My first taste of Virtual Reality in China
mde
I loved to be a bit satyric about my experience, but seriously speaking what are the takeaways of my first days in China?
1. China is a big country and not all cities are the same;
2. VR is far more widespread in China than in Europe, but it is not pervasive. Diffusion especially regards some vertical sectors;
3. The most used VR headsets in Chinese installations are HTC Vive and custom cheap Chinese devices, particularly designed for Chinese people;
4. Most VR installations have a low or medium quality and IMHO can’t satisfy VR experts and gamers. They can appeal to kids or people that have never tried VR. There are anyway some higher-quality installations that can showcase people the true power of VR;
5. Avoid any experience that claims more than 3 dimensions at all costs :D.
My impression is that Chinese people are moving too fast in VR and so they started using a tool without clearly learning how to use it: they just want to start selling the new tech, without making a well packaged product. Most of the experiences that I’ve tried clearly suffer from a lack of design and testing stages and the results are subpar. Anyway, this also showcase how China wants really bad to be great in VR.
See the full story here: https://skarredghost.com/2018/07/15/my-first-taste-of-virtual-reality-in-china/
Kenneth Williams worked from the fringes to his creative center
See the full profile here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ct-himi-williams-20180715-story.html
Magic Leap Headset Hits FCC Ahead of Confirmed Summer Launch
Magic Leap is soon to launch its first AR headset, the Magic Leap One. We don’t know exactly when or how much, but following the company’s confirmation that the headset is due to launch this Summer, the product has hit the FCC for certification.
The U.S. Federal Communications Commission is tasked with certifying products with electromagnetic emissions to be safe and compatible with regulations. Products utilizing radio, WiFi, infrared, etc. need certification before they can be distributed for sale. Certification by the FCC marks one step closer to the launch of consumer electronics product.
HTC tests multi-room Vive VR
HTC has demonstrated a feature expected in SteamVR 2.0: tracking of a virtual reality space across rooms.
Current room-scale VR with an HTC Vive is designed for a simple area with a diagonal of up to 5m. HTC Vive President Alvin Wang Graylin posted a video on Twitter showing what we can expect from the next generation of VR sensor software.
The video shows someone moving between rooms with a Vive Pro headset on. It opens-up the potential to turn our houses into VR-arcade-like spaces. If you’re willing to get rid of all the trip hazards, anyway.
In HTC’s video, two sensors are used in each of the rooms. They are SteamVR 2.0 base stations, a new kind of room tracker compatible with the HTC Vive Pro. These sensors increase the maximum play area to a huge 10m by 10m.
See the full story here: https://www.techradar.com/news/htc-tests-multi-room-vive-vr
The future of online shopping: Ads that let you try things on
How it works: A user who sees a digital ad using AR could see what a pair of glasses looks like on their face, or what a rug would look like in their living room, before making a purchase.
- The ads are also digitally targeted to users based on their preferences, increasing the likelihood that they'd be interested in the product to begin with.
The big picture: Until now, AR has mostly been used in marketing at the "top of the funnel," meaning it helps drive general awareness around brands. By making it possible to buy things through AR, the technology can now be used closer to the "bottom of the funnel," meaning it can push people to actually buy products.
See the full story here: https://www.axios.com/the-future-of-online-shopping-is-virtually-trying-things-on-d3a853f8-55ff-41b1-87e8-25045b1cc2c3.html
HTC believes VR reality finally catching up with hype
HTC’s China president Alvin Wang Graylin (pictured) asserted virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) applications are now living up to their promise after years of hype, as new products facilitate widespread adoption.
Graylin told Mobile World Live the second generation of (standalone) VR and AR headsets are making it easier than ever for users to jump into other worlds by removing the hassle of purchasing expensive systems and setting up wired gear. The shift is proving to be an incentive for prospective users to give VR a shot, he claimed.
Graylin also shared success stories from HTC’s venture capital investment programme and outlined a vision for the future in which the world’s many viewing panes combine into a “shared screen”.
See the full story here: https://www.mobileworldlive.com/featured-content/home-banner/htc-believes-vr-reality-finally-catching-up-with-hype/
MinorityVR Release New Virtual Reality Travel Experience Taking Users To Finland
Montréal based virtual reality (VR) studio MinorityVR, in collaboration with the Canada Media Fund (CMF) Finavia, Finnair and Visit Finland, have announced the launch of a new travel VR experience titled Trek: Travel Around the World. This new VR experience will give users the chance explore the beauty of the world across a number of destination with stunning detail and photorealistic quality.
In Trek: Travel Around the World, the adventure starts within the users new Helsinki based apartment. From here they will be transports to a number of experiences which each take place in a different real-world location. Some of the destinations include catching fish in the Archipelago in order to fill the sky with the majestic Northern Lights, powering the city of Helsinki as a giant in the capital of Finland, and even tracing the stars to highlight the constellations in the sky. Trek: Travel Around the World takes the world and makes it a virtual playground for users all while showcasing the stunning beauty of Finland.
See the full story here: https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/07/minorityvr-release-new-virtual-reality-travel-experience-taking-users-to-finland/