I Finally Tried Virtual Reality and It Brought Me to Tears

ronjor · Nov 17, 2016

VR’s killer app has arrived, and it’s Google Earth

Sam Machkovech - Nov 17, 2016 9:26 am UTC
Squishy geometry aside, you won't find a cooler free VR app on any device.
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guest · Jun 4, 2018

VR Is changing user experience design
June 4, 2018
https://betanews.com/2018/06/04/vr-is-changing-user-experience-design/

Virtual reality has skyrocketed in popularity in just a few short years. Ten years ago, VR tech simply wasn’t there, and if it was, the hardware was prohibitively expensive.
Now, your smartphone can act as a VR headset. With Google Cardboard, a smartphone with VR capabilities, and a 3D printer, you can gain access to VR tech for almost no cost whatsoever.

Because of this relatively low barrier to entry, we’ve started to see a proliferation of VR hardware and software products. Interest has surged for both consumers and developers. The prospect of VR is exciting, and this excitement and passion has translated into some incredible examples of innovation.
User Experiences, Redefined
More than just video games have been reshaped by VR, AR, and MR (Mixed Reality). The New York Times has launched its own VR app. You can watch news stories unfold before you. The result has been deeply affecting, visceral, and empathetic stories.
Better Tech, More Immersive UX
The user experience within VR is worth mentioning for a myriad of salient reasons. If you have donned a VR headset yourself, then you already understand the inexplicable and indelible experience of immersing yourself in an entirely fabricated 3D world.
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guest · Jun 28, 2018

Oculus Rift requires Windows 10 for new features
Windows 7 and 8.1 users won't get any of the cool stuff.
June 27, 2018
https://www.engadget.com/2018/06/27/oculus-rift-windows-10/

When Oculus upgraded its system software to Rift Core 2.0, currently in beta, it added a redesigned Home experience, multitasking for apps and windows in Dash and mirrored Oculus Desktop monitors. These are heavy-resource features, according to Oculus, and need Windows 10 to support them.

That's why the company is recommending Windows 10 across the Oculus platform (Rift, Touch and core software). You can still use Windows 7 and 8.1, but you won't get the new features as they appear.

In addition to the extra lifting power Windows 10 provides, Oculus points to Microsoft's deprecated mainstream support for the earlier OS versions. Oculus says that 95 percent of the most active Rift owners are already using Windows 10, and that those not yet upgraded do so soon.
The full minimum and recommended specs are below: [...]
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RockLobster · Jun 29, 2018

I have a vr headset thing you can put a phone in it I have never even tried it.

mirimir · Jun 29, 2018

Something like this?

https://vr.google.com/cardboard/

It's basically an old-school stereogram viewer, like https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...rtatile_Museo_scienza_e_tecnologia_Milano.jpg

There are two versions of the image, with offset angle of view, so they simulate a 3D view when merged. The device forces the left eye to see the left image, and the right eye to see the right image. You can see the effect without a device by letting your eyes cross. And you can see the same effect in wallpaper that has repeating patterns. Deviously repeating wallpaper actually has non-exact repeats that create 3D-like images.

Here's an old stereogram: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stere...on_Common,_by_Soule,_John_P.,_1827-1904_3.jpg

If you displayed that on a phone, you'd see 3D in your device.

RockLobster · Jun 29, 2018

It looks like that apparently theres games, videos and concerts I think I'll try it out later.

guest · Jul 4, 2018

Emirates' VR experience lets you wander around its planes
Check out the fancy perks of first and business class.
July 4, 2018
https://www.cnet.com/news/emirates-vr-experience-lets-you-wander-around-its-planes/

Emirates added a 3D VR experience to its website Tuesday, allowing visitors to check out the interiors of its A380.

Users can wander around 3D renderings of the plane's economy, business and first class cabins, as well as the fancy lounge and shower.

Customers visiting the website via their mobile devices or the Emirates app can also book their seats within the virtual environment, and both cabin navigation and seat selection can be done using any VR headset.

"We are pleased to be the world's first airline to introduce this cutting edge web VR technology, which offers our customers an immersive opportunity to learn more about the fantastic Emirates experience before they step on board," said Alex Knigge, Emirates' senior vice president of corporate communications, marketing and brand (digital), said.
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guest · Jul 19, 2018

VR rivals come together to develop a single-cable spec for VR headsets
The spec uses USB Type-C cables to deliver power and DisplayPort video simultaneously.
July 18, 2018
https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/201...-develop-a-single-cable-spec-for-vr-headsets/

Future generations of virtual reality headsets for PCs could use a single USB Type-C cable for both power and data. That's thanks to a new standardized spec from the VirtualLink Consortium, a group made up of GPU vendors AMD and Nvidia and virtual reality rivals Valve, Microsoft, and Facebook-owned Oculus.

The new spec will ensure consistent and convenient connections for future VR headsets. Current headsets tend to use multiple cables, transmitting USB data separately from display data, which travels over DisplayPort or HDMI. The use of the thin Type-C connector will also be helpful for slim laptops and mobile phones, which generally lack full-size HDMI or DisplayPort connectors.

Consumer-level VR is still a nascent technology with an uncertain future ahead of it. This kind of consolidation and cooperation surrounding cables makes investing in VR a much less risky proposition for consumers, who can be assured that any VirtualLink-compatible system will work with any VirtualLink-compatible headset, regardless of which software platform it uses.
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guest · Jul 27, 2018

B2B firms now embracing AR/VR as powerful sales tools
July 27, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/b2b-firms-embracing-arvr-as-powerful-sales-tools/

AR/VR demonstrations, in which customers can access a virtual walk through of a product, are a surprisingly robust solution, and they're now becoming an important tool in the B2B sales kit.

In another use case, food processing company VERYX created a VR view of one of its food sorting machines. Potential customers can take a self-guided virtual tour without having to visit an installation saving time and lowering barriers to sales.

"Instead of shipping an enormous MRI machine to trade shows and sales meetings," a Kaon spokesperson told me via email, "a GE Healthcare or BioRad sales manager simply has to show the product (in exact detail) on his/her smartphone."

Kaon recently added 11 major accounts to its enterprise client roster, highlighting the growth of the sector.
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guest · Jul 30, 2018

Google Chrome is officially launching on Daydream VR headsets
July 30, 2018
https://www.theverge.com/2018/7/30/...bvr-launch-official-daydream-view-mirage-solo

Google is officially adding the Chrome browser to its Daydream virtual reality platform. As of today, people using the phone-based Daydream View headset or the standalone Lenovo Mirage Solo can access Chrome from their home screens. The VR version of Chrome mostly has the same feature set as its desktop counterpart, but there’s an added “cinema mode” that optimizes web video for VR viewing. Just as importantly, Chrome supports the WebVR standard, so users can access web-based VR experiences on their Daydream headsets.

But this announcement positions this version of Chrome as a stable, full-fledged browsing app, not an experiment or a conduit for WebVR.

Daydream’s integration with existing Google products has been a selling point for the company, although Google VR apps have spread to lots of headsets; it released a YouTube app for the Samsung Gear VR just last week.
But a full-featured web browser is useful for doing things like looking up tutorials for a VR app — especially in a self-contained headset like the Mirage Solo where you can’t just switch back to normal mobile browsing.
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guest · Aug 19, 2018

Walmart: What If You Could Go to Walmart... in VR
August 18, 2018
https://gizmodo.com/walmart-what-if-you-could-go-to-walmart-in-vr-1828442562

Per a report in Bloomberg, Walmart has applied for patents concerning a truly bizarre “virtual reality showroom” involving headsets, “sensor-packed gloves,” simulated environments, and automated shipping. Yeah, it’s just as weird as it sounds.

A shopping system that requires expensive VR gear and virtual assets of Walmart products, all so that the user can experience some kind of nonsensical “sensory feedback” that may or may not be correlated to reality.

As Bloomberg noted, Walmart is trying hard to compete online with Amazon, which has so completely dominated e-commerce that it is now opening up its own brick-and-mortar retail locations to gobble up whatever IRL shopping is left.
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guest · Sep 20, 2018

Walmart buys 17,000 Oculus Go VR headsets to train a million employees
September 20, 2018
https://venturebeat.com/2018/09/20/...-go-vr-headsets-to-train-a-million-employees/

Walmart announced today that it will use Go hardware and STRIVR software to train over one million of its U.S. employees. The retailer says it will provide every associate-level employee with VR access to the same training offered at the company’s academy facilities.

By year’s end, Walmart will distribute over 17,000 headsets to its U.S. stores: four per SuperCenter and two per Neighborhood Market and discount store. The headsets will reach a million employees across nearly 5,000 locations, and will get used primarily to brief associates on new technology, compliance, and “soft skills” including empathy and customer service.

STRIVR notes that Walmart will be using its platform “to create, manage, and deploy virtual training on all aspects of store operations,” including the ability “to monitor who is using VR and how they have been using it,” as well as “to analyze behavior and common patterns that arise during training.”
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guest · Nov 1, 2018

After canceling ‘Rift 2’ overhaul, Oculus plans a modest update to flagship VR headset
October 31, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/10/31/a...plans-a-modest-update-to-flagship-vr-headset/

Facebook’s virtual reality arm may soon find itself in the unfamiliar position of playing catch-up with hardware competitors.

Last week, TechCrunch reported that Oculus co-founder Brendan Iribe had decided to leave Facebook partially due to his “fundamentally different views on the future of Oculus” and decisions surrounding the cancellation of a next-generation “Rift 2” project.

In the wake of the overhaul’s cancellation, the company will be pursuing a more modest product update — possibly called the “Rift S” [...]

“While we don’t comment on rumors/speculation about our future products, as we shared last week, PC VR remains a part of our strategy and is a category we will continue to invest in. In addition to hardware, we have a robust software roadmap and are funding content well into 2020,” an Oculus spokesperson told TechCrunch.
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ronjor · Dec 2, 2018

Bright spots in the VR market

Andy Kangpan
Virtual Reality is in a public relations slump. Two years ago the public’s expectations for virtual reality’s potential was at its peak. Many believed (and still continue to believe) that VR would transform the way we connect, interact, and communicate in our personal and professional lives.
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mirimir · Dec 2, 2018

I don't understand why they don't focus on AR, at least initially.

I mean, look at all those people walking around, looking at their phones! So why not have a virtual phone interface, in (say) the upper left corner of the visual field. Which you could maximize if desired. But it'd be "transparent", so you wouldn't walk into traffic But no, Google went for the gargoyle thing, and freaked too many people.

guest · Dec 3, 2018

Accredited surgery instruction now available in VR
December 3, 2018
https://www.zdnet.com/article/accredited-surgery-instruction-now-available-in-vr/

Surgeons can now attend a continuing education course in virtual reality. A collaboration between Cedars-Sinai and surgical streaming media platform GIBLIB, the accredited course sharpens surgeons' skills in GI surgery using a simulated operating theater.

The GIBLIB training module employs 4K, 360-degree views of virtual operating theaters. Users can toggle between views of surgeons and support personnel, as well as external and laparoscopic feeds.
Virtual reality allows viewers to be fully immersed in the operating room without having to travel across the world for specialized training," [...]
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guest · Dec 31, 2018

FlixBus is testing VR on certain routes to Las Vegas
December 29, 2018
https://techcrunch.com/2018/12/29/flixbus-is-testing-vr-on-certain-routes-to-las-vegas/

For now, the FlixBus VR feature, which includes about 50 virtual reality games and travel experiences, is limited to routes from Tucson, Phoenix, Los Angeles and San Diego. And it will run for three months.
Travelers who reserve a panoramic seat on these routes will get the VR experience for free. Once on board, passengers will receive VR headset loaded with content.

If the VR feature is received well — meaning people use it, enjoy it, and don’t have ill effects like vertigo — it could stick around longer. A company spokesperson told TechCrunch that the VR experience was tested on bus routes in Spain and France and received positive feedback from customers.

This VR experiment matches the company’s tech-forward and youthful approach to bus travel.
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guest · Jan 5, 2019

The percentage of Steam users with VR headsets doubled during 2018
Late 2017 price drops are probably the reason
January 4, 2019
https://www.techspot.com/news/78118-percentage-steam-users-vr-headsets-doubled-during-2018.html

The big picture: Virtual reality gaming might not be as popular as its console and PC cousins, but it's far from "dead," contrary to what some more skeptical gamers would have you believe. Indeed, according to Steam's latest hardware survey, quite the opposite is true - VR usage is on the rise.

UploadVR has chronicled PC VR's growth over time and using data gathered from said hardware surveys, the outlet was able to determine that the percentage of Steam users with VR headsets has more than doubled over the past year from around .4 percent to .8 percent.

Obviously, these numbers are small in the grand scheme of things, and it's clear that VR isn't the smash hit many hoped it would be. However, as cheaper headset models launch and better VR games hit the market, the industry will likely continue to grow (slowly).
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ronjor · Jan 7, 2019

Audi and Disney want to spice up your Uber ride with VR

By Sean O'Kane@sokane1 Jan 7, 2019
Blasting bad guys from the back seat of an E-Tron
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guest · Jan 9, 2019

Oculus’ Quest is the headset that will make me (and you) a VR believer
January 8, 2019
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/oculus-quest-headset-gets-me-into-vr-ces-2019/

Portable, user-friendly, and more affordable than its technologically advanced older brother, the Oculus Quest has hardware that’s just good enough. It could be the mid-range headset that fully converts me to a VR fanatic.

The Quest is a true all-in-one headset. There’s no high-end gaming PC, no heavy, tangled wires or tedious external sensors, and you don’t need to convert your basement into a VR den.

While there’s no doubt that the Oculus Rift will continue to be the best option out of the Oculus VR lineup for top-notch gaming, the Oculus Quest is a perfect mid-tier offering that feels like it could be the headset that brings VR to the mainstream.
The Oculus Quest arrives in 2019 for $399.
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guest · Feb 5, 2019

The British Army is testing a virtual reality training system for its soldiers
February 5, 2019
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/05/bri...al-reality-training-system-for-soldiers-.html

The British Army has awarded a £1 million ($1.3 million) contract to a software developer to "explore how virtual reality can be integrated into soldier training."
The business, called Bohemia Interactive Simulations, was described by the government as a "global developer of military simulation and training software."

The British Army's pilot scheme will look to test a range of virtual reality applications.
In a statement Monday, Brigadier Bobby Walton-Knight, army head of training capability, said that innovations like virtual reality offered "immersive and flexible training, and this pilot is pushing the boundaries to explore how we might make best use of it."
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guest · Feb 19, 2019

Royal Mail delivers safety training through virtual reality
February 19, 2019
https://www.computerweekly.com/news...ivers-safety-training-through-virtual-reality

Royal Mail has started using virtual reality (VR) to train its postal workers about the dangers of dog attacks.

Using virtual reality software on smartphones combined with headsets to show users an immersive 360-degree view of potential scenarios, from encountering a dog in the street all the way up to a potential attack.
Since all regional safety personnel in the organisation are given a smartphone when they join, and 40% of colleagues were willing to use their own devices for the training, Barton said the “issue of IT hardware” and its potential cost was almost entirely eliminated.

We weren’t issuing smartphones, we were relying on the smartphones that were already issued, so all I had to buy were a bunch of £20 VR headsets, and some headphones because people moaned when we didn’t send them headphones,” said Barton.
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guest · Feb 19, 2019

This is the best VR headset I’ve ever demoed
February 19, 2019
https://techcrunch.com/2019/02/19/this-is-the-best-vr-headset-ive-ever-demoed/

The Finland-based VR startup’s new VR-1 headset is a bulky solution that runs on SteamVR tracking but the high-resolution sweet spot that delivers a Retina-type display’s worth of pixel-density transforms this into an entirely different type of product.
The company says this sweet spot (which is about the size of the current-gen HoloLens field-of-view) offers about 20x the resolution of other consumer VR headsets out now.

The substantial pixel bump also makes it feel like a completely different type of device. It’s insane. Pixels just aren’t visible, so most of the limitations are what’s being rendered. It’s a decidedly premium experience; the VR-1 retails for just under $6,000 or 17 times the price of the Oculus Rift.
The solution Varjo built out stands on its own for now, but the limitations are quickly apparent in terms of where other headsets can surpass the experience.

To VR hardware aficionados looking at pushing scalable solutions, I’m sure the VR-1 feels a bit like cheating, but cheating feels good sometimes.
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ronjor · Mar 11, 2019

Jessica Brillhart seeks truth in immersive media

Devindra Hardawar, @devindra 11 Mar 2019
As the former lead VR filmmaker for Google, Jessica Brillhart helped the search giant come to grips with an entirely new medium. Now, she's striking out on her own with Vrai Pictures, her New York-based outfit focused on delivering immersive experiences.
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guest · Mar 13, 2019

Oculus was supposed to bring virtual reality to the masses. What happened?
March 13, 2019
https://www.marketplace.org/2019/03/13/tech/what-happened-with-oculus-virtual-reality

Three years ago, it seemed like everyone was going to have an Oculus headset. Where are they now?
I was going over an email from Mark Zuckerberg to the Oculus CEO Brendan Iribe from a month or two before they acquired them, and Mark was saying that he estimated there would be 50 to 100 million VR headsets about five years from then. We're almost at the five year mark and there certainly are not. There's probably 1 or 2 million VR headsets out there. That's one-twentieth of what the expectation was.
Is it a book about how having the good technology is not enough?
Having the best technology is not always a winning formula. Expectations is a big part of it. Messaging is a big part of it, too. I think the backlash to the acquisition of Oculus by Facebook is a good indication of how poorly Oculus handled that messaging and how the VR community felt about Facebook being involved.

When people take off the virtual reality headset after their first demo, so many people I know, my wife included, said, "Wow. I just saw the future. That's the future." You don't even really know what that means. How do you make a business out of something that we all agree is very cool, but what is the value to that?
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