Facebook steps into 3D memories and photos without a specialized camera
Facebook is working to make even the photos captured before 3D and 360 cameras existed a thing of the past. The experimental A.I. tool re-creates spaces from images, then pastes the actual image inside the space. 3D Photos will come to the news feed even sooner, however, using only a smartphone camera.
Facebook and cinema firm Red team up to build a more realistic VR camera
Facebook's virtual reality camera prototypes are continuing to move forward -- this time, with the help of cinema camera company Red. The two companies announced a partnership to build a professional, probably expensive VR camera using Facebook's depth sensing and Red's high dynamic range sensors.
More than 1,000 experiences are available for the Oculus Go VR headset
The Oculus Go VR headset may be a new platform, but there is no shortage of experiences. That's because it's compatible with apps and games developed for Samsung's Gear VR, which is also powered by Oculus. You can find more than 1,000 experiences, some of which are designed specifically for Oculus Go.
Oculus Go wireless VR headset hits shelves today for way less than a Vive
In an age when leaks spoil every surprise, Facebook came very close to surprising everyone with the launch of its highly anticipated Oculus Go stand-alone VR headset in today's F8 keynote speech. As announced at the F8 developer conference, the Oculus Go will hit store shelves today.
8 Amazing accessories that could make virtual reality even more immersive
Virtual reality headsets can be pretty darn amazing, but its controllers could certainly do more to make the virtual experience even more immersive. From brain zapping technologies to full body haptic suits, here are eight examples of technology which promise to take VR to the next level.
China’s new sci-fi amusement park is powered entirely by virtual reality rides
You won't find traditional roller coasters and games at China's new Oriental Science Fiction Valley amusement park. Instead, the theme park, which cost $470 million to develop, is powered by 35 virtual reality attractions, giving you an immersive experience and offers a glimpse at the future of amusement parks.
Disney and MIT made a jacket that mimics feeling of snakes slithering on you
By inflating and deflating various air-filled pockets, this smart haptic jacket designed by Disney Research, MIT, and Carnegie Mellon can simulate a wide range of sensations. These include everything from racing heartbeats to the sensation of slime dripping down a person’s back.
VR horror series ‘Campfire Creepers’ showcased at Tribeca Film Festival
Stories told around the campfire are a horror movie staple, and veteran director Alexandre Aja has brought the genre into virtual reality with a new anthology series. With the premiere of the first episode at the Tribeca Film Festival, the first two episodes are free to watch on Oculus and Gear VR.
Mozilla’s ‘Hubs’ builds a chatroom in VR for any browser and headset
Mozilla introduced a new social experiment called Hubs on Thursday that creates a private chat room in virtual reality. It's based on WebVR, meaning it works in any browser and on all mixed reality headsets spanning Google Cardboard to the HTC Vive headset. It's primitive for now but shows potential.
Leap Motion is pioneering how users interface with menus in mixed reality
Leap Motion has shown off a brand-new prototype user interface for augmented reality which gives the user full control over how its placed, distributed, and even how visible it is. You can minimize, drag, drop, or throw various UI elements wherever you want and bring them up as and when they are needed.
HoloLens virtual touchscreen is the futuristic tech we’ve been waiting for
Add touchscreen as another way to interact with the environment using Microsoft's HoloLens mixed reality headset. Thanks to researchers at Microsoft Research, you can overlay a virtual touchscreen onto any flat surface while using HoloLens, giving you another way to visualize information and make inputs.
Snapchat’s new Snappables Lenses are AR games you play with your face
Ready for Snap's take on games? Snappables are new Snapchat games that use facial expressions, motion, and touch to control the game. The games can be sent as Snaps to challenge friends, or to invite friends to a virtual dance party. The augmented reality games are located inside the app's camera.
Pimax takes notes from Valve for its prototype ‘knuckles’ VR controller
Borrowing from Valve Software's unreleased 'knuckles' controller for VR, Pimax introduced a similar peripheral to be offered with its upcoming 8K VR headset. It will support all five fingers, providing thumb and trigger buttons along with a grip button and two sensors for your ring finger and pinky.
Google Arts & Culture explores remote world heritage sites in virtual reality
Using high-resolution cameras and 3D imaging, Google has opened up world heritage sites around the world for exploration to anyone with a virtual reality headset. The Open Heritge project is a collaboration with the non-profit foundation CyArk.
Oculus wants to stretch your skin to see what it feels like to be human
In patents filings made public this week, Oculus describes a couple different technologies that could make its virtual reality even more realistic and immersive. The patents describe a couple methods for simulating touch in VR environments, one of which includes a "skin stretch instrument."
Gaming is just the beginning. Here are 8 innovative ways VR is being used today
Ready Player One is introducing virtual reality to a whole new audience. Want to know how VR is being used in the world today? Here are 8 eight ways.
Low-cost Ghost AR headset promises MacOS multitasking on steroids
AR headsets are expensive, so Los Angeles-based creative director Jean Helfenstein has invented an alternative called Ghost, which boasts a more affordable price tag. Using it, you can take computer multitasking to the next level by creating infinite MacOS windows in virtual space.
There’s an entire photo studio in your phone with this AR app
Ready to experiment with lights, or pre-visualize that next shoot? Photo Studio AR is an augmented reality app that allows users to place models, lights, and props into any scene using a smartphone camera. The developer, with both Hollywood and Snapchat experience, says the app is for pre-visualizing that next shoot.
A sensor-packed exosuit lets you fly a drone by pretending to be one
Researchers at Switzerland’s École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a smart superhero-style exosuit which allows users to pilot a drone by, essentially, pretending to be one. Let's just hope you're not too shy to use it in public! Here is how it works.
You AR what you eat — augmented reality menus are coming to Snapchat
Have your food and eat it too? New augmented reality menus will allow diners to preview a dish using a Snapchat AR Lens before ordering, putting a lifelike model of the food right on the table.
Chrome’s desktop browser now supports web-based VR on the Oculus Rift
The latest stable version of Google's Chrome browser for desktop now supports the Oculus Rift headset via WebVR. The browser will automatically detect the headset, determine its capabilities, and render web-based virtual reality experiences at a compatible framerate. Firefox supports the Rift too.
JPEG XS will be a faster format for 8K streaming, better VR, and safer drones
The organization behind the JPEG is aiming to create faster streaming without sacrificing quality. JPEG XS is a new file format that offers faster -- but not more -- compression. The file type has the potential to impact a number of technologies, from better live-streams to safer drones.
Researchers claim hackers can create havoc in the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive
A recent paper published by researchers from the University of New Haven in Connecticut shows that a vulnerability in OpenGL enables the team to alter the playing space and virtual environment on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. It's just a proof-of-concept but possible nonetheless.
HTC brings AR to VR with new Vive Pro tools for dual cameras
A new SDK for HTC's Vive Pro virtual reality headset effectively turns it into an augmented reality headset also, leveraging its front-facing stereo cameras to provide pass-through video and 3D spatial tracking, making interaction with the real world possible and blending differing reality environments.
Noninvasive brain zapping can make your hands feel things in VR
Neuroscience researchers from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology have found a new way to make people experience sensations in virtual reality -- by recreating the so-called 'rubber hand illusion' using a bit of trusty brain zapping tech. Here is how it all works.
Score the awesome PlayStation VR headset right now for $199, its lowest price yet
The excellent PSVR headset, one of the best virtual reality headsets on the market, can now be yours for a new low price of $199.
A VR experience lets you ride a jetpack over the world’s most romantic city
Nothing says 21st-century romance quite like taking your other half on a jetpack flyover of Paris, one of the world’s capital cities for all things love-related. Fortunately, a new VR attraction called FlyView is here to help. Using VR and ground-mounted jetpack units, FlyView promises an aerial tour of Paris.
Leap Motion’s prototype augmented reality headset includes hand tracking
Leap Motion revealed a new prototype headset combining hand tracking with augmented reality. The open source community will have access next week.
Microsoft’s HoloLens could be gearing up to kick Intel to the curb
Microsoft's next HoloLens headset is still in the works but according to leaks, it could feature some significant internal changes -- including a new processor from an Intel competitor.
Microsoft ‘excited’ about its secret hardware built for artificial intelligence
Harry Shum of Microsoft's A.I. and Research group says he's very, very excited about the company's upcoming hardware driven by A.I.
Premiere Pro can now automatically match color using artificial intelligence
Tired of spending so much time color correcting? AI makes it possible in a few clicks with an Adobe Premiere Pro update.
HTC Vive Pro review
Say hello to the Vive Pro. Building on the success of the original Vive headset, the Vive Pro promises to deliver unparalleled visuals with an improved fit and finish. Let’s find out if it lives up to those lofty promises.
The Vive Pro proves that HTC and Oculus need each other for VR to succeed
The VR landscape has changed with the release of the Vive Pro. It's proof that Oculus and HTC need each other -- that is, if VR is to survive and thrive.
How NextVR and the NBA are bringing VR from the sidelines to center court
NextVR and the NBA have been working together to broadcast dozens of live games inVR. We went behind the scenes to find out how it’s done.
Snapchat hides a million Easter eggs on the Snap Map in a geocaching game
What are you waiting for? Snapchat wants users to compete with friends in a virtual Easter egg hunt on the Snap Map.
Royal Caribbean turns to AR, VR to help visualize its new private island project
How do you get people excited about something that doesn't yet exist? For its new private island collection, Perfect Day, Royal Caribbean turned to augmented reality and virtual reality to give a scope of what the project would look and feel like.
PlayStation VR price drop makes the peripheral even harder to pass up
Sony's PlayStation VR headset has received another price drop. For $300, you can get everything you need to play in virtual reality.
Nvidia hits the brakes on public autonomous tests after fatal Uber crash
Nvidia put a halt on testing autonomous vehicle technology on public roads after Uber's deadly incident in Arizona.