The past 12 months at Empathetic Media Health has been a fascinating journey with brand new clients from US, Japan, UK, Ireland and projects in some of the most exciting areas of healthcare. The launch of the new Oculus Quest headset in 2019 meant that we were able to introduce mobile, interactive, immersive VR experiences to our clients in gene … Read More
HOW VR can help us learn about the world
Is virtual reality too immersive? It’s a question that has been raised as the new technology has become more accessible to a wider audience of creators and users.”With virtual reality, rather than telling a story, you are putting someone inside a story – and usually involving them in it,” said freelance BBC VR producer Catherine Allen at the VR & … Read More
Global indigenous communities find their voices through new technology
In 2016, activists around the country gathered at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which they said could have detrimental environmental consequences. While the most publicized depictions of the historical event were photos and videos of protests between activists and police, The New York Times decided to create a 360-degree video … Read More
Celebrating Women in Tech
When it comes to technological innovations, women have always been at the forefront. Ada Lovelace, the daughter of poet Lord Byron, is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer for recognizing that a computer could have applications past simple calculations back in the first part of the 19th century. During World War II, it was largely female engineers who pioneered … Read More
February AR/VR News #2: Virtual gathering, a ‘spider glove’ and the digital equivalent of duct tape
Images of Magic Leap’s anticipated portable augmented reality device were leaked to Business Insider last week. According to Business Insider, Magic Leap, a $45 billion Google-backed startup, was hastily finishing building the prototype, known as PEQ0, in preparation for a board meeting this week. In other Google news, it is pushing for VR with a new update of the mobile app for Chrome … Read More
February VR/AR News #1: Tech updates, mixed reality and how VR is changing the art/music industries
Featured Image: London-based startup Opto might be the first company to make quality mobile VR mainstream. According to Wareable, the company’s “Opto Air is made from a lightweight foam, offers built-in speakers plus a 100-degree field of view via double-aspheric lenses which Opto says are 25% bigger than rival mobile VR headsets.” Costing £98, the headset is a strong competitor for the Google Daydream … Read More
January VR/AR News #4: VR in Bangladesh, women in tech and the Oscars
This week our Spanish version of Life in Gawair launched with El Pais and was a great success. In the multi-media experience you will meet different characters from Gawair, Dhaka, Bangladesh via 360 video, comics and text. You will learn about their lives, their experience as climate refugees as well as working inside a garment factory. Special emphasis on education was given … Read More
January VR/AR News #2: AR/VR market growth, social connection and how museums might change
Google is partnering with museums to enhance visitors’ experiences with its augmented reality platform Tango. Starting with the Detroit Institute of Arts, Google is using the Tango-enabled Lenovo Phab 2 Pro, which is geared towards AR, to bring history to life. “Advanced sensors not usually seen in a phone are used to map depth and scale, which allows digital overlays to be … Read More
January VR/AR News #1: Predictions for 2017
Happy new year to you all – for our first post of the New Year, we are sharing some predictions for VR and AR in 2017. With the success of Pokémon Go, 2016 proved to be the year of AR. This will continue to be true in 2017, as Snapchat just brought Cimagine Media, which uses AR to sell products. … Read More
December VR/AR News #4: AR audio, post-VR sadness and music in VR
Around the world, more and more developer spaces are being devoted to VR and AR startups “to share resources, experiment, and network.” These include the Upload Collective in San Francisco and the Realities Centre, which opened earlier this month in London. Game designer Jack de Quidt talks with Jason Rubin, the head of content at Oculus, about how the technology company can embrace … Read More