‘Calming’ virtual reality helmets let you explore the cosmos
Exploring the disconnect between real and virtual and our constant quest for the “new”, the helmets are themed on male, female and androgynous adventurers, representing increasingly futuristic scenarios. The male transports the wearer to the outer atmosphere of the sun where motion is achieved through swimming-style arm movements, while the androgynous one allows you to manipulate and play with abstract, exploding shapes. The female helmet, meanwhile, places the wearer in an intergalactic space where a swoosh of the hand generates new galaxies and nebula. “It’s really calming and it’s a nice pleasant experience. There is no shooting involved,” says Wendt. “It’s more like going to a sauna or a spa.”
Virtual Reality Will Enable the Next Large Revival in the Global Church
This will enable persons who are homebound, sick, caregivers, without transportation, on vacation, or severely disabled to participate in worship with the larger community of faith without needing to leave the place where they are physically residing.
It will also allow them to participate virtually in ways that they may not be able to in their present reality. No longer will one's lack of physical ableness be a deterrent that keeps people from ushering or serving communion.
If this renewed sense of community is properly embraced, it is going to have the potential to create a revival in church participation that has never before been seen in the history of the global church.
It is also of significance that with the development of VR and AR will come moral and ethical temptations that have never before existed in the history of humanity. The church universal has a spiritual responsibility to model behavior when it comes to the uses of new technology. As such, the global church must not delay in charging its congregants who are, by vocation, scientists and technologists to actively engage in developing these new technologies in ways that will work towards advancing Christ's redemptive purposes for humanity and the world. Not to do so would be poor stewardship of the gifts that God has given us through technological advancement that can help to advance the global church in Christ's Kingdom purposes.
See the full story here: http://www.christianpost.com/news/virtual-reality-will-enable-the-next-large-revival-in-the-global-church-141393/
Wall Street analysts say virtual reality can’t go mainstream until these issues are fixed
‘The easy problems’
Among the easy problems to address are the need for better graphics and display resolution. While head-mounted displays currently use the same resolution as retina smartphone displays, these devices require even higher resolutions because they are much closer to the eye.
‘The hard problems’
Oppenheimer believes that the more difficult problems early entrants will have to address are those that relate to the user’s experience: human interface, ergonomics, and the social experience.
In terms of ergonomics, they say the major virtual reality systems set to be released next year will require the user to do the following:
- Wear a device that completely blocks their view of what’s around them
- Be tethered to an external device, such as a computer or gaming console
- Stay within a certain space for position monitoring
See the full story here: http://www.businessinsider.com.au/wall-street-sees-obstacles-to-virtual-reality-going-mainstream-2015-7
Virtual Reality Threesomes Have Come, And You Can Download Them Right Now
Our own HuffPost Weird News reporter David Moye became a virtual porn star for a day.
"It was all right, but weird because it was POV and I was not used to having a vagina," Moye said. "They also had a male version and my body hasn’t looked that ripped or tattooed, well, ever."
Moye said that while the technology is groundbreaking and the porn is immersive, it has plenty of shortcomings. For one, you don't have full movement of your head or body -- you can only look side-to-side.
"I was fascinated by the fireplace in the scene," he said.
See the full story here:
Ready Player One – How this author’s fictional world inspired real VR
Over the past four years, bestselling author Ernest Cline has watched the fictional world of virtual reality that he conceived in his 2011 book, Ready Player One, become an actual reality.
With Zak Penn writing the screenplay and Steven Spielberg set to direct the big screen version, a lot more people are going to be exposed to Ready Player One—but the people at the forefront of developing VR are already very familiar with the Cline’s book.
Cline says like most science fiction writers, he underestimated the speed with which humanity would progress to his imagined future. Ready Player Onetakes place 30 years from now.
Not to mention that the Ready Player One movie could be at the forefront of a new type of VR experience, thanks to Warner Bros.’ TWX 1.04% investment in Magic Leap augmented reality technology and its acquisition of the film rights.
“Ready Player One could be the first movie that incorporates some of this virtual reality technology into the film going experience,” Cline says. “Magic Leap could play a role in the way the movie is presented. It’s not a head-mounted display, but it alters the light that already goes into your eye and makes the room around you more like a holodeck. That’s fascinating to me because that could allow film viewers to wear clear glasses like 3D glasses, but they could allow the action in the movie to spill out beyond the edges of the rectangular movie screen.”
See the full story here: http://fortune.com/2015/07/10/ready-player-one-vr/
Virtual reality ‘shocks’ guests at UC Irvine expo
The culmination of many efforts, Old Sparky immerses the viewer into a virtual jail scene. Viewers wear a “KOR-FX” vest, enabling them to feel vibrations from every sound in the program. The electric chair lightly shocks the viewer.
This new style of gaming creates a new type of adrenaline rush, enthusiasts said Sunday.
See the full story here: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/virtual-671426-reality-event.html
Live Streaming VR – Comic-Con: ‘Walking Dead’ Zombies to Appear In Virtual Reality
While many early VR demonstrations feature produced content, IM360 — a VR joint venture between Digital Domain Holdings, the parent of VFX house Digital Domain, and British Columbia-headquartered Immersive Media — believes that live-streaming to VR headsets could be a key opportunity as the emerging market gets going.
At Comic-Con, IM360 will have its 360-degree VR cameras on hand at The Walking Dead’s Walker Staker fan event on Saturday, which organizers expect to involve thousands of fans who will be on the run from zombies.
IM360 will also be live-streaming Skybound Entertainment (Walking Dead) booth tours.
Conan O’Brien is also going live from Comic-Con with IM360’s 360-degree camera mounted at his desk. This content, for viewing in VR or on mobile devices, can be found here.
IM360 president Myles McGovern told The Hollywood Reporter that the company would next be testing VR with the NBA and ABC.
See the full post here: http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/comic-con-walking-dead-zombies-808012
MozVR – Virtual-reality Firefox could be game-changer
Mozilla has started letting outside developers use a test version of its Firefox browser with new virtual-reality technology that could make surfing the web more like watching movies or playing video games.
If the beta version of the technology checks out, Firefox users may soon be able to create a customized, fully-interactive online experience using VR devices such as Facebook's Oculus Rift.
A San Francisco-based non-profit foundation with more than 1,000 workers globally, Mozilla is hoping its new MozVR software can help Firefox better compete against Google's Chrome, Apple's Safari, and Microsoft's Internet Explorer.
See the original story here: http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/shinal/2015/07/01/mozilla-firefox-virtual-reality/29585063/