iMyth

Tag: Immersive VR

  • Google Attempting VR World Domination

    A couple of articles today track the behavior of Google.

    It would seem the media giant is assembling a team to create its own suite of VR tools. This is no doubt an attempt to achieve VR domination. Who can blame them. The wave is crashing hard. The big boys are getting out their big guns to claim big territories in the new frontier.

    Adudio will play a huge role in the achievement of immersive theme-worlds and google want s to be the pack leader by setting its own VR audio standards.

    Google also seems to be designing its own VR engine. This is a no-brainer. It has been clearly evident for quite a while the mechanics for immersive theme-wolds will be more demanding and more varied than thos supplied by modern game engines. MOst game engine will provide a launch pad for a broader, more diversified VR engine.

    They are also building a VR camera from scratch.  I’m not to sure I understand the motivation for this one. There are already many players in this field. What could google gain by building a specialized and dedicated camera? As technology continues to roll out we’ll have to see how things are inter-related.

  • Possible Alternative to Hand Tracking

    The parade of new VR/Immersive technology keeps on rolling.

    Here is the newest solution for generating a hand avatar for an experience created by Manus Machina.

    This seems like an alternative and competitor for technologies such as Leap. Leap uses optical tracking but devices such as this use actuators to track the hands position and rotation.

    At the end of the day the best solution will be where the user does not have to keep his hands raised in front of him in order to operate the GUI. Gloves and optical tracking tech are cool but folks get tired after about a minute of raising their hands beyond hanging. Remind you that computers and even video games allow the user to rest their arms or wrists against some stationary surface. – Something to think about.

  • MM-One

    This is way cool. Last week we looked at an interface device for immersive VR that allowed the user’s shoes to elevate with the terrain. Nice Idea but hardly practical.

    This new device, on the other hand is very cool. This still is very confining. But Oh!, what it can do!


    I’m kind of wigging out about this. However, this is the wave and it’s starting to break. I see my opening. I’m going for it!

  • Cautionary Words from Magic Leap

    In a recent article posted on Gamasutra, “only safe way forward,” the CEO from Magic Leap, Rony Abovitz, tries to spin fear into the developers of AR/VR devices. In a nutshell, he says that AR/VR system where the eye looks at a monitor just centimeters away from the eye, may cause a neurological change. I’m not not sure what it meant by “neurological change.” He goes on to say that Magic Leap’s technology of creating tiny projectors to shine light into the eyes of the user is the only safe way to go.

    The full context of the information can be found in the Reddit, “Ask Me Anything” column. The exchange is quite lengthy and I honestly have not had an opportunity to explore it thoroughly.

    However, I am concerned, not only by the “ask Me anything” column but by the meaning of the gamasutra post.  Rony Abovitz charges right out of the gates spinning a web of fear and discrediting other technologies in favor of his own. It is true Magic Leap is shrowded in a veil of mystery. No one knows if there is any research data to support his claims. Similarly, he is making claims based on a product which does not exist yet and may not available yet for some time. This concerns me not only as a developer but as an investor and consumer myself.

    I am wise to the ploys of marketing fear. We live in a fear based society. 9/11, fabricated or not, has done nothing but install the seed of fear into American’s minds. News agencies pray on this. Smart businesses exploit this fear based atmosphere and promote their product as a solution to the un-yet discovered Jabberwocky.

    Magic Leap may have a stellar product on its hands. However, by initially exploiting fear into the public, I am immediately turned off. Immersive AR/VR, storyworlds and experiences are an amaizing new media that will challenge, in a good way, the definition of being human. Exploiting fear based environments tells me there is only concern of a mediocre product and the only method to safe face is bring everyone down with them.

    Not me, thank you.

  • Atlantic’s VR Perspective

    In a recent article by  the “Atlantic Magazine“, the social risks of immersive Technologies were examined.

    Ultimately, at this time, it is just too early to understand the social ramification of this new technology.

  • More Information about Magic Leap

    While the information has been slow in coming, the bread crumbs cluing us in to what’s going on at Magic Leap are starting to formulate.

    In this article by Rachel Metz for the MIT Technology Review, Magic Leap, we begin to start seeing the technology promised by Magic Leap. While most of the product is still in development, one can’t wonder how this technology will compete against Hololens by Microsoft. Both offer stereoscopic projection of images onto lenses embedded in a head mounted display.  Both of these technologies seem to lend themselves to AR applications. I still have questions how well it will work with full VR uses.

    I don’t want to be synical but I am still looking forward to full blown, fast and effective VR. Occulus appears to be the leader in this tech but still has far to go. In the realm if Interactive Storytelling, I still feel a full immersive experience is required to transport the user into an alternative story world. This technology is not without merit and I eagerly await its arrival. These are all great steps forward and the closer we can get the public moving towards the concepts of AR and VR the easier it will be to sell fully immersive Interactive Storytelling.

  • AR/VR Blending With Leap

    While this is not really so much to do with Interactive Storytelling it is a development of one of the key pieces of technology which I have said is necessary for the truely immersive, Interactive Storytelling experience.

    I just found out about a new technology from Leap, (Not sure if this is Magic Leap or not?), that allows the user to see his or her own body withing the Immersive VR environment. Being able to see you own body, especially hands and arms assists with the immersive experience and places the user into the actual gameplay.  Not only does this give the user a contextual reference within the VR storyworld but also open the floodgate for endless GUI configurations. Long have a pondered how to provide sufficient GUI opportunities to the users without breaking the immersive experience. With this devise, the user’s body can now be the GUI.

    To understand the potential of this technology, look at this youtube posting from pewdpie. I am so embarrassed to be referencing this chuckle head. But he does give an excellent demonstration of where this technology can go to.

    This is really exiting stuff. I am so excited to start playing around with this and get things going.

  • River Startups

    River is a collection of 13 new VR start-ups receiving funding from Rothberg Ventures.

    As with any new venture, it will be interesting to see where and how far these start-ups will attain.

    Hardware

    •  Fove
      • Founders: Yuka Kojima, Lochlainn Wilson

        Based in: Tokyo, Japan

        Website: http://fove-inc.com/

    Education and Training

    • Solarax
      • Founders: Tomas Mariancik and Karel Hulec

        Based in: Czech Republic

        Website: http://www.worldofcomenius.com/

    • SDK
      • Founders: Shaun Wilson, Christian Yves Fongang

        Based in: South Africa

        Website: http://sdklab.com/

    • Discovr
      • Founder: Josh Maldonado, Omar Charles, Professor Bernard Frischer

        Based in: Toronto, Canada

        Website: http://immersivediscovery.com/

    Medicine

    • PSIOUS
      • Founders: Xavier Palomer, Danny Roig

        Based in Spain

        Website: http://psious.com/

    • Deepstream VR
      • Based in: Seattle, WA

        Founders: Howard Rose, Ari Hollander

        Website: http://deepstreamvr.com/

    Gaming

    • Reload Studios
      • Founder: James Chung

        Based in: Los Angeles, CA

        Website: http://reload-studios.com/

    • Innerspace
      • Founder: Balthazar Auxietre and Hayoun Kwon

        Based in: Paris, France

        Website: http://innerspacevr.com/

    • Thotwise
      • Founder: Ariel Arias

        Based in: Argentina

        Website: thehumgame.com

    Journalism

    • Emblematic
      • Founder: Nonny de la Pena

        Based in: Los Angeles, CA

        Website: www.emblematicgroup.com/

    Video

    • Vantage VR
      • Based in: Dallas, TX

        Founders: Juan Santillan, Michael Richardson

        Website: vantage.tv

    • Triggar
      • Founders: Bruce Allan and Rob Allan

        Based in: Australia

        Website: http://www.triggar.com.au/

    • EmergentVR
      • Founders: Peter Wilkins, Chris Wheeler

        Based in SF

        Website: n/a (but placehold, www.emergentvr.com)

    News Article

  • What’s Going on at Magic Leap

    This recent article explains some of the features of the new patent registered by Magic Leap:

    Magic Leap Patent

    While a patent does not really mean anything directly, it does show the direction which progressive thinks are thinking of taking immersive, technologies.

    A tool such at the device introduced in the article would be perfect for the the Raconteur Immersive Storyworld.

    Waiting for more to develop.

  • Animating Camera Direction in VR

    Challenges For VR Animators

    This article explains some of the problems associated with storyTelling in VR. It also provides some initial methods how animators are resolving them.

    I added an article summary in a new page: Animating Camera Direction in VR