The Lenovo Mirage Solo standalone headset has now arrived offering Google’s WorldSense motion tracking and access to the Daydream platforms range of virtual reality (VR) titles. For early adopters of the device the BBC has launched BBC Earth: Live in VR which makes use of the headsets extra functionality.
Created by BAFTA award-winning videogame studio Preloaded in collaboration with BBC Studio’s VR team, BBC Earth: Life in VR represents the first generation of titles using WorldSense, allowing the user to enter a real-time world and witness first-hand the creature behaviours and relationships that sustain the ocean’s rich and diverse ecosystems.
Taking viewers to the Californian Pacific Coast the app starts by following a mother sea otter as she forages in the coastal waters before heading into rich kelp forests. BBC Earth: Life in VR then heads even deeper plunging into the depths of an oceanic trench to encounter a range of animals from microscopic plankton to giant squid and a gargantuan sperm whale.
“It’s extremely exciting that BBC Earth content has been chosen to launch the Lenovo Mirage Solo with Daydream headset,” said Bradley Crooks, Head of Digital Entertainment & Games, BBC Studios in a statement. “Working with Google to bring BBC nature content to VR allows us to provide our audiences with a fresh, exhilarating level of immersion and is an evolutionary step in natural history storytelling.”
This is actually the second instance of BBC Earth: Life in VR on the Daydream platform as it first launched for Google Daydream View back in February.
VRFocus caught up with some of the team from BBC Studios, BBC Earth and Preloaded to learn more about the app, how it came about and what they wanted to achieve in the video below. BBC Studios Head of Interactive Tim Burton also revealed work on a new project called Is Anna Okay? which is due to premiere at Sheffield Doc/Fest this summer. For further updates on the BBC’s VR projects, keep reading VRFocus.