown off at E3 this week, alongside Overkill Software's upcoming shooter based on The Walking Dead. Starbreeze has acquired French VR hardware developer InfinitEye, with InfinitEye turning into Starbreeze Paris. Moving onto StarVR itself, which is sporting a huge 210-degree horizontal field of view, with a resolution of 5120x1440, courtesy of its dual 5.5-inch panels.

StarVR is really upping the ante on VR headsets, offering gamers immersive orientation and positional tracking as it features a plethora of gyroscopes, accelerometers, magnetometers, and an optical tracking system. The developer teased a shotgun prop that was tracked positionally, so just imagine that in The Walking Dead game for a minute.

Oculus VR might have just announced the Oculus Rift CV1, but it is the partnership with Microsoft that has me interested the most. This partnership is a huge direction shift for Oculus, as it means that it isn't the balls-to-the-wall VR headset that we had hoped for.

Xbox One owners will be able to play their games in a 'virtual cinema' within the Rift, using the Xbox One controller that comes in the box. This is thanks to Microsoft and DirectX 12 with Windows 10, so we should see some massive collaborations between Microsoft, the PC, Xbox One and the Oculus Rift moving into 2016.

Oculus VR took to Kickstarter nearly three years ago now, but the company has now just announced the Oculus Rift. It looks just like the leaked shots that we posted yesterday, but what's happening inside?

Brendan Iribe from Oculus VR, said that the Oculus Rift features a custom display and optics system with two OLED displays, low persistence, as well as "no motion blur, no judder, no pixels" without mention of the resolution of the display. Iribe added that it "feels like you have just put on a pair of glasses" and the Rift has a "wide field of view".

CV1 features a new "constellation tracking system" which is "precise, low latency, and it has head movement" so that you feel like you're there. Another large part of the Rift CV1 is that it features built-in headphones.

Oculus is set to unveil the Rift CV1 headset in under 12 hours, but next week at E3, virtual reality headsets are going to be all the rage. Sony is another big contender, with the Japanese gaming giant set to go for the 'big push' on its Project Morpheus headset for the PS4.

The PlayStation 4 exclusive VR headset will take up 'around half' of Sony's booth at E3, and with Sony's booth being quite big as it is, this means that Project Morpheus is going to have a large presence at the gaming show. As for games being shown off by Sony, a source of VRFocus has said that the games on display will be "first-party and exclusive Morpheus titles".

We haven't seen any first-party games for Project Morpheus announced or shown off yet, so that's exciting. The only content that has been unveiled or shown off for the PS4 virtual reality headset has been third-party content, and some technology demos.

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.

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.

With E3 2015 just a month away now, Oculus VR has just announced a new "Step into the Rift" event for June 11 in San Francisco, where we should be introduced to the first consumer version of the Oculus Rift, CV1.

Last week we found out the recommended requirements to run the Oculus Rift, where you'll need a mid-range or better video card, and a semi-decent but not over-the-top PC to run CV1. Road to VR reports that they've "received confirmation" that the Oculus Rift CV1 runs 2160x1200 at 90Hz split over two displays, pushing a huge 233 million pixels per second.

Some might remember the tag that Palmer Luckey used during the Kickstarter for the Oculus Rift, which was "Step into the Game". This new "Step into the Rift" tease is a nice throwback to the Kickstarter campaign, as we are about to learn about CV1. The unveiling of Rift CV1 is big enough that it needs its own event, so that it won't get lost in the sea of announcements during E3 2015, which runs between June 16-18.

Oculus VR has released the recommended requirements for the Oculus Rift, which will launch in the first quarter of 2016. You'll need an Intel Core i5-4590 or equivalent, along with an NVIDIA GeForce GTX 970 or AMD Radeon R9 290 to get an optimal experience out of the VR headset.

The Facebook-owned VR giant has said: "The goal is for all Rift games and applications to deliver a great experience on this configuration. Ultimately, we believe this will be fundamental to VR's success, as developers can optimize and tune their game for a known specification, consistently achieving presence and simplifying development". The full specs you'll need:

Mark Zuckerberg, CEO and founder of Facebook, says that virtual reality is the next big computing platform. VR is something that Zuckerberg is most looking forward to, in that it will transform the world. Especially since Facebook owns Oculus VR, the makers of the Oculus Rift.

During a town hall hosted at Facebook's HQ in Menlo Park, California, Zuckerberg said: "What I think is going to be really cool is as the form factor keeps on getting smaller and smaller, [it] stops being big goggles or headset. But instead it just looks like normal glasses or sunglasses where you can use it without being tied to a computer".

Zuckerberg sees a world in the not-too-distant future where people won't need to use their phones to show photos to their friends, he added: "In the future you'll be able to snap your fingers and instantiate a photo album or a big photo, make it whatever size you want, and people will be able to see it through their glasses". This won't happen in the short term, but that's something the Facebook founder is very aware of, where he said: "It's going to take five, seven, 10, I don't know, maybe 12 years to build that out and have that be something that really works and is cheap enough for everyone in the world to use".