Virtual Reality (VR) is an immersive simulation of a 3D environment. It will profoundly impact the way we work, learn and play, and raise potent ethical issues. Unlike augmented reality, the real world is completely replaced by the simulated environment. Virtual Reality requires additional technology which ranges from Smartphones and low-cost VR headsets (from Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR) to high-end systems such as Oculus Quest and Rift, the HTC Vive, and PlayStationVR. Content ranges from 360-degree photos and videos (though this is not fully VR) to deeply immersive geo-located environments with haptic feedback. VR Experiences with haptic feedback rely on gloves, vests, and full-body suits.
With the rapid advance of the technology supporting Virtual Reality, new standalone VR headsets are arriving – especially the new Oculus Quest which will ship in Spring 2019.
VR is creating fascinating opportunities for Education, Media, Storytelling, Journalism, Work and Retail environments. It is already beginning to transform entertainment and learning even though we are in the first steps of a long journey. In the end, it will impact society even more than the development of the graphical interface at the Xerox PARC labs in the 1970’s for computing.
The ethical issues raised by Virtual Reality are hard to identify now but the blurring of the boundary between the real and the virtual will create profound challenges. This is an area that both fascinates and concerns us at Digital Bodies.
As Joshua Barone notes in The New York Times, VR in classical music hasn’t resulted in the most exciting immersive projects. Like other disciplines, both opera and classical music wrestle with how to integrate this new …
Read more VR in Classical Music – Michel van der Aa’s Breakthrough Project
Here’s a fascinating immersive experience that lets you visualize code in virtual reality. It’s a platform from Primitive, a startup that pitched at an HTC venture capital accelerator this week in San Francisco. According to the …
Scratch another immersive technology development off the list. After high hopes and promises of a ubiquitous mobile VR platform, Google Daydream is essentially over. The HMD is still available on the Google Store, but you have …
If you’re looking for something unique to do in virtual reality Wednesday night, May 8th, hop over to AltSpace VR for a conversation on VR with Brett Leonard. The well-known director of the 1992 Sci-fi classic, The …
Read more A Conversation on VR with Brett Leonard, Director of The Lawnmower Man
The Oculus Quest is here, promising to be the next generation of VR. We finally get a mass-market headset that’s relatively low-cost, has 6DOF functionality and doesn’t need to be tethered to an expensive computer. Despite …
A report in Engadget reveals that Microsoft has been working on visual accessibility issues in VR. SeeingVR is an innovative tool kit for Unity developers to help people with low vision. It includes a bifocal lens …
Read more Microsoft Tackles Visual Accessibility Issues in VR
Google Tilt Brush on Oculus Quest is a perfect match for virtual reality. A free-form VR painting and design tool on a standalone HMD with six degrees of freedom. Last year, Facebook hyped the concept of …
Read more A Perfect Match – Google Tilt Brush on Oculus Quest
Few people have actually walked on the lunar surface – 12 to be exact. Lunatick is your chance to follow in their footsteps and walk on the moon in VR. It’s been 50 years since the first …
Take a look at Chris Milk’s recent interview with TheWrap on Storytelling in AR and VR. The innovative director and immersive artist is the CEO of the VR tech and entertainment company, Within. Other companies have …