philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Multisensory Cinema Adds Smell and Touch to VR Worlds

“What is reality to you?” asked a tall young man as I entered a tiny house at the entrance of Tower Hamlets Cemetery in East London. Charles Michel, a chef-in-residence and researcher at the Crossmodal Research Laboratory at Oxford University, was about to induct me into a multisensory cinematic VR experience dubbed the “the Feelies” as part of this week's Shuffle Festival.

See the full story here: http://motherboard.vice.com/en_ca/read/multisensory-cinema-adds-smell-and-touch-to-vr-worlds?utm_content=bufferdb136&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer

Stand on Pluto’s Icy Surface in Virtual Reality Movie by the ‘NYT’

“Seeking Pluto’s Frigid Heart” is the latest virtual reality movie from The New York Times, which takes viewers through space on NASA’s New Horizons spacecraft as it made a pass on Pluto to take pictures.

The New York Times says it worked with the Lunar and Planetary Institute, and the Universities Space Research Association to construct a virtual representation of Pluto’s surface for viewers to explore.

It’s one of the most immersive and impressive VR videos to come to the app yet as you are placed directly on the surface of the planet viewing everything from the planes of icy rock to the pink mountains that seem vast in the distance.

See the full story here: https://www.inverse.com/article/15993-stand-on-pluto-s-icy-surface-in-virtual-reality-movie-by-the-nyt

‘The Brookhaven Experiment’ Terrifies Its Way To China As A Virtual Reality Showcase

“The Brookhaven Experiment,” a horror game for the HTC Vive developed by Phosphor Games, will soon terrify large groups of players in China with a partnership that places the VR game in 100,000 internet cafés.

To get as many people as possible to experience “The Brookhaven Experiment,” Phosphor Games is looking to license the experience to VR arcades, gaming cafés and — in the near future — casinos.

For “The Brookhaven Experiment,” the China deal made sense: The country’s $24 billion gaming market is the largest in the world. And unlike in North America where gaming is spread out across mobile, console and PC, Chinese gaming is dominated by mobile and PC, with gaming cafés playing an important role in providing access to games. Instead of purchasing a high-end PC, gamers can go to a café, spend a small amount of money, and get the best gaming experience possible. Even Atari founder Nolan Bushnell told IBT earlier this year VR arcades will be popular because, like video game arcades of yore, they offer an experience that can’t be replicated easily at home.

See the full story here: http://www.ibtimes.com/brookhaven-experiment-terrifies-its-way-china-virtual-reality-showcase-2370670

Imax to Open VR Locations in Multiplexes, Malls

Imax is planning on launching six VR locations globally this year with the first such location set to be Los Angeles with further sites expected to be in China where the company has a big presence.

Gelfond said that the VR experiences, lasting around 10 minutes, would cost betweent $7 and $10. He added that he was keen to develop VR content tied to film franchises. Imax expects to follow its screen tech business model, licensing the VR equipment to theater operators and malls and then take a percentage of the revenue.

See the full story here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/imax-open-vr-locations-multiplexes-895993

Google Daydream VR platform announced

by Phil Lelyveld

At Google’s annual developer conference it introduced Daydream, a new VR platform that is integrated into its latest version of Android N.  Daydream includes several pieces: a set of standards for smartphones that will work to play virtual-reality content, reference designs for a Daydream headset that uses one of these smartphones (much like Samsung’s Gear VR) and an accompanying controller, and a range of apps that will include content coming from partners like HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and video-game makers Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.  Clay Bavor, who heads up Google’s VR initiative, said that VR should be mobile, approachable, and for everyone; which is why they have worked to address common VR experience issues like rendering digital imagery at high frame rates and in high resolution, and minimizing the latency between when you move your head and when images you’re looking at update. The Google Daydream initiative matters because they are working to promote and deploy a general purpose VR platform that works on consumer equipment that will be available at a low price point.  Phone manufacturers are working on sensors that will allow for phone-based lean-in experiences. They are also working to increase their processing power and screen resolution.  While much attention is focused on the high end Vive and Rift HMDs, improving the VR experience in this lower end phone-base solution in a nearly manufacturer-agnostic manner (i.e. no iOS iPhone version) may be VR’s bridge into the mass market.

See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601508/googles-plan-to-use-android-phones-to-dominate-virtual-reality/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20160519#/set/id/601516/

Google And IMAX Partner To Develop Groundbreaking Virtual Reality Camera

IMAX Logo. (PRNewsFoto/IMAX Corporation)

Google (GOOG) and IMAX Corporation (IMAX) today announced at Google's annual developer conference, Google I/O, that the companies are working to develop a cinema-grade virtual reality (VR) camera – the IMAX® VR camera – to enable today's leading filmmakers and content creators to deliver the highest-quality 3D 360-degree content experiences to audiences worldwide.

IMAX's team of engineers and camera specialists will work with Google to design the new high-resolution cameras from the ground up, leveraging IMAX's best-in-class capture technology that has become an integral tool for today's biggest and most visionary filmmakers including Christopher Nolan, J.J. Abrams, Michael Bay, Anthony and Joe Russo, and Zack Snyder, among others. The camera, which will be built to utilize Jump, a platform for creating and viewing 3D 360 video, will deliver the highest-quality, most-immersive virtual reality content to consumers.

IMAX will also provide Google with exclusive access to pre-existing IMAX documentary content for conversion and use with Google's VR technology.

See the full story here: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/google-imax-partner-develop-groundbreaking-190000579.html

Google’s Plan to Use Android Phones to Dominate Virtual Reality

Now Google is stepping up its VR game, too. At the company’s annual developer conference in Mountain View, California, on Wednesday, it introduced a new virtual-reality platform called Daydream that will be available in the fall as part of the latest version of its Android operating system, Android N.

Daydream includes several pieces: a set of standards for smartphones that will work to play virtual-reality content, reference designs for a Daydream headset that uses one of these smartphones (much like Samsung’s Gear VR) and an accompanying controller, and a range of apps that will include content coming from partners like HBO, Netflix, Hulu, and video-game makers Electronic Arts and Ubisoft.

Bavor, who introduced Daydream at the conference, said Google believes virtual reality should be mobile, approachable, and for everyone—an approach that’s very much in the vein of Google Cardboard, as opposed to pricey headsets like Rift and Vive, both of which have to be tethered to a high-end PC.

Bavor said the Daydream team worked on common virtual-reality issues like rendering digital imagery at high frame rates and in high resolution, and minimizing the latency between when you move your head and when images you’re looking at update. Phones that will work with Daydream will have to have sensors for accurate head tracking, displays with fast response times, and software that can make use of these capabilities while keeping latency “to an absolute minimum,” he said.

He presented a design for a handheld controller meant to go with the headset, too, which appeared very similar in style to the oblong one that Oculus ships with its Rift. This one, however, had fewer buttons, an indented, circular touch pad near the top, and as some video demos showed, it could be twisted and turned to control the same sorts of actions in games (for instance, to twist and turn an animated flying dragon).

See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/601508/googles-plan-to-use-android-phones-to-dominate-virtual-reality/?utm_campaign=newsletters&utm_source=newsletter-daily-all&utm_medium=email&utm_content=20160519#/set/id/601516/

Spaces – new VR start-up by ex-Dreamworks VR experts

The Santa Monica, California-based Spaces is headed by chief executive Shiraz Akmal and chief technology officer Brad Herman, two veterans who worked on DreamWorks Animation’s early VR experiences through 2015. Comcast Ventures led the funding for the company, which will VR and “mixed reality” experiences. Spaces is already working with such companies as Microsoft, NBCUniversal, Big Blue Bubble and The Hettema Group, among others, to develop and produce a wide range of projects across all VR and mixed reality platforms.

Herman also said, “In every respect, VR is creating new horizons, and we’re eager to help companies explore them.”

Other investors included Boost VC; Canyon Creek Capital; Colopl VR Fund; Gree Inc.; Kai Huang; The Venture Reality Fund; the Sinovation Fund; Youku Global Media Fund; and CRCM VC.

The Spaces advisory team includes Dan Offner, attorney, angel investor and former general counsel for Oculus; Keith Boesky, former president of Eidos Interactive and the principal of Boesky & Company; and Indian film actor and entrepreneur Rana Daggubati, star of Baahubali: The Beginning, the highest-grossing film in India’s history.

See the full story here: http://venturebeat.com/2016/05/18/dreamworks-animation-veterans-create-spaces-vr-startup-with-3m-in-funding/

Myer, eBay Launch World First VR Department Store

“Our customers can now immerse themselves in the experience of shopping inside a Myer store from wherever they may be, with product information updated in real time to ensure everyone can keep up with the latest offers from Myer.”

From today, eBay and Myer are offering customers the opportunity to receive their own shopticals (specially designed virtual reality viewers) to start their VR shopping experience. 15,000 shopticals will be available free of charge from www.ebay.com.au/VR

How it works

• Download: the eBay VR Department Store app is available for download from today, with the experience accessible using eBay shopticals or another VR device.
• Personalise: at the beginning of the experience the shopper selects the product categories of most interest to them. As you browse products and categories other products that might be of interest are suggested. As you explore the VR world, your shopping habits are analysed and the experience personalised to your profile.
• Browse: using eBay Sight Search™, the shopper views a product in the store. By holding your gaze on it, the product is selected and automatically floats towards you. Fully rendered 3D product images are available for the top 100 available products. Product departments are easily accessible and browsable.
• Research: Product details and other relevant information — like stock levels, delivery options and returns policies — are easily accessible with just a turn of the head.
• Purchase: shoppers just hold their eyes on the ‘Add to Basket’ icon to complete their purchases via the eBay app.

“The feedback we’ll be getting over the next few months will come from interviewing our customers. We’ll be seeing analytics behind how long they spend in the experience, what they looking at, what they’re buying. All these data points will help inform what comes next.”

Physically building the VR environment has also been challenging. While the majority of the 12,500 available product images have been pulled straight from the Myer eBay store in 2D, the top 100 available products have been fully rendered in 3D, which is particularly complex and time consuming.

Social shopping is another huge possibility, being able to digitally shop with friends via virtual reality.

“Imagine shopping a boutique in London from your sofa in Sydney with your sister who lives in New York,” said Brennen.

True personalisation and contextual relevance is another exciting possibility. Brennen talks of a personalised VR store that only shows relevant products and brands in the right size.

See the full story here: http://www.powerretail.com.au/news/myer-ebay-vr-store/

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