Interesting articles about VR – week #17

News and Announcements 4 Minutes

Facebook Launches New Camera Tools as a Foundation for Advanced Augmented Reality

F8, Facebook’s yearly developer conference, is here again for a two-day info blast from the world’s biggest social platform. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage today during the keynote address to announce a new initiative that will bring about the beginnings of the company’s augmented reality (AR) platform, an “open platform” called Camera Effects that he says will form the basis of Facebook’s AR future.

These Are the Top Mixed Reality Companies in the World Today

In mixed reality technology, which includes virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), there are some companies that you cannot avoid watching. They include most of the world’s biggest, richest and most innovative personal tech companies. This group includes Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Samsung, Sony, Nintendo, Huawei and others. I think the most important company to watch is Apple, who will begin to announce a myriad of devices all connecting to its new iPhone. This will trigger a rapid escalation of AR and VR adoption.

360 Camera Analysis: How To Get The Best Bang For Your Buck

I’ve spent the last 3 months completely immersed in the latest 360 camera technologies while using a plethora of 360 cameras. I have used some of the ‘first-gen’ cameras like the Ricoh Theta, Samsung Gear 360 (2016) and the LG 360 camera. None of those cameras particularly satisfied my needs as a photography enthusiast and someone who appreciates good video (I don’t think I’m a very good videographer though). Obviously I haven’t tried every camera on the market but I have gone out of my way to try as many as I possibly can and there were a few cameras that came out recently that have really caught my attention.

Facebook Won’t Let Me Be Fat In VR

There are two things you need to know about me before reading the rest of this blog post. First, I am a fat dude, and have been for most of my adult life. Second, I like to use avatars in VR that can represent me as accurately as possible. hI was pleasantly surprised to hear that Facebook had finally released their Facebook Spaces during the F8 Conference this week. After it was briefly teased by Mark Zuckerberg at last year’s Oculus Connect Conference, I was excited to jump in there and customize the hell out of my avatar and make it look as lifelike as possible.

Facebook Collaborates with Mettle for 360° Depth Related VR FX Software

Mettle Announces Collaboration with Facebook to Bring Depth-Related VFX to the New Facebook Surround 360 Cameras’ Post Production Workflow. Mettle Works with Facebook to Develop One of Industry’s First Depth-Based VFX Software for Adobe® After Effects® and Premiere Pro® Artists, Optimized for 6DoF in the 360 Space

Five VR marketing campaigns you should know about

Innovative, immersive, attention-generating: More and more brands use the power of 360° marketing campaigning to establish a one-of-a-kind differentiation point. In a world of incessant, 24/7, non-stop audiovisual stimulation, its getting harder and harder to focus on one thing, one environment, one experience at a time. However, it is virtual reality that does offer the unique opportunity to escape from a crowded market to a world where the brand of interest comes to life. This is why, thanks to a technological offering, realistic representation, vividness and interactivity, we currently witness a breathtaking transformation of everything we knew about marketing. Suddenly, customers have the freedom to focus on one brand in an instant and to discover nuances that no other medium could ever reveal. Suddenly the customer becomes a digital explorer and the marketing campaign itself a visual adventure.

Best Gear VR Apps

The amount of truly awesome Best Gear VR Apps has gone up and up and up in the past 12 months. Best Gear VR Apps are only going to become more and more popular every day. In this article, we are going to talk about the best and the most popular Best Gear VR Apps available for Samsung Gear VR, the less-expensive VR headset and one that is the best for Samsung Smartphone owners. The Samsung Gear VR has a huge list of Best Gear VR Apps including games, utility apps and some exciting 360-degree VR videos.

Providing Haptics to Walls & Heavy Objects in Virtual Reality by Means of Electrical Muscle Stimulation

In this project, we explored how to add haptics to walls and other heavy objects in virtual reality. Our main idea is to prevent the user’s hands from penetrating virtual objects by means of electrical muscle stimulation (EMS). The figure below shows an example. As the shown user lifts a virtual cube, our system lets the user feel the weight and resistance of the cube. The heavier the cube and the harder the user presses the cube, the stronger a counterforce the system generates. The figure below illustrates how our system implements the physicality of the cube, i.e., by actuating the user’s opposing muscles with EMS.

SoReal: The world’s first virtual reality theme park is utterly epic

Co-founded by illustrious film director Zhang Yimou – the man behind the 2008 Beijing Olympic opening ceremony, as well as hit films like Hero and House of Flying Daggers – this virtual wonderland looks incredible. “It’s located in the heart of Beijing, literally two blocks away from Tiananmen Square,” SoReal president Sam Wang, said when we met him at VR World Congress in Bristol.

The 3 Most Common Arguments Against VR and Why They’re Wrong

Since beginning my journey learning and writing about VR in 2011, I’ve talked with hordes of believers and critics alike. Through it all, I’ve found three common arguments touted by skeptics of the adoption of VR in the consumer market. Having immersed myself in this new era of VR for years now, I feel confident in responding to these concerns.

 

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