VR’s software ecosystem is home to plenty of escapism experiences that transport you to serene environments for calming gameplay and interaction as a way to promote wellness. RE:NEW, a project from NewPathVR, is a portal that points users straight toward various wellness applications.
VR has a large scattered mess of content that’s progressively getting larger. With so many entities racing to create and acquire original VR and 360-degree media, some things can get lost in the shuffle especially if you find yourself attached to just one or two content specific media apps or platforms. RE:NEW points you to wellness apps from different platforms and gives you the option to filter via platform and whether or not the application is free or paid.
On the home page right now you’ll find apps such as Google Cardboard stress-reliever Happinss, rhythmic casual game Thumper for PS VR, and Fearless which gives you a chance to overcome your own fears on Oculus Rift and Gear VR. In addition to the immersive media, RE:NEW will also link users to articles, podcasts, events, and insight revolving around immersive wellness and even content unrelated to tech like the recently published blog on meditation. If the NewPathVR team remains consistent with the content that will be supplementary to VR, this will position website as a one-stop-shop for wellness tools.
RE:NEW serves as an effort to efficiently gather the tools to harness the potential for positive change, a primary goal for transformative technology company NewPathVR. It also has a partner program in place to better raise awareness of projects from developers and content creators.
Your bedroom is a place of peace and expression and there are a handful of ways to make it resemble the dreamscapes you occasionally wake from. Art on your walls and ceilings, 3D domes that project stars all over, and more. The Mk Player360, from Broomx Technologies, is a powerful and compact device that takes this idea further turning your room into a screen not only for 360-degree media but interactive VR applications as well.
Projectors are long established in entertainment and business settings but the MK Player360 takes projection to another level by providing full HD Field of View (180°H x 120°V) and audio for a 4D experience. It’s an all-in-one, plug-and-play project that needs no additional hardware to function and can be interacted with wirelessly via a smartphone application. Whether using the floor version with stand or anchoring it on a wall, it can be placed anywhere in a room and can adapt in rooms measured 3×3 meters to 7×7 meters no matter the angle.
When it comes to wearing VR headsets, there are some accessibility limitations related to vision countered by some companies, but a device like the MK Player360 could serve as a comfortable non-headset immersive option for VR and 360-degree videos.
The device may remind some of Microsoft’s proof-of-concept system Microsoft revealed back in 2013 called IllumiRoom. Pairing the Kinect with a projector, Illumiroom visually augmented the space around a television to add a layer to entertainment experiences.The Mk Player360 is certain a more ambitious piece of hardware, but the idea of augmenting our surrounds in such a way has been conceptualized for quite a while.
In an interview with BGR, Broomx’s CCO Ignasi Capella alluded to other potential uses for the projector in connected environments. “One of the features our projector gives you is the possibility to connect anything that can be connected in a room, like lights,” says Capella. “We can synchronize those elements with the projection, with the scene you’re watching. So, like, underwater — we have one experience where you can see waves, and the lights of the room, they turn blue. And the bed is moving like the waves. When you go underwater and there are no waves, the bed stops moving.”
The player can also access Google Maps, Street View, and popular social platforms to project on the screen and users can drag-and-drop them around the wall via the smartphone app. There’s no release date for the device just yet, with the website only saying first units are “coming soon”. If you want to inquire about purchasing one, there’s a contact form at the bottom of the device’s web page.
So many of us have barely recovered from the Steam Summer Sale and we’re already being hit with another wave of attacks on our wallet via Amazon’s Prime Day. If you haven’t pulled the trigger on the next level of entertainment, there’s no better time than now with PSVR and HTC Vive both available in high-value bundles.
Prime Day is a celebration of Amazon’s Prime membership that seems to grow in value on a consistent basis. You must have that membership in order to take advantage of these deals but you also receive free two-day shipping, access to video streams of popular movies and television, and a wealth of other benefits. For VR, here’s a peek at what deals you can be snatching up today:
Includes Star Trek: Bridge Crew, Everest VR, and Richie’s Plank Experience
There was also a deal for the Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch plus a $100 Amazon Gift card but it is currently unavailable. Even the discounted bundle without the gift card seems to be out of stock at the moment. If you’re desperate for a Rift, you could try heading to Best Buy, where you’ll get EVE: Valkyrie for free too. UK Prime members can also grab Star Trek: Bridge Crew for PS4 at a discounted price of £25.99.
Oculus and Alexandre Aja, the director of films such as The Hills Have Eyes and the Daniel Radcliffe-led dark fantasy Horns, are teaming up with Future Lighthouse for a few VR horror tales. They’ll be working together on a horror anthology that will take advantage of VR’s immersive storytelling potential to dive into your childhood fears.
Titled Campfire Creepers, this anthology is inspired by Tales From The Crypt and will follow a similar formula to that show with the Crypt Keeper being replaced by a group of campers that take turns sharing their different creepy tales. Oculus is making a concerted effort to draw more interest to the VR platform by having well-known director Alexandre Aja write the first season and even having the original Freddy Krueger, Robert Englund, make an appearance in the series.
The press release states that Aja and Future Lighthouse aim to be utilizing new techniques and tools to push the boundaries of virtual reality with each episode and we’ll have the opportunity to critique their efforts this Halloween when it releases exclusively in the Oculus Store.
If you’ve survived the Steam summer sale, things have returned to normal with a collection of new releases for the HTC Vive. The most significant highlights this week are both of the creative slant. Google has added another potential mainstay to the VR ecosystem with Blocks, a creative platform that caters to a varying degree of experience. ViveSpray 2 is another creative tool but it focuses on a realistic simulation of modern graffiti right down to realistic paint drips and paint that dries over time as you work.
We also have a top list of the absolute best HTC Vive games — which is updated every few months with the latest and greatest options.
New HTC Vive Releases on Steam
Final World, from Shine World
Price: $14.44 (Currently Discounted)
Final World is a short experience that is testing out a few elements in pursuit of a VR MMORPG. There are a couple design concepts at play here that will hopefully be developed so players can truly experience this fantasy world and its immersive combat.
Recommendation: Pass on this one for now but keep an eye on the developer to see if the full game comes to fruition.
Eye of Odin, from Emberlight VR
Price: $14.99
Eye of Odin drops players into a conflict against undead Vikings. You must take them down with visceral melee combat or spellcasting. The game features a reactive soundtrack that grows more intense with the gameplay.
Recommendation: Keep an eye on it while it is in Early Access.
Douarnenez VR, from Raf1 Dev
Price: Free To Play
Douarnenez is a simulation where you get to explore the Norwegian galleon Anna Rosa, one of 4 planned boats from the port-museum of Douarnenez.
Recommendation: Check it out if you’re really into boat models.
Legendary Hunter VR, from LastnOni
Price: $13.59 (Currently Discounted)
Legendary Hunter is a hunting title inspired by Duck Hunt on the NES. Instead of just ducks, though, you’ll be surviving crow or bee attacks during the day and wolf or crocodile attacks in the night. There are dynamic weather effects, realistic gun physics, and atmospheric sound to truly immerse you in the experience.
Recommendation: Watch the early access. It’s a straightforward wave shooter, but could be fun in time.
Front Defense, from Fantahorn Studio
Price: $19.99
Front Defense is an arcade-style shooter that takes place in the final days of World War II’s European theater. Duck, dive, shoot, throw grenades, and man-mounted guns as you fight against enemy advances.
The Crypts of Anak Shaba, from Virtual Rage Studios LLC
Price: $3.59 (Currently Discounted)
Explore the Crypts of Anak Shaba while utilizing swords and sorcery to dispose of your enemies. Find the four relics in the crypts to send the big boss Masharan back into his dimension for the final fight.
Recommendation: The game isn’t in Early Access, but it probably should be and is still a work-in-progress. Check back on it later.
Heroes Never Die, from FrostbiteGames
Price: $19.99
Heroes Never Die is a shooter that takes place in the mid-19th century where you use your unique skills to defeat monsters and complete scenarios as quickly as possible. There’s DLC planned to add new maps, monsters, skills, heroes, and more.
Recommendation: Hold off for now, but keep an eye on it as it evolves throughout EA.
ViveSpray 2, from ciwolsey
Price: $8.99
ViveSpray 2 is gives you a plethora of canvases in a VR graffiti simulation. This realistic experience includes high-res walls, paint that goes on wet and dries over time, spray flow you can modify, paint drips, and much more.
Recommendation: If you are an expert or just have an interest in graffiti, street art styles, then check this out.
Blocks by Google, from Google
Price: Free
Google is delivering what could hopefully be another major VR experience with Blocks, a creative platform that caters the amateur creators and pros alike. There are six tools at your disposal that will help you bring your ideas to life.
Recommendation: It’s a free creative tool, so give it go and see what you can whip up. We were very impressed.
TheWalkerKiller VR, from ELang Network technology
Price: $11.99
In TheWalkerKiller VR world, it’s 2065 and the national laboratory has created a virus that turned people into maniacs. After 30 days there are no survivors except you, Tom the taxi driver. Grab weapons and survive.
Recommendation: If you’re looking for some high-octane zombie killing, take a look.
Preta: Vendetta Rising, from Illion Corp
Price: $29.74 (Currently Discounted)
In the world of Akirion, Preta challenges you to explore forsaken lands, craft, raise pets, and defeat your enemies alone or with friends. This game is a hack n’ slash title aiming for around 50+ hours of gameplay.
Recommendation: Don’t dive into this yet, but give it some time as it evolves throughout EA to see if it is worth the purchase.
Twin Roads, from WarPI Games
Price: $3.99 (Currently Discounted)
Twin Roads puts us in control of hero Finn and his friends as you guide them to freedom. Over the course of the game, you’ll unlock characters with new abilities as you work to discover hidden treasures.
Recommendation: A cute, cheap, and casual treat. Check it out, especially if you have kids.
Hex Tunnel, from Owlgorithm
Price: $3.99 (Currently Discounted)
Hex Tunnel is a trippy journey through another dimension where players must master elements to become a supreme being. The game molds to different playstyles with arcade, chaos, and ultra modes.
Recommendation: Trippy visuals and casual gameplay pique your interest? Then buckle up.
Escape Room, from AppFactoryHaru-Ni
Price: $0.99
Escape Room embodies what the escape genre offers for VR at its base level with a clean art style and straightforward approach. Can you get out?
Recommendation: Unless you’re absolutely itching for another escape experience, pass on it.
LIBERTY VR, from JUMP OR FALL
Price: $7.99
Liberty VR is an action-adventure taking place during an alternate American Revolution that features an ancient alien race. The game takes place in Boston and you’ll have 18th-century weaponry available alongside some alien weapons.
Recommendation: Keep an eye on this during EA to see how it comes together. Could end up being a very solid action adventure.
Earthquake Simulator VR, from Lindero Edutainment
Price: $2.99
Earthquake Simulator is exactly what the name entails. You’ll experience a short earthquake and spreading fire, learning survival techniques that you could implement in real life.
Recommendation: Check it out. For those in earthquake-heavy areas, it could be a useful and exciting way to learn.
OzGrind Virtual Reality Showroom, from Viewport Studios
Price: Free To Play
OZGrind’s VR Showroom is a platform where creators and businesses can work with an infinitely malleable showroom to add new products and modify layouts. It can even serve as a blueprint before creating a physical setup.
Recommendation: Definitely check this out if it fits your business.
New HTC Vive Releases on Viveport
No new releases on Viveport this week as of the time of writing.
Immersive media and science fiction works are a perfect marriage, using cutting edge tech to show off amazing fictional worlds that feel like they may be just over the technological horizon. The sci-fi universe of Blade Runner stands as one of the most important in film history and, alongside being brought back to life with a sequel helmed by director Denis Villeneuve, fans will be able to experience the world themselves via an immersive event taking place in San Diego during Comic-Con weekend.
Revealed on BusinessWire and presented by Johnnie Walker, the Blade Runner 2049 Experience will spring up in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and feature a gallery of art from the film, an Oculus-powered VR experience further immersing visitors into the world, and even neon-lit streets where they’ll be tested to see if they’re humans or replicants. The Spinner, the infamous car from the Blade Runner film, will also be on display.
The original Blade Runner, where assassins named Runners seek out and kill replicants, took place in a dark and decaying futuristic Los Angeles. The combination of the sequel taking place 30 years after the original film’s events, 35 years having actually passed since the original movie was made, and Denis Villeneuve crafting some of the most visually impressive films in recent years, the world of Blade Runner is going to be brought to life in an impressive way. Thus, this idea to welcome fans into a replication of Blade Runner’s LA is a great way to promote the series and show off virtual reality.
The Blade Runner Experience will be open to the public (no Comic-Con badge required) from July 20th – 23rd from 10 am – 7 pm Thursday – Friday, open an hour earlier on Saturday, and closing an hour earlier on Sunday. Blade Runner 2049 will debut in theaters on October 6th and features Harrison Ford in his original role, in addition to Robin Wright and Ryan Gosling.
Beyond the well-known gaming experiences, immersive reality impacts a collection of entertainment industries by way of ads, live event broadcasts, news shows, and more. Different markets are catering to these new experiences to varying degrees and New York continues to make significant efforts.
One example of the increased exposure in New York City is VR In The Sky, a two-day event focused on the ads, brands, and media communities in the city. The event will be home to a collection of content and premiers exclusively in VR, AR, 360-degree media, and MR from movie studios, television networks, producers, distributors, and more. The schedule is pretty dense and we’ve got a few of the highlights.
The opening night event takes place on Tuesday July 11th and features a reception presented by AMD and The Foundry. The Foundry will be debuting new updates for their 3D compositor Nuke and you must RSVP to attend. The following two days are riddled with keynotes, presentations, and more and these are just a few of the highlights for each day:
Wednesday, July 12th
10:15 am – 10:45 am | Keynote: The World’s Most Compelling New Experiences (Unity)
Tony Parisi | Head of VR/AR Strategy, Unity
Tony Parisi is a virtual reality pioneer, serial entrepreneur and angel investor. Tony is the co-creator of 3D graphics standards, including VRML, X3D and glTF, the new file format standard for 3D web and mobile applications.Tony is also the author of O’Reilly Media’s books on Virtual Reality and WebGL: Learning Virtual Reality (2015), Programming 3D Applications in HTML5 and WebGL (2014), and WebGL Up and Running (2012).
Julie Shumaker | Vice President, Business Development, Unity
In her role at Unity Technology, Julie leverages the power of play as an ad medium to drive the largest independent monetization platform in games. She has led this charge through game industry platform shifts, beginning with the ’01 launch of Electronic Art’s advertising business in online casual and console game environments. Subsequently, Julie navigated the migration of games from web to social and mobile in growing the ads business at Zynga to its leadership position today. Prior to diving into the gaming space she led revenue for fifaworldcup.com at Yahoo! and was a key player in Quokka Sports’ 1999 IPO.
Joelle Zerillo | Account Director, Video, VR/AR, Social, Time Inc.
In September 2016, Joelle co-led the launch of LIFE VR, Time Inc.’s multi-platform virtual reality brand. Driving marketing strategy and sales development across Time Inc. for 360 and VR solutions. Following the success of LIFE VR, Joelle co-led the launch of LIFE AR with the first-ever AR-enabled issue of Sports Illustrated. Joelle continues to strategically implement immersive storytelling across Time Inc. via sales and marketing channels.
Jason Farkas | VP, Premium Content Video, CNN
Jason Farkas is Vice President of Premium Content Video for CNN. Farkas works across CNN Digital’s premium vertical channels, including CNNMoney, CNN Media + Entertainment and CNN Style.
He also runs Reliable Sources with Brian Stelter, CNN’s Sunday program that examines the role of the media. As executive producer of the show, Farkas has managed the expansion of the program to a multi-platform product that produces a daily e-newsletter and regular digital content for CNNMoney including the NewTube and Headliners video series.
Additionally, Farkas spearheads CNNVR – the network’s virtual reality newsgathering and storytelling operation. He led CNN’s efforts to be the first media outlet to live stream a major news event in virtual reality with the trailblazing project of capturing and streaming CNN’s Republican and Democratic Debates. Praised by critics for “flipping conventional wisdom on its head” and “pushing the brand as technologically savvy,” Farkas continues to experiment with VR as a journalism tool for the network.
Prior to joining CNN, Farkas ran afternoon programming on Bloomberg Television, and launched several primetime shows at CNBC.
He’s a graduate of Middlebury College, and a New York City native.
Mia Tramz | Managing Editor of LIFE VR, TIME
Mia Tramz is the Managing Editor of LIFE VR, Time Inc’s company wide virtual reality initiative. Since joining TIME as an Associate Photo Editor in 2013, Mia has embraced immersive digital storytelling in many forms, culminating with her involvement shaping the editorial voice of Time Inc.’s new VR brand, developing and producing VR content across the media company’s 30+ titles. LIFE VR launched as a multi-platform virtual reality brand in September 2016.
Thursday, July 13th
9:20 am – 9:35 am | Broadcast & Brand Studies (Natpe)
Lori H. Schwartz | Principal, StoryTech
Lori H. Schwartz is a true technology catalyst (‘Tech Cat’). As a leading advisor and speaker in marketing and tech innovation, Lori collaborates with top creative and strategic executives of multiple brands, tech and content companies to ensure their understanding of emerging business models while designing unique experiences to create engagement.
Los Angeles Based, Lori is a CNN Technology Contributor and a frequent speaker at major industry events as well as for private companies helping to facilitate conversations around new business models and technology innovation. You can find her broadcasting weekly on Voice America’s business channel on her ‘Tech Cat Show’.
Ryan A. Bell | Director of Digital Strategy, Hydro Studios
Ryan A Bell represents an intersection of entertainment and emerging tech. As a judge for both Shorty Awards and The Emmys he also bridges new digital with traditional film. His eye for creative strategy helps showcase his work at Hydro Studios and redefines the ways that collaboration in broadcasting, content creation and technology combine. Work with NATO, Intel, BMW and other major brands is balanced with coordinating the first live 360 broadcast of a US President during Obama’s Farewell speech. Ryan is a member of The Television Academy, recipient of The Presidential Volunteer Service Award for his work with Special Olympics, an award winning poet, actor and songwriter who has received recognition from Forbes, Inc, Entrepreneur, TechCrunch and many other outlets.. His goal is to create the undefinable and to uncover the next renaissance in creation and connection.
Elijah Blitz | VR Director, TIME
Elijah Allan-Blitz is one of the first Virtual Reality directors for TIME magazine. His award winning VR experience about the holocaust was created as a companion piece for the Ken Burns PBS documentary, Defying the Nazis: The Sharps’ War. Elijah has also directed VR experiences for Aloe Blacc, Byron Katie and HBO.
Graham Sack | Director, Lincoln in the Bardo
GRAHAM SACK is an award-winning screenwriter, director, and academic. Graham wrote and directed a VR experience for New York Times VR based on LINCOLN IN THE BARDO, the acclaimed novel by author George Saunders. He is currently developing VR episodic series for Felix and Paul Studios and for Google. He previously wrote and directed DON’T LOOK AWAY, an interactive cinematic VR experience about aging, time, and the scarcity of attention; a VR documentary about solar power for the Rockerfeller Foundation and Matter Unlimited; and SUBJECT:OBJECT, a VR experience for New York Theatre Workshop about the private life of objects. Graham’s most recent screenplay, SEPTILLION TO ONE, made the 2015 Hollywood Blacklist, sold in one of the most competitive spec sales of the year, and is scheduled to go into production with Odd Lot Entertainment. He is currently writing OPERATION IVY LEAGUE, a true crime story about a drug cartel based in a college fraternity, for Langley Park Entertainment (GANGSTER SQUAD, TRAFFIC). Graham began his career as a child actor on Broadway, starring in Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers and in films such as Dunston Checks In and TV shows such as Law & Order and New York Undercover. Graham also holds a BA from Harvard, an MSc from the London School of Economics, and is completing a PhD in Digital Humanities at Columbia University, where his research is focused on computational approaches to storytelling. He is represented by the Gersh Agency (Bayard Maybank & Bob Hohman).
4:45 pm – 5:10 pm | Tent – Pole Theatrical Features VR, Create VR, and Legend VR
Mia Tramz | Managing Editor of LIFE VR, TIME
Jake Black | Head of VR, CreateVR
Makers and marketers of VR experiences, specializing in movie studio and entertainment-based IP. Major work includes Spider-Man: Homecoming, Ghostbusters, and The Walk.
Will Maurer | VP, VR and Animation, Legend
With nearly two decades of experience in the Entertainment Industry, Will has worked his way up through the ranks, beginning as a PA, and is now currently an Executive at Legend where he has built and grown multiple lines of business, including VR, VFX, Animation and Content.
His ability to deliver complex projects on budget and schedule, while striving to provide clear and transparent communication, has been a key factor in building and maintaining long-term trusted relationships with Filmmakers, Financiers, Brands and Studio Execs. Will has Produced VR, VFX, Animation and 3D projects for Fox, Sony, Warner Bros., Lionsgate, Paramount, Legendary, The Weinstein Company, ABC, AMC, TBS, Annapurna Pictures, Alcon Entertainment, Samsung, Oculus, MasterCard, Stub Hub, and the legendary Stan Lee.
Will has passionately shared his industry experiences and expertise on panels and keynote presentations at Sundance, TIFF, The VR Society’s Inaugural Inform Series, VRLA, The Hollywood Film Festival, VR on the Lot, VES, Digital Hollywood, VRevolution, the HP Summit, and at the NASDAQ, where he wrung the closing bell to recognize VR as a viable business platform. In addition to his speaking engagements, Will has also been interviewed by The Hollywood Reporter, [a]list daily, Variety, VES Magazine, Tubefilter and High-Def Digest. He currently sits on the board of the VR Society and is a contributing member of the PGA and VES.
The main portion of the VR In The Sky event takes place on July 12th and 13th. The event will be open from 9 A.M. EDT – 5 P.M. on each each and tickets are available here. 2-Day General Admission is sold out, but the single day tickets are still available at $449 each before fees. Ticket sales will close this evening and the full schedule is available here.
Behind closed doors at E3 2017 journalists were given a glimpse of Cyanide Studio‘s Call of Cthulhu. The game embraces its Lovecraftian roots fully, giving players an opportunity to explore a mystery that could end with them going absolutely mad. It’s a formula that should work wonderfully for VR and, while the developers are certainly interested in VR for the game, they’re awaiting a green light from their publisher.
In response to a question about putting the game on Sony’s PlayStation VR (PSVR), a member of the development team from Cyanide declared that their team has “thought about it but it’s up to the publisher to decide. We went to [VR] to see the cool perks that we could benefit from of course,” he said.
To make sure I was understanding correctly, I asked if VR was “completely off the table” for now. “It’s not off the table,” he added. “It’s up to our publisher to decide that, that’s all.” The other Cyanide representative showing us the demo added that the team is “more focused on console and PC versions, so maybe later”.
The game showed off a couple levels where the lead character, a detective, investigated a few important places related to a case. The case involved a house fire, but not all is as it seems. The game is in first-person and, with a collection of skills spread across three disciplines, you can interview NPCs and scour the scene of a crime for clues with varying degrees of success. The 2nd level shown introduced us to a conflict with a beastly creature that climbed out of a painting, but there was no actual combat in the traditional sense. You have to research as much as you can to make you’re prepared for the monsters you come across and, when the young lady running the demo broke a knife out of a glass case and stabbed it into the creature’s portrait, we learned what happens when you haven’t investigated everything you need to. It wasn’t pretty.
The game’s publisher, Focus Home Interactive, doesn’t have any VR titles under their umbrella just yet but this game’s premise, play style, and ambiance would translate well to a virtual reality platform. Horror experiences go over well on VR, so what better place to go than with Lovecraft?
Many of the great minds in the tech industry believe augmented reality could have an incredible impact on our lives, including Apple CEO Tim Cook who believes AR could develop an audience as large as mobile phones.
You can add the minds behind the US military to that list now, as Next Reality News reports that the US Army is now outfitting their soldiers with a new augmented display called Tactical Augmented Reality or T.A.R.
Through T.A.R., soldiers will have hands-free access to information such as ally/enemy location and your own position dependent on observed landmarks. Via a wireless connection to a tablet and thermal site on their weapon, soldiers can access their weapon’s point of view so that they can observe their surroundings without losing sight of their targets.
In its current form, T.A.R. is a miniature display breakthrough where the high-definition visuals fit into a one-square-inch screen. It’s currently utilized in night-vision goggles with the option to be viewed in monochrome in daylight and the team behind it is continuing to work on the display to reach full-color for daylight viewing.
Black Mirror, an anthology series, tackles stories revolving around extreme advancements in tech, similar to a technology-focused Twilight Zone. In the episode called Men Against Fire, the soldiers of the future used a collection of enhancements including AR. In a dark twist, it turns out their augmented experiences were being manipulated heavily to influence their actions in the field and, although the level of advancement in that episode is far off from now, such a thing could be a concern as third parties attempt to modify or influence what’s being seen.
Coinciding with the growth of the augmented and virtual reality industries, there are tons of new job opportunities. New companies spawned by the tech will be welcoming new employees and established companies will be welcoming new faces as they tackle the new opportunities VR and AR afford their businesses.
In New York, the current Mayor has laid out a plan to create 10,000 jobs for middle-class citizens. As reported by bklyner, part of that plan includes a newly announced VR/AR lab that will be opening at the Brooklyn Navy Yard this year.
The project received $6 million in funding from both the New York City Economic Development Corporation and the Mayor’s Office of Media and Entertainment, with Mayor Bill de Blasio sharing a few words in the press release for the development. “Augmented and Virtual Reality represents a huge new industry, and we want New York City to be second to none,” he says. “We’re investing in the space, the talent, and the research needed to make New York the global hub for this emerging technology.”
The lab will be a partnership with CUNY Lehman College’s VR/AR Training Academy and Development Lab, preparing New Yorkers for inevitable jobs in the immersive fields. Taking such an initiative could position New York well as more industries that benefit from virtual and augmented reality sprout up.
The lab is part of the Mayor’s plan to create middle-class jobs in technology, life sciences, creative, and manufacturing industries over the next 10 years. The VR/AR lab, which will occupy a 15,000-square-feet at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, will generate roughly 500 jobs over that 10-year span after the targeted opening at the end of 2017.
“Equal opportunity and access, through education and job training, is the bedrock of our jobs strategy, and together we will continue to rise,” the Mayor added.
