OTOY demonstrates first ever light field capture of a real world environment
At FMX 2015 cloud graphics company, OTOY Inc., announced the first ever capture of a spherical light field of a real world environment used to produce a completely accurate, navigable scene in virtual reality.
"In a session titled “Light Fields for Virtual Reality”, OTOY’s Chief Scientific Consultant, Paul Debevec, demonstrated the groundbreaking process used to capture the light field of a room using a prototype camera array. The light field data of the room was rendered instantaneously in VR, mirroring the reality and grit of the natural world, while allowing a user in that world to look in any direction and move around in the space as if they were actually there."
The groundbreaking demonstration marks an important step for the medium, opening the door to compelling, authentic virtual reality recreations of popular travel and tourism sites, and new sports and entertainment opportunities, while moving the industry closer to achieving photorealistic live action VR experiences using light fields and the ultimate goal of enabling a complete sense of presence when in a VR environment. Just as light fields have been used to capture feature film actors and actresses to create exacting digital doubles for special effects use, light fields can now be used to capture environments with the same level of detail for virtual reality.
Despite the complexity of the scene, the compression capabilities of OTOY’s ORBX media format produces a manageable file size for the light field scene while enabling the high frame rates VR applications need.
See the OTOY press release with the video here: http://home.otoy.com/otoy-demonstrates-first-ever-light-field-capture-for-vr/
Theatre Makers: 3 Tips for Revitalizing Theatre for the Millennial Generation
Here are three action items that will help you during both the creative and marketing process to engage Millennials on their terms:
Integrate Digital -- Integrate digital storytelling into the theatre you make. Millennials live fully in both the physical and virtual world, and your work should account for their augmented sense of reality.
Extend the Relationship -- Don't just blast social media with advertisements. Create unique content for your audience to engage with you across media platforms before and after the event.
Think Live -- Think beyond the story as our primary artistic element, and rather focus on what makes theatre unique: the live performance event.
See the full story here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/isabella-mehiel/theatre-makers-3-tips-for-revitalizing-theatre-for-the-millennial-generation_b_7246006.html
The Future of Remote Work Feels Like Teleportation
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is an excellent overview article on telepresence that mentions key players, Oblong Industries, Intel's RealSense technology, Personify, Altspace, and Univ of Penn's DORA project.]
Virtual-reality headsets, 3-D cameras help make videoconferencing immersive
One of the avatars started talking to me, and while it lacked facial expressions, I discovered something remarkable—just by virtue of our both having bodies in a virtual space, I could tell whom he was addressing, and I could even read his body language, as his robot avatar’s head tracked every movement of his actual head, even though it was thousands of miles away and, like mine, wearing a VR headset.
AltspaceVR is in a closed beta for now, but won’t remain so for long, says AltspaceVR CEO Eric Romo. Already, it is possible to bring up any Web page or a variety of three-dimensional content inside AltspaceVR, which suggests all kinds of ways teams might use it to hold meetings and collaborate on everything from documents to virtual prototypes.
See the full story here: http://www.wsj.com/articles/virtual-reality-tools-will-redefine-remote-work-1431299263
Oculus is experimenting with social, online multiplayer movie theaters in virtual reality
It's not about making something work in VR, it's about using VR to make experiences and applications better, or brand new.
"One thing we're prototyping internally is what does it mean to watch content with other people in the same virtual space as you?" Cohen asked.
They're using an audio SDK with 360-degree audio so when someone "sitting" to your left speaks, you hear them from the left.
"Some people like to say VR is isolating, but I think it can be incredibly inclusive.
See the full story here: http://www.polygon.com/2015/5/8/8573301/oculus-movies-virtual-reality
Centimeter-Accurate GPS System Could Transform Virtual Reality
Researchers at the Cockrell School of Engineering at The University of Texas said the centimeter-accurate GPS-based positioning system is far more precise than the orientation capability currently available on smartphones and could allow virtual reality (VR) headsets to be used outdoors.
Researchers said the advanced GPS coupled with a smartphone camera could be used to quickly build a globally referenced 3-D map of one’s surroundings that would greatly expand the radius of a VR game or experience.
“Imagine games where, rather than sit in front of a monitor and play, you are in your backyard actually running around with other players,” said Todd Humphreys, assistant professor...
Humphreys explained that his team is working with Samsung to develop a snap-on accessory that will tell smartphones, tablets and virtual reality headsets their precise position and orientation.
See the full story here: http://vrscout.com/news/centimeter-accurate-virtual-reality/
The Void – blended virtual and real reality gaming space
See the full story with videos here: http://www.express.co.uk/life-style/science-technology/575633/VOID-Salt-Lake-City-VOID-Virtual-Reality-Theme-Park-Attack-Science-Fiction
Guns, spaceships and DRAGONS – Welcome to the world's first Virtual Reality theme park
A gaming startup – dubbed the VOID – has announced plans to open a virtual entertainment centre in Salt Lake City in early 2016.
Visitors to VOID will be required to wear a virtual reality headset, similar to the Oculus Rift, and a vest filled with haptic feedback sensors.
With the headset switched on, players enter the 3D game environment and reportedly experience "changes in elevation, vibrations, heat and cold sensations, moisture, and simulated liquids and smells."
Researchers develop virtual reality system to treat severe weather anxiety, phobias
Using technology originally intended for the video game market, researchers are creating a three-dimensional virtual simulation to help people prepare for and react to severe weather. Dr. Laura Myers, Executive Director of the Center for Advanced Public Safety, is one of the lead researchers involved in the project.
“[The virtual reality system] gives [people] the safety and security to experience situations that may assist with things like PTSD,” she said.
Myers and Traylor both emphasized the educational potential a project like this has. “The best way to learn something that we’re going to put into action is to learn those skills in the environment where we need to use them,” said Traylor.
See the full story here: http://whnt.com/2015/05/06/researchers-develop-virtual-reality-system-to-treat-severe-weather-anxiety-phobias/
These Augmented Reality Hands Are Giving Me Nightmares
Augmented Hand Series (v.2) was a project developed by some deranged lab at Carnegie Mellon, and inflicted on unsuspecting members of the public at the Cinekid Festival of children’s media this spring.
Patron uses virtual reality to give a tour of distillery
In the “Art of Patron Virtual Reality Experience,” the tequila company is inviting consumers to virtually step inside its Hacienda Patron distillery in Jalisco, Mexico, using Oculus technology. The tour provides a 360-degree tour of agave fields, the distillery and bottling process. It’s all shown from the perspective of a bee, representing Patron’s logo.
Patron filmed the experience using a drone with seven GoPro cameras. They also captured binaural audio to make the film sound authentic.
If you don’t own Samsung Gear VR and want to actually take the tour, you’ll have to go to a Patron event, educational seminar, or on- and off-premises retailers. You can get a preview on Patron’s website.
See the full story here: http://blog.sfgate.com/techchron/2015/05/05/patron-uses-virtual-reality-to-give-a-tour-of-distillery/