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
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 #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 #3: new Samsung hardware, virtual world building and our bodies in VR
Samsung announced it is working on a successor to the Gear VR headset and a mixed reality device that The Verge compares to the Microsoft HoloLens or Magic Leap. Google has partnered with British startup Improbable, which according to Wired, “offers a new way of building virtual worlds, including not just immersive games à la Second Life or World of Warcraft, but … Read More
December VR/AR News #1: Gender and tech, murder in VR and dinosaurs
Craig Newmark, the founder of craigslist, highlights five women in VR as part of the Women Startup Challenge, which is “showcasing and funding innovative, women-led startups focusing on Artificial Intelligence (AI), Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) that are solving problems for people, businesses and the planet.” Newmark’s picks include Liv Erickson, a VR developer at Microsoft who was part … Read More
November VR/AR News #4: Project Alloy, social VR and the making of Pokemon Go
For fun: In an animated video, John Hanke, the CEO of Niantic, explores how the company made Pokemon Go and the future of AR. This holiday season could be what introduces virtual reality to a mainstream audience. According to The Washington Post, “Research firm IDC estimates that consumers — particularly gamers — will snap up 9.6 million virtual reality headsets by … Read More
November VR/AR News #3: NASA, chord-free headsets and a new way to experience Google Earth
For fun: Google Earth in VR. Listen to the product manager and engineering lead talk about the project. Apple is finally getting on the bandwagon and inserting augmented reality technology into the iPhone camera app, a source told Business Insider. According to Business Insider, “The effort, which involves teams from several acquired startups, reflects Apple’s near-term desire to put augmented reality technology … Read More
November VR/AR News #2: Google Daydream, Youtube in VR and a haptic chair
Update: We’ve partnered with Bananatic to feature their indispensable guide to Virtual Reality: check it out here. The Merge VR remote might be the new competition for Google’s Daydream controller, which only works with a limited number of Android devices. The Verge reports that the Merge VR remote can work with Merge VR headsets as well as other headsets and non-VR … Read More
October VR/AR News #4: virtual harassment, preserving Harlem’s history and Microsoft’s HoloLens
One of the benefits of virtual reality is its ability to mimic the real world, but this also means that issues surrounding race and gender can cross over. Jordan Belamire describes being sexually harassed while playing a QuiVr game and feeling powerless. This is just one woman’s experience, but her piece ends by exploring how abuse like this should be handled. “As VR becomes … Read More
Weekly news in 360 video and VR
The first U.S. Presidential Debate on Sept. 27 highlighted the current political polarization in the country, much of which plays out online on social media platforms like Twitter. But can communal VR spaces be a solution to promote productive political discussions? AltspaceVR thinks so. The company has spent a year building a VR community mostly to share collective entertainment experiences like virtual Dungeons & Dragons games. … Read More