What is Open Source VR (OSVR)?

OSVR is the first open source virtual reality headset developed by Razer, a company that is at the forefront of gaming technology. According to Razer, their OSVR project aims to “unify VR and AR technologies to drive the overall success of the VR industry.” OSVR by Razer is a completely open source project which means anyone can build on OSVR's hardware and software in order to improve and ultimately contribute in the development of VR technology.

OSVR the open source VR headset (image source: gamespot.com)

Supported by some of the leading companies in tech industry, OSVR wants to assist hackers “beyond a single VR headset,” that means OSVR intends to remove cross-platform fragmentation to help develop some of the best open source gaming VR experiences. With Razer's background, OSVR is essentially a project that focuses on developing great gaming experiences in VR. Although, it can also be used effectively for other VR experiences as well.
OSVR is an open invite to gamers, hackers, VR developers and VR startups to explore, enhance, improve and develop better hardware and immersive apps for the overall development of the rapidly emerging VR ecosystem.
Razer's OSVR HDK (Hacker Development Kit) the current version 1.4 base kit is available on Razer Store for around $300.  

Nvidia launches first VR optimized GPU, GeForce GTX 1080

Nvidia has launched their first VR optimized GeForce GTX 1080 GPU. More efficient and less costly, GTX 1080 is built on Nvidia's Pascal technology that delivers high performance while consuming less power. More powerful than TitanX and other previous models GTX 1080 is a unique piece of technology. It has 8GB of GDDR5X memory that allows a considerable performance boost from the previous GDDR5 memory. Unlike previous GPUs, GTX 1080 handles graphics and computing tasks simultaneously with its asynchronous compute technology.    

GeForce GTX 1080 (image source: trustedreviews.com)

Cheaper than TitanX, the GTX 1080 Founders Edition (manufactured by Nvidia) will cost around $699 while third-party manufacturers price may vary.

What to expect from a mobile VR system?

If you are looking for the perfect mobile VR gear, you may want to read this before deciding. Well, its 2016 and there are tons of VR head-mounts designed for your smartphone. But, before expecting a perfect VR experience from a mobile VR system you should be aware of a couple things.

Google cardboard VR (image source: vr-expert.nl)

First of all smartphones are not designed for virtual reality. VR gear that uses smartphones rely on the built in gyroscope and accelerometer on your smartphone for head tracking. It means that your smartphone lacks considerably in terms of necessary hardware required for a real VR experience.
Having said that, this mobile VR technology is a wonderful hack. An ingenious idea that truly helps in promoting the emerging & evolving technology of virtual reality. Simply, this mobile VR system provides just a taste of real VR. It makes users wonder what would it feel like if I use a dedicated system designed for real VR with better content and far better graphics. What you'll find on mobile VR is mini games, demos, a fake 3d theater and some immersive journalism apps. And you cannot create your own VR content unless you buy some additional expensive VR gadget or some of the latest 360 degree cameras like Samsung's Gear 360. Another thing that you should be quite aware of is the power constraints on mobile VR. Running VR content on your mobile drains your battery like nothing else, you will end up cursing no matter how powerful you think your smartphone battery is, because VR content rendering is a very power-hungry process.

Gear VR (image source: pcgamesn.com)

But it should be kept in mind that your way inside the the emerging world of VR is through mobile VR experience. It is so far the best option for VR newbies and starters to first understand the basic idea of VR technology through mobile VR. Google cardboard VR provides the most basic, yet a powerful VR experience. Other head-mounts provide a more immersive experience that use better lenses like the Gear VR.
For those who expect more from their mobile VR systems, it might be they end up a bit disappointed. But they'll definitely realize that there is more to this VR technology in advanced and dedicated real VR headsets but for the time being a bit out of reach.  

Vive X: HTC Vive's VR Accelerator Program

Vive X is the global VR accelerator program initiated by HTC Vive. Through this project, HTC Vive aims to support and supervise VR startups globally. Although initially it will assist VR startups in San Francisco, Taipei and Beijing only, but HTC Vive promises to add more locations in the future.

This Vive X VR accelerator program not only provides expertise in VR technology but it also offers investment, education, networking, support and mentorship.  

HTC Vive with this VR accelerator program wants to promote quality entrepreneurship in VR technology by providing relevant startups the necessary resources and proper guidance "to help grow the global VR ecosystem."  

Interested startups from the above mentioned cities can apply for Vive X on HTC Vive's official website.

Image source: htcvive.com

Virtual Reality and Journalism creates “Immersive Journalism”

Media has always embraced Information Technology (IT) as it dramatically evolved over the years. From online presence to mobile apps and now to virtual reality, journalism is truly exploring the potential of technology in spreading the message in amazing and unique ways.
Previously you could only read, listen or watch news, now with virtual reality technology you can experience real life events like never before. Immersive journalism recreates real life news events in virtual reality with extreme accuracy, these VR reports, news stories and documentaries really have the potential to take journalism to the next level.
Immersive journalism is all about using virtual reality technology to create immersive content, this immersive content can be in the form of recreated news events, stories or documentaries. As this immersive content is presented to the audience in VR, it is not possible to experience immersive journalism without a mobile VR headset.  In order to experience this immersive journalism, audience should at least have a Google cardboard VR or a more enhanced VR headset like the Gear VR. Therefore in order to create audience for immersive journalism some of the leading media giants have already started awareness campaigns. The New York Times for example is giving away 300,000 free Google cardboard VR headsets to its subscribers so that they could create enough audience for their new immersive journalism section. Similarly, The Guardian recently created their first immersive project titled “6×9: A virtual experience of solitary confinement” indicating that they have also embraced the new medium of immersive journalism. With some of the top news organizations taking the lead, others around the world are likely to follow soon.

Image source: engadet.com