HTC Vive Addons in 2017

In a bid to enhance its room scale immersive VR gaming experience, HTC Vive has introduced a lot of cool gadgets in 2017. With wireless tracking, Vive has done well to reduce some of the wire clutter. Moreover, Vive Guns are a great improvement in VR gaming. Additional addons like the hand tracking gloves are also getting a lot of attention.

Is 'Planet of the Apes' going to be the first VR Film?

Reports about a Hollywood VR Film are in circulation lately. FoxNext, the immersive entertainment studio of 21st century fox in partnership with Within has unveiled its first VR project.
It is reported that Planet of the Apes franchise is going to the first virtual reality based film. According to the involved companies, "artificial intelligence will be used to deliver a shared social experience". Chris Milk will produce and direct this VR project.

Get your Google Daydream View VR for just $49

Order your Google Daydream View virtual reality headset for just $49 from Google Store right now. Currently on sale, usual price tag for Daydream View is set at $79. This deal is valid till February 25th 2017.
Compatible with only select smartphones, Daydream View is one of the best mobile VR headsets available right now. Google Pixel, Pixel XL, Motorolla Moto Z series, Huawei Mate 9 Pro, ZTE Axon 7, and Asus ZenFone AR are the only Daydream ready smartphones.
Google Daydream View is available in all three colors.

Lenovo VR headset, Whats new?

Based on Windows Holographic, Lenovo's prototype VR headset seems an interesting improvement on current VR tech. Lightweight, less expensive and way more comfortable than other brands, this VR headset by Lenovo promises room scale tracking with a simple set of dual cameras embedded at the front side of the headset. With a decent resolution per eye, Lenovo VR seems a nice gadget for augmented reality as well. 

This prototype headset design by Lenovo has impressed many VR fans at CES17, aimed at a comfortable viewing experience Lenovo has done a remarkable job at keeping it compact. 

It is expected to be released in the second half of 2017.

What are the Major Health Concerns of Virtual Reality Technology?

Is it completely safe to use virtual reality headsets? Unfortunately, it is too early to think of any satisfactory answer to this important question. Lack of research is a major reason for unavailability of information on this issue.

However, it is commonly believed among a number of health experts that the use of virtual reality headsets might have serious health risks. Certainly, VR technology is in its infancy with several technical enhancements still under constant review. Therefore, in view of the lack of genuine research, it is safe to question the health implications of using virtual reality headsets.
Before making any judgments, it is very important to understand VR technology in terms of user health. How virtual reality works? And how human brains reacts to the exposure of this novel technology?

Fortunately, we already know how VR works, a simple explanation of VR is that it tricks our brain to perceive depth from computer generated and modified imagery, thus giving a sense of reality (which is actually virtual) by digitally altering our environment. But, what will be the impact of this stimuli on our brains over time? And how our vision is going to adjust to this constant transition from reality to VR and vice versa. Some of the health experts are asserting that regular exposure to VR could alter the way our brains develop and it is too early to say whether this change is for good or worse.
One can also argue that real health risks are evident from the fact that some of the leading VR manufacturers like Samsung VR and PlayStation VR have explicitly prohibited VR for children. Another assertion is that regular use of VR may result in shortsightedness. In view of these serious health concerns, experts have advised not to use VR headsets for more than 30 minutes.    
It is still too early to predict health effects of VR accurately, but it should be kept in mind that research that is underway in this issue area may yield totally unexpected results. Therefore, it is safe to use VR headsets moderately and in shorter spans of time.

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: The Future is here

Image source: upload.wikimedia.org

Year 2016 is no doubt the year of Virtual Reality (VR) technology. Early this year many tech companies have already launched their official VR headsets and gear. Whereas many other companies are set to launch their own versions of VR. As a lot of tech giants have already realized the potential of VR market and are set to promote their products; it is somehow strange to note that only a small number of people in tech community really understand the impact this VR technology is going have in near future. Most of the people don't seem to understand this stunning technology of virtual reality at all.

What is Virtual Reality?

Virtual reality is not just the future of gaming, its more than that. Its about replacing our real environment with computer generated virtual environments. These virtual surroundings can be anything you can think of, a space odyssey, an ultra immersive 3d, 360 degree spherical game, a virtual visit to a real place or some educational virtual tour. It can also be a virtual cinema where you can enjoy your favorite movies in 3d.

How Virtual Reality works?

Image source: i.ytimg.com

Virtual Reality is all about replacing your real environment with a computer generated 3d, 360 degree immersive graphics known as the virtual environment. This virtual environment is displayed in a high definition (hd) LED display either built in a VR headset or your smart-phone in case of Google cardboard VR. VR headsets use gyroscope, accelerometer and other sensors added with powerful microprocessors to track your head movements. A pair of lenses within the VR headset helps to focus the images on the display. These immersive 3d images combined with crystal clear 3d sound effects create the perfect illusion of reality. All the 3d image rendering and head tracking requires intensive computer processing, but the end result is something truly amazing.

Image source: upload.wikimedia.org

How Virtual Reality feels like?

Virtual reality is the next generation of computer interaction. VR feels like you have been transported
into a different setting, into a different world altogether. VR technology is indeed a first step in truly exploring a new dimension in human-computer interaction. From 2d, to 3d and now into the immersive world of virtual reality, it has started a whole new genre in computer development.