(VRfun18) Upcoming TV Series Features A Cast Of AR Avatars

The situational comedy will air on traditional networks and streaming services alongside a unique AR version.We’ve seen AR technology used in a variety of unique ways over the past several years, but nothing quite like Gay Aliens in Metaverse. Brought to us by Hollywood-based production company Archstone Entertainment in partnership with 3D/XR studio Altar Inc.,…

(VRfun18) New York Times buys puzzle game phenomenon Wordle for seven-figure

Free browser-based puzzler and cultural phenomenon Wordle has been purchased by the New York Times for an undisclosed seven-figure sum.Wordle – which challenges players to puzzle out a daily five-letter word within six guesses using colour-coded clues – was released last October by developer Josh Wardle. Initial interest was modest, but its popularity has skyrocketed…

(VRfun18) What Size TV Should You Buy?

Every TV shopper eventually asks “what size TV do I need?” As TVs get bigger and higher resolutions become common, matching the right size TV to the room gets a little more difficult. Even with all of the latest picture enhancements and smart functions, the basics of screen size and field of view don’t change.…

(VRfun18) Faith in the metaverse: A VR quest for community, fellowship

Under quarantine for COVID-19 exposure, Garret Bernal and his family missed a recent Sunday church service. So he strapped on a virtual reality headset and explored what it would be like to worship in the metaverse. Without leaving his home in Richmond Virginia, he was soon floating in a 3D outer-space wonderland of pastures, rocky…

(VRfun18) NVIDIA Blog: Booz Allen Hamilton Trains you in Virtual Battlefield

How do you train someone to deactivate a landmine, work with pathogens in a lab or triage disaster victims with head injuries? Very, very carefully. Typically, training for hazardous, high-risk jobs is an expensive production involving dozens of individuals playing roles, supervisors taking notes and an environment that doesn’t account for unexpected issues that can…

(VRfun18) Anatomical Adventures in VR: University’s Science Visualizations Tap NVIDIA CloudXR

5G networks are poised to transform the healthcare industry, starting with how medical students learn. The Grid Factory, a U.K.-based provider of NVIDIA GPU-accelerated services, is partnering with telecommunications company Vodafone to showcase the potential of 5G technology with a network built at Coventry University. Operating NVIDIA CloudXR on the private 5G network, student nurses…

(VRfun18) Meta to Reverse Facebook Account Requirement for Oculus Headsets

During Connect 2021, Meta (formerly Facebook) CEO Mark Zuckerberg made headlines when he announced that his company is changing its name to ‘Meta’ as part of a rebranding effort. But, another big piece of news revealed is that the company plans to drop its controversial Facebook account requirement for logging into its headsets starting next…

(VRfun18) Circuit Stream Collaborates with Unity Game Engine

Circuit Stream and Unity Technologies have collaborated to create new content and courses that allow professionals to demonstrate, verify, and learn real-world 3D skills.Unity’s Associate Programmer & Associate Artist CertificationsThese certifications validate your knowledge of Unity and allow you to obtain your first job in 3D real-time.Unity is the leading platform for interactive experiences. It…

(VRfun18) Cisco Releases AR Webex Hologram

Most of us have experienced the need to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it’s likely that your zoom calls with colleagues weren’t as immersive and present compared to real face-to-face meetings. Furthermore, to-date the global industries are still experiencing travel bans, and many customer visits have been delayed. Many businesses are still…

(VRfun18) Immersive Tech announces development agreement with HTC to further develop

In Virtual Reality News January 25, 2022 – Fantasy 360 Technologies Inc. d/b/a Immersive Tech, has recently announced a long term development agreement with HTC Corporation, a leading provider of virtual reality (VR) technologies, and its VIVE VR headset division, to assist with the further development of Immersive Tech’s own hyper-immersive VR technologies. Immersive Tech…

(VRfun18) Beyond Imagination and GelSight announce pilot study into tactile sensing

A Beomni 1.0 humanoid robot using a GelSight mobile sensor In Virtual Reality News January 28, 2022 – Beyond Imagination, an artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics platform company developing humanoid robots, and GelSight, a developer of tactile intelligence technology, have initiated a pilot to study the feasibility of using Beyond Imagination’s humanoid robotic technology to…

(VRfun18) Best practices learned in virtual game development in a COVID-19

Presented by SMU Guildhall When the Covid-19 pandemic lockdown hit in Spring 2020, SMU Guildhall had to fully shift our teaching methodologies to online learning on an unexpected one-week notice—all while maintaining the essential requirement of no loss in learning outcomes. This was no small feat, especially with content deeply oriented in collaborative teamwork. Amongst…

(VRfun18) How machine learning revived long lost masterpieces by Klimt

Meet the expert — Dr. Franz SmolaWhile creating “Klimt vs. Klimt” the Google Arts & Culture team was advised and guided by Dr. Franz Smola, curator at the Belvedere and acknowledged around the world as one of the foremost Klimt experts. He shared some of his thoughts on working on the project:Why are Klimt’s Faculty…

(VRfun18) Apple’s AR Headset Could Come With 3 Immersive Displays

Apple’s upcoming mixed reality headset is a hot topic in the world of leaks and rumors, with a big reveal potentially coming later this year. Now, a new report has claimed it will come with three screens for your viewing pleasure. The report comes from the industry analysts at Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC) and…

(VRfun18) Kokomo Is a New Social VR Platform Coming From Canon

Canon aims to change the videoconferencing game with a new virtual reality (VR) platform called Kokomo. Essentially, it utilizes Canon’s cameras to create an experience where interacting with other people in a video call is closer to conversing with them in person. Canon created Kokomo as a software solution that utilizes a VR headset connected…

(VRfun18) Ricoh’s New 360-Degree Theta X Is Easier to Use As

Image: RicohIf you want to capture 3D photos or footage on a budget, Ricoh’s Theta line continues to be a relatively affordable alternative to multi-camera rigs. It’s a much easier solution now, too: The new Theta X is the company’s first 360-degree camera with a touchscreen and other upgrades that make it easier to use…

(VRfun18) Refract raises $8.5M SGD funding, announces new game development division 

Refract, a Singapore-based extended reality (XR) startup, announced today it has raised an approximately $8.5 million SGD (approximately $6 million) Series A from investors including Sea Limited, international family offices and individuals. The latest funding will be used to intensify R&D for AXIS, a wearable and game-oriented full-body motion capture solution. The startup also plans…

(VRfun18) Facebook Changes Its Name To ‘Meta’: The First Ever Incorporated

On 28th October, Mark Zuckerburg doubled down on his commitment to be the face of the oncoming metaverse era by signing off on the move to rebrand the parent company, Facebook Inc., to Meta. The hour-long keynote presentation was unveiled at the Connect 2021 conference, where Mark goes over all the fundamental changes the rebranding…

(VRfun18) 3 Trendsetting Events of Music in the Metaverse

As the metaverse becomes a part of popular culture, the buzz around the technology is ascending with no end in sight. The ability to enter an entirely different, yet familiar universe, only constrained by the heights of imagination, has enabled the world to go global from inside their living rooms.Large recreational gatherings especially are dwindling…

(VRfun18) How WaveXR is popularising Music in Virtual Reality

Virtual Reality is taking the entertainment industry by storm, becoming more and accessible for small players in the market with each passing day. This trend has been made possible, in part, by a host of new creator-focused ventures that are making it easier to produce VR-ready experiences for a variety of audiences.One such venture is…

(VRfun18) What is an NFT?

As we move closer to embracing Web3, there are more and more terms for new technologies emerging. Getting to grips with a new technology or phrase can be daunting. Perhaps you’re one of the millions of people who began to hear the term ‘NFT’ in 2020-21 and thought, “what the heck is an NFT?” Or…

(VRfun18) The VR Job Hub: VRDays Europe, Liquid City & Niantic

Every weekend gmw3 gathers together vacancies from across the virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) industries, in locations around the globe to help make finding that ideal job easier. Below is a selection of roles that are currently accepting applications across a number of disciplines, all within departments and companies that focus on immersive entertainment.…

(VRfun18) Elden Ring will feature poison swamps because Miyazaki loves making

Hidetaka Miyazaki loves poison swamps, even if you don’t.The Souls games are notorious for including dark, dank swamp areas filled with toxic enemies: the nightmarish Valley of Defilement in Demon’s Souls, or the endless depths of Blighttown in Dark Souls.Elden Ring is set to also include poison areas, of course. That’s because Miyazaki loves them…

(VRfun18) How is a battle system like a poem?

I’ve been fascinated lately by micro-RPGs, and specifically micro-JRPGs. Typically crafted in RPG Maker and published on Itch.io, these clever miniatures run a wide gamut, as I learned from a Twitter chat with sraëka-lillian, creator of the experimental OI series. Some, like GeaSaga from Ka·in Works, are full-scale distillations of classic role-playing narrative structures, trimming…

(VRfun18) Save $100 on a powerful MSI gaming laptop, plus more

Deal pricing and availability subject to change after time of publication. UPDATE: Jan. 27, 2022, 4:45 p.m. EST This list has been updated to reflect pricing and availability as of Jan. 27. BEST SAMSUNG DEAL: Samsung Galaxy Book Pro, a nice alternative to the similarly priced MacBook Pro — $779.99 $1,099.99 (save $320)BEST GAMING DEAL:…

(VRfun18) Why 3D is making a comeback in 2022 (part 1:

History of 3D cameras Part 1 About twelve years ago, it looked like 3D would be the way of the future. But, hardly a few years later, it appeared like most of the industry had abandoned this ideal. But did they really?In this 3-part series, I discuss why 3D is coming back in 2022. In Part…

(VRfun18) Why VR providers are pinning their hopes on profiting from

What is the latest marketing strategy for virtual reality software providers? If the Covid-19 pandemic will cause the new normal to become the normal full stop, Zoom and their ilk are not going to cut it long-term. Meet AfterNow. The California-based startup, which describes itself grandly as ‘building the future of human computing with augmented…

(VRfun18) Zuckerberg speaks about the potential for a Quest Pro

Oculus In a recent interview with CNET, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that Oculus is currently working on a Quest Pro headset. In a recent interview with CNET, Mark Zuckerberg confirmed that Oculus is currently working on a Quest Pro headset.He claims that they are planning to include both face and eye tracking sensors. It could also…