Jan 07
Every time virtual-reality company Oculus brings a prototype of its Rift headset to a show, it takes another big step forward. And the protoype at this year’s CES may be the biggest leap yet.
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Jan 03
Virtual Reality has promised big since the 80s, but never quite delivered in the way many of us hoped it would. Now, though, a new form of augmented reality called Mixed Reality hopes to up the game.
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Dec 21
In a power move by the creators of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, the team has hired on former senior vice president of EA, David DeMartini. The exec will … Continue reading
Dec 13
Oculus VR, makers of the Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, has raised a whopping $75m extra funding which it will use to finalize its consumer model, the company has confirmed. An exact launch date for that production model is still unconfirmed, but Oculus did say that it had sold around 40,000 developer devices so far. […]
Nov 27
Cyberith Virtualizer VR Treadmill Lets You Step Into Virtual Shoes (and Gloves)
Posted in: Today's ChiliWhen the Omni VR treadmill was announced, many anointed it as the perfect companion to the much-awaited Oculus Rift. But a group of students at the Vienna University of Technology may have a better VR treadmill at their hands (and feet). They call it the Cyberith Virtualizer.
Much like the Omni VR, the Virtualizer is an omnidirectional motion sensor. It allows the user to walk or run in any direction, as well as jump, crouch and strafe. However, unlike the Omni VR, the Virtualizer also lets the user play while sitting. Another big difference is that its walking surface is flat, makes no sound and only requires that the user wear socks. The Omni VR on the other hand requires users to wear a custom pair of low friction shoes and it makes a considerable amount of noise when used. The video below shows Cyberith founder Tuncay Cakmak play a modified version of Grand Theft Auto IV using the Virtualizer, a Wiimote and of course an Oculus Rift headset.
I’d still rather have wearable motion sensors if I’m ever going to play a VR game, but I think the Virtualizer has great potential. Hopefully someday all of its electronics can be embedded in a less conspicuous form.
[Cyberith via Reddit & Oculus Rift]
Nov 12
VRcade Combines Motion Capture with VR Headsets: The Arcade is Dead, Long Live the Arcade!
Posted in: Today's ChiliA new company called VRcade aims to revive the idea of a gaming arcade with the help of virtual reality. Whereas VR headsets like the Oculus Rift need to be wired to a computer to work, VRcade’s headset has a wireless transmitter. Why? Because VRcade isn’t just a headset, it’s an entire room. Or even an entire floor. When you move in the real world, you move in VRcade’s virtual world.
Aside from its wireless headset, VRcade uses motion capture cameras and a modular motion capture suit. In addition to the suit, there are also markers on the headset and whatever prop you have – like the gun in the image above – that the cameras can use to track your movement. In other words, while other VR headsets can track only your head, VRcade tracks you.
VRcade has several advantages over what VRcade CEO and co-founder Jamie Kelly calls “virtual sit down gaming.” VRcade’s games will encourage player movement: walk, run, sneak or jump in the real world and you do the exact same thing in the virtual world. As far as controls go, it doesn’t get more intuitive than that. For instance, VRcade claims that the tester in the video below has no experience with first person shooters, but she still figures out how to navigate in the virtual world:
The correspondence between movement and virtual output also reduces the risk of motion sickness, unlike when you’re experiencing VR while confined to one spot. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, is that extra layer of immersion that users will get from being able to physically feel their movement. Here’s Kelly explaining the basics of VRcade:
VRcade seems really promising: the second coming of the arcade shop, but more inclusive and possibly even healthier. In addition, VRcade can also adapt their system for non-gaming purposes, such as giving virtual tours of structures that have yet to be built.
But of course nothing is perfect. As Ars Technica notes, VRcade has a chicken-or-egg situation when it comes to attracting game developers. Obviously the company needs developers to make games for its system, but because a VRcade game has to be tailored to a particular space, they need to already have that space rented or bought. But how will they know the dimensions of the space a game needs if the game doesn’t exist yet? Hopefully VRcade can figure that out.
[VRcade via Ars Technica]
Nov 06
Technology is directly involved in our daily lives, making it more convenient, more efficient, and more entertaining. There’s another side to technological advances that we don’t see on the daily, however, and it is arguably the most important of them all — the ability to prevent crimes that otherwise would slip under the radar. Such […]
Oct 29
Oculus Rift seems like it’ll be the jaw-dropping
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Oct 15
With gadgets like the Oculus Rift and Google Glass, it’s looking like the future of displays is going to be a war for space on our faces. Here’s one more promising invention that may make you wish you had several pairs of eyes and foreheads. castAR glasses can not only beam stereographic 3D to your eyes a la Oculus Rift, they can also project 3D video to the real world.
castAR is the invention of Technical Illusions, a company setup by former Valve employees Jeri Ellsworth and Rick Johnson. The two are videogame industry veterans with decades of software and hardware expertise between them. Their device can display hologram-like videos and images in 3D using two micro-projectors and a retro-reflective sheet.
Aside from acting as a display, the sheet is also required for motion tracking. A camera in the middle of the glasses tracks infrared markers on the sheet to deduce the wearer’s head position and orientation. The wearer’s perspective is properly adjusted as he moves around the sheet, as if you were looking at a physical object from different angles.
The wand shown several times in the video is a controller designed to work with the glasses. It has buttons, a trigger and a joystick, and it can also track its own position. As you saw in the video the controller is used to interact with the projected images, increasing the illusion that there really is something in front of you.
What I find most exciting are the RFID add-ons. You can get an RFID tracking grid that can track RFID tags. The tags can do anything from summoning a figurine into the game – similar to Skylanders – or displaying stats. But there’s also an add-on with called an RFID Base. The base is essentially a tiny computer that can control other hardware. For example, as Technical Illusions mentions in its Kickstarter page, you could have an RFID Base with red LEDs and a tiny smoke machine. Stick a dragon figurine on top of that base and your game can trigger the base to become a glowing, smoke-belching monster. If that doesn’t make you support castAR I don’t know what will.
Pledge at least $189 (USD) on Kickstarter to get the castAR glasses plus the retro-reflective sheet.
[via Reddit]
Oct 14
There’s a team of creators out in the wild this week showing off a pair of augmented reality / virtual reality glasses called castAR, a pair of glasses that’s set to make Star Wars a reality. The inspiration for this wearable piece of technology comes directly from the first Star Wars movie, A New Hope, […]
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