Author: Nikholai Koolonavich

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GoerTek Announces Next-Gen VR Headset

GoerTek has announced its third generation of the virtual reality (VR) reference platform in partnership with Qualcomm.

Qualcomm 845 Mobile VR Reference Design

The head-mounted display (HMD) allows a user to experience vivid and immersive VR in a standalone form factor thanks to the design based on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 845 mobile platform. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) will be able to take advantage of GoerTek’s vast product experience to allow them to quickly bring the highest performing VR products to market. The latest generation of these VR HMD, GoerTek have been able to integrate the various subsystems including the display, advanced optics and lens, mechanical design, audio, chipset, and software. This ensures that OEMs will benefit from a lower engineering investment and an increase focus on user experience and content implementation.

Dr. Pen C. Li, Vice President, Product Marketing, GoerTek stated: “This is a pivotal moment for our industry, the launch of Snapdragon 845, together with GoerTek’s successful integration of cutting edge VR technologies, opens the opportunity to bring our users the most complete standalone VR experience ever seen. GoerTek’s extensive experience in design, engineering and manufacturing, in both components and systems, has propelled it to become a global ODM leader.”

Qualcomm 845 Mobile VR Reference Design

Having already designed a number of successful VR products Goertek has proven that they are a capable partner who are able to deliver on their promises. By investing in ergonomics, thermal management and system integrations, GoerTek have successful made continuous steps forward to push their products and the VR sector forward.

The Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 Mobile Platform features updated architecture and subsystems that power the delivery of unprecedented VR experiences, making it a robust solution for GoerTek’s VR HMD. Additionally, the use of Qualcomm Adreno 630 visual processing subsystem allows for 20 percent faster graphics performance and 2.5x increased display while using 30 percent less power.

Hugo Swart, Head of Virtual and Augmented Reality (AR) Business Group, Qualcomm Technologies, said: “With the Snapdragon 845 Mobile VR Platform, we are paving the way for customers and developers to create the immersive and life-like experiences that our users are asking for, we are pushing forward and delivering leading technologies to support the growing product segment of standalone and smartphone VR products.”

As GoerTek and Qualcomm continue their relationship to delivery outstanding VR technologies you will find further updates right here, at VRFocus.

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Kaon Interactive Releases 3D AR Scenes to Help B2B Companies

One of the leading providers of 3D marketing and sales applications for global business-to-business (B2B) brands, Kaon Interactive, have announced the release of 3D augmented reality (AR) scenes.

Kaon Interactive 01

Kaon Interactive have continued to innovate new technologies and applications for AR in enterprise with plenty of investments over the last year alone. This has included placing photo-realistic, interactive 3D product models ‘at scale’, to now placing interactive 3D scenes within a physical space thanks to AR technology.

Talking about the newest advancements in AR, Joshua Smith, CTO and Founder of Kaon Interactive stated: “3D scenes in augmented reality have been limited to gamification, we’re taking this concept to the enterprise in a way that breaks through the clutter.”

Kaon Interactive logo

Interacting with a 3D scene in AR allows for a more compelling engagement for customers as the movement of the 3D object from a device scene to the physical environment encourages interaction. The B2B sector now has a way to make buying engagements more memorable and compelling, which is sure to lead to an increase in deal making thanks to the use of AR technology. With Kaon Interactive’s new 3D AR scenes, a customer now has the ability to walk around the environment, envision how the solution will work to solve their business or technical challenges, and help to visualise the value that they offer the costumer.

“The effectiveness of marketing and sales experiences is dramatically increased when customers can see your products and solutions appear in their actual physical space and can then contextualize the benefits of that solution because they have that clear mental image of how that product fits and works. It truly creates an emotional connection with prospects that transcends traditional sales and marketing relationships,” said Gavin Finn, President and CEO of Koan Interactive.

Thanks to the release of iOS11 and the launch of Apple’s ARkit (and now Google’s ARCore), Kaon Interactive is making huge steps to adoption the technology into the B2B sector. With over 50+ live enterprise AR applications in use by hundreds of thousands of customers, sale teams and channel partners across the global. You can see a demonstration of one such 3D AR scene in the video below.

For more on AR the many B2B applications of the technology, keep reading VRFocus.

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Virtual Reality Street Museum Opens in Ayutthaya

In celebration of 130 years of official diplomatic relations, Japan and Thailand have created a virtual reality (VR) street museum.

Japanese Village in Ayutthaya Thailand 01

The VR street museum is set up in the Japanese village in Ayutthata province, in the exhibition hall next to the Chao Phraya River. By using an immersive VR theater complete with the latest VR Scope technology, visitors are able to enjoy a full 360-degree view of the historic Japanese village in Ayutthaya. The experiential showcase will provide historic information about Ayutthaya, the Japanese village and the role it played along with history on the international fabric of society during the peak of the Ayutthaya period.

Mr. Yuthasak Supasorn, Governor of the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT), commented on the project by saying: “TAT joined the Thai-Japan Association, Japan Chamber of Commerce Bangkok, and 20 leading Thai and Japanese organisations to deepen the meaningful relationship between the two countries. Ayutthaya is one of Thailand’s most visited destinations, with both Thais and international guests appreciating the rich tapestry of Thai heritage that is brought to life in the area. The Virtual Reality Street Museum at the Japanese Village will be a valuable addition to this, by bringing history into the 21st century.” 

Japanese Village in Ayutthaya Thailand 02

Thanks to the technology being used, viewers will be treated to a stunning experience by the means of a 96 million pixel resolution display, that depicts the naval trade journey of Yamada Nagamasa that established the relationship with the 17th century Siamese Kingdom. It was this journey that laid the foundations of the relationship that still stands today between these two nations.

Visitors to the Street Museum will be able to scan a QR code with their device and enjoy the vast landscape of the Japanese village both today and from the 17th century. The TAT is also supporting the VR street museum further by providing a glimpse into the Ayutthaya way of life. This includes an experiential market where visitors can enjoy Ayutthaya culinary inspired by recipes of the renowned Thaothongkeepma (Marie Guimar) – who was a cook in the court of King Narai the Great; such as, Thong Yip, Thong Yot, and Foi Thong.

The VR street museum is currently open allowing all visitors and tourists a chance to look back in history and experience it through the means of VR.

For more stories like this, keep reading VRFocus.

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Island 359 Leaves Early Access, Launch Trailer Released

CloudGate Studio announced last week that Island 359 would be leaving Early Access and bringing with it a new survival mode in the virtual reality (VR) dinosaur packed survival experience.

Island 359

The title has been in Early Access since August, 2016, receiving continuous updates and support from the developer, CloudGate Studio since then. In the full release, players can expect a more polished experience with bugs sure to have been fixed across the board. The new survival mode will put a players skills to the test as they have to survive on a jungle island, six square miles in size, which is packed with dinosaurs who are hungry for something to eat. Starting with next to nothing players will need to venture into the island depths in order to find supplies, find a safe place to camp and of course a means to fight off the likes of raptors, T-Rex’s and other dangerous dinosaurs.

 

One of the features included in a past update to Island 359 was the inclusion of full body tracking. This allows a player to not only get a more immersive experience but also now see their virtual self by switching to a third-person perspective and following their virtual avatar. Depending on the tracking setup a player has, the results may vary but you can see a demonstration of the full body tracking in more detail here. Both HTC Vive and Oculus Rift users will be able to use the virtual self feature and the Vive Trackers will allow for even better body tracking for HTC Vive users.

VRFocus’ previewed Island 359 saying: “In its present state you might have thought Island 359 was a fully fledged experience, but Cloudgate Studio still have a few bugs to solve, tweaks to add and some other tricks. Even so, Island 359 is shaping up to be one of the best first-person shooters (FPS) available on any headset.”

Island 359

Island 359 is now out of Early Access and has support for the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch. You can see the launch trailer for yourself below before dropping in to try and survive.

For more on Island 359 in the future, keep reading VRFocus.

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CryptoHunt Aims To Mix Cryptocurrency With Augmented Reality

Those interested in a new way to earn some extra Cryptocurrency will be pleased to know that it is getting the gamification treatment with CryptoHunt. 

CryptoHunt 01

CryptoHunt is a location based augmented reality (AR) videogame that is designed to make the act of farming Cryptocurrency a more social and fun activity. By using a similar setup to that of Pokémon Go, players will be able to walk about, earning real value coins as they explore, hunt and solve riddles to collect the CryptoHunt tokens. By using trivia as a gameplay mechanic, CryptoHunt hopes to encourage players to work together to complete tasks and earn rewards together. The videogame approach to Cryptocurrency is aiming to make a more accessible front meaning both those who are passionate Cryptocurrency and those who are just starting out will be able to enjoy the title together, play together and learn as they go.

A demo for CryptoHunt allows users on both iOS and Android to create an account and start exploring the title in real time. This is designed to give both players and investors a chance to look at the quality of the product and become familiar with its location based AR functionality before a final release. Additionally, any player who reached level 10 in the demo will receive a 10% bonus on the CryptoHunt Token Generation Event, taking place next month between 1st March, 2018 and the 15th march, 2018. During this period the individual minimum cap has been set at 0.1 ETH with the max contribution capped at 15 ETH per contributor. Those interesting in taking part should head over to the CryptoHunt website and complete the whitelisting process.

CryptoHunt 01

Adding to the gameplay side of CryptoHunt will be a number of collectible items, cosmetic upgrades, game rank and timed events. Each of these will add to the experience, encourage more playtime and allow for unique items to be registered on blockchain meaning no two players will have the same item in their inventory. This adds a to CryptoHunt which allows it to also be a collectible videogame adding more value to each puzzle solved.

For more information on CryptoHunt head over to their website and register your interest. More updates on CryptoHunt and the continuing development of using cryptocurrency as a mechanic in VR and AR apps will be covered as they happen here at VRFocus.

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Trophy List for Moss Revealed, Includes Platinum Trophy

The upcoming release of Moss, the PlayStation VR title in which players guide the young mouse Quill through a fantasy world has had it’s trophy list revealed.

Moss screenshot

Moss will include plenty of trophies for players to unlock and even comes with a Platinum Trophy for those of you looking to one hundred percent the title. Developed by Polyarc, Inc. the title is among one of the most anticipated releases for PlayStation VR having originally been set for launch back in December 2017, but is now releasing this month. One of the most standout features within Moss is that Quill will communicate with the player via sign language, encouraging players to pay close attention to their new found friend.

You can read the complete trophy list below, including the Platinum, but do remember that some of these may contain spoilers for the story of Moss.

Moss screenshot

Moss Trophy List: 

Platinum

  • Together We’re Twofold – Collect all other Moss Trophies.

Gold

  • What Remains of Power – Collect all of the Relic Dust.
  • An Unlikely Hero – Defeat the serpent Sarffog.
  • A Forged Maestro – Destroy two or more Screecher enemies with a controlled Ticker.
  • Protector of the Realm – Rescue Argus without a single death.
  • The Author’s Plan – Collect all of the forgotten fragments.
  • A Promising Beginning – Finish the first book of Moss.

Silver

  • Clever Shooting – Destroy a Forged enemy with a controlled Scorcher.
  • A Sacred Oath – Light the torches of the Knights of the Sun.
  • Thorn in Our Side – Guide Quill to destroy multiple thorn patches.
  • Hedge Knight – Use Quill’s sword to cut down a lot of grass.
  • Ghostface Crushah – Use you power as a Reader to break many objects.
  • Dust Collector II – Collect a large amount of Relic Dust.
  • Creative Cliffhanger – Find a low-hanging path to the town pub.
  • Battle for Control – Take control over many Forged enemies.

Bronze

  • The Ascent – Climb to the castle bridge alongside Quill.
  • The Abandoned City – Enter the Abandoned City alongside Quill.
  • Namelhook Mining Co. – Enter the Namelhook Mining cave alongside Quill.
  • The Mire Temple – Enter the Mire Temple alongside Quill.
  • The Impassable Mire – Follow the Starthing and Quill into the impassable Mire.
  • The Clearing – Enter the Clearing alongside Quill.
  • An Arcane Key – Unlock the path to the Mire Temple’s altar room.
  • Tools of the Enemy – Use a Screecher to unlock the path forward.
  • Idiurus Macrotis – Destroy a Forged enemy with an aerial attack.
  • I’m not scared! – Startle Quill from behind.
  • Nice work, friend! – Give Quill a high five.
  • Don’t Pet the Animals – Annoy Quill by delaying the adventure.
  • The First Trial – Defeat the Screechers first encountered in the Mire.
  • Thank you. – Use your power as a Reader to heal Quill for the first time.
  • A Fragment of Fate – Discover your first forgotten fragment.
  • Dust Collector I – Collect a small amount of Relic Dust.
  • Pub Smash! – Break everything within the town pub that can be broken.

Moss is releasing on 27th February, 2018 on PlayStation VR. If you want to know more about the title, why not check out VRFocus’ preview of Moss by Editor Kevin Joyce.

For more on Moss stay tuned to VRFocus.

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Gugenka Release HoloModels, AR Anime Figures

A new app released by Japanese company Gugenka from CS-REPORTERS.INC allows users to decorate their homes with augmented reality (AR) figures of anime characters.

HoloModels Promotion 02

Gugenka specialise in creating AR and virtual reality (VR) apps for users based on a range of different franchises and intellectual property’s (IP). Their latest release, HoloModels, gives users with a compatible device the ability to indulge in the collection of anime figures all within virtual space. By using the ARKit within iOS, HoloModels is able to scan a playable surface and then let users start decorating the space however they wish.

Characters that are placed in the world can be posted and adjusted to create scenes that a user is then able to walk around in full 360. With the built in tools a they can adjust the size of the character, post each joint of the figure, find the ideal facial expression for the pose and place items in the hands of characters and in the world as well.

HoloModels Promotion 03

The app features an original character who is included in the app right away. Megu Shinonome is the main character of Gugenka’s original 3D animation “Utatte Onpukko♪,” which is set to be released on YouTube. The Megu Shinonome set included in the app comes with six types of hold-able items, include microphones and cutlery, along with ten types of ornaments such as a karaoke set. Users can also purchase additional AR figures for use within the HoloModels app via the HoloModels website.

HoloModels is available to download for free now for Apple iOS devices running iOS 11 or newer. A release on Android devices is planned for the future.

Some of the other AR apps that Gugenka have released are based on other popular anime franchises such as Sword Art Online. Cardcaptor Sakura, Re: Zero and many more. Their work focuses on AR and VR technology and creating experiences for fans to enjoy.

You can see HoloModels in action in the below video, which is currently only available with Japanese dialog. Subtiles are available thanks to the YouTube player.

For more on Gugenka and HoloModels as updates are released, keep reading VRFocus.

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Bella VR Looking to Help Patients Escape Pain and Anxiety

Kansas City-based technology start up Northpass Immersive has revealed Bella VR, with the aim of bringing the virtual reality (VR) product to the medical sector.

Northpass Immersive Logo
Northpass Immersive

As VR continues to become more accessible and reduce in size and cost, Northpass Immersive has launched Bella VR, an intuitive VR platform that aims to help patients deal with pain and anxiety by escaping to virtual worlds. By using gaze-based navigation Bella VR offers patients a simple way to use the product and removes the need for a controller or direct input method. Alongside this breakthrough innovation, Bella VR also features an auto-horizon adjustment feature to accommodate those who want to use the product while lying down. By calibrating and adjusting the unit’s horizon to match the patient’s current angle, Bella VR is able to be used in any position.

Northpass Immersive co-founder and president Reid Bangert commented on gaze-based navigation by stating: “We were determined to eliminate the controller, because if you hit a wrong button and you can’t see the remote it causes lots of problems and frustrations,” going on to mention the auto-horizon functionality, saying: “This is a huge breakthrough, if you are sitting at a 45-degree angle without the auto-horizon adjust, you have to look down to be level in the experience. If you are flat on your back, you’d have to look completely down your body to get the full experience. We wanted patients to be able to relax completely.”

BELLA VR Promo

Thanks to the design of Bella VR there is no need for a computer or cables which means that the unit is suitable for the busy healthcare environment. This reduces any frustration in setting up, taking only a few seconds to organise. Additionally, the system can be cleaned with sanitizing multi-surface wipes to keep units free of germs and bacteria.

Bella VR includes a number of different experiences that patients can enjoy including a canoe trip, a breathtaking hot-air balloon ride over New Mexico, a scenic trip up the gondola at Banff National Park in the Canadian Rockies and a live quartet concert. Multiple studies, including one from the University of Washington, have confirmed that VR can help patients cope with pain and anxiety. The immersive sensory experiences, complete with audio, could be the next tool that medical professionals use to help treat patients and lower stress and pain during treatment or visits.

VRFocus will bring you more on Bella VR and Northpass Immersive as further updates are released.

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Samsung S9 and S9+ Tech Specs Revealed

Samsung has revealed the Galaxy S9 and S9+ during their recent Galaxy UNPACKED event and the technical specifications for the two devices are here.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+

The new Samsung Galaxy S9 and S9+ will be coming packed with plenty of exciting new features and hardware that allows the devices to deliver the best experience to date. Both of the devices will releasing with the Android 8 (Oreo) operating system (OS) which is the latest release of the Android OS.

Both phones come with a Quad HD + Curved Super AMOLED screen with a 5.8-inch (570ppi) display on the Samsung Galaxy S9 and a 6.2-inch (529ppi) on the Samsung Galaxy S9+. Those big displays come are reflected in the size of the devices with the dimensions of the phones as follow:

  • Samsung Galaxy S9: 147.7mm x 68.7mm x 8.5mm, 163g, IP68
  • Samsung Galaxy S9+: 158.1mm x 73.8mm x 8.5mm, 189g, IP68

Moving onto the cameras, both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9 + come with a 8MP AF (F1.7) front facing camera. As for the rear camera the Samsung Galaxy S9 packs a Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF senor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) and Samsung Galaxy S9+ having a Dual Camera with Dual OIS, Wide-angle: Super Speed Dual Pixel 12MP AF senor with OIS (F1.5/F2.4) and a 12MP AF sensor (F2.4) telephoto lens.

Samsung Galaxy S9 & S9+ Colour Shades

To power these cameras the phones are packed with 10nm, 64-bit, Octa-core processors, clocking at 2.7 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad and 2.8 GHz Quad + 1.7 GHz Quad. You will find a 3,000mAh battery in the S9 and 3,500mAh in the S9+. Fast wired and fast wireless charging are supported.

The Samsung Galaxy S9 comes with 4GB RAM and 64GB + Micro SD card slot and 6GB RAM, 128GB + Micro SD slot on the S9+. Both can have their storeage expanded up to 400GB.

Both phones will support a single and dual SIM card use, with network Enhanced 4X4 MIMO / CA, LAA, LTE Cat.18 coverage. Connectivity specifics include a USB type-C, NFC, Wi-Fi 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac (2.4/5GHz), VHT80 MU-MIMO, 1024QAM, Bluetooth® v 5.0 (LE up to 2Mbps), ANT+ and location (GPS, Galileo, Glonass, BeiDou).

The biometric lock for fingerprint unlocking has been moved to the back of each device and intelligent scan, face recognition including iris scanning will allow users to unlock complete hands free.

Finally, both the Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ will support the following media formats for both audio and video:

  • Audio:  MP3, M4A, 3GA, AAC, OGG, OGA, WAV, WMA, AMR, AWB, FLAC, MID, MIDI, XMF, MXMF, IMY, RTTTL, RTX, OTA, APE, DSF, DFF
  • Video: MP4, M4V, 3GP, 3G2, WMV, ASF, AVI, FLV, MKV, WEBM

The Samsung Galaxy S9 and Samsung Galaxy S9+ have just been revealed by the company and move news and developments will be posted as they are announced. To stay up to date with all the news, keep reading VRFocus.

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VR Shooter Gunheart Releases Winter Update

The recent Winter Update to Gunheart has brought with it a number of changes that will make the co-op shooter all that more enjoyable and entertaining.

Gunheart screenshot

Built from the ground up for virtual reality (VR), Gunheart is a co-op shooter where players take on the role of robotic bounty hunters trying to make a fortune at the edge of the galaxy. This is done by battling through the bug infested frontier, blasting anything that moves and exploring rich locations, to complete bounties and earn cash to upgrade their rig. With the addition of the Winter Update, players will find a lot more bang for their buck thanks to numerous weapon changes and improvements.

Weapons are getting a progression system that will make each one feel more unique as you level them up from prolonged use. Mods will also ensure that players find each weapon more exciting, improving hit reactions and death animations which result in more satisfying kills. The Money Pumps in the videogame have also been revamped, giving players more strategy and interaction along with reducing the amount of down time during the game mode. Finally, as with any update, there are plenty of bug fixes and optimizations included to hopefully give players a smoother experience.

Gunheart screenshot 1

The full patch for the update are as follows:

  • Weapon leveling: unlock new and unique bonuses for your favorite weapons by using them successfully in combat.
  • Bonus challenges: new challenge system added to reward you with extra loot for completing the objectives across missions!
  • Default weapon mods: all weapons now have a signature modification that is applied as long as you have an open mod slot, increasing their utility as soon as you acquire them and offering more options as you unlock additional slots.
  • Money pumps overhaul: game mode has been revamped to offer much more strategy and interaction for players. It’s way more intense now, less down time, and a really great place to earn some extra cash + loot.
  • Hit reactions and death animations: we’ve spent a lot of time improving the responsiveness of dealing damage to enemies, improving the overall feel of combat fairly dramatically. Weapons such as the shotgun now have a much more satisfying blast back when landing the killing blow on an enemy.
  • Combo weapon re-balance: we’ve loosened the consumption rate on ammo and increased the odds of finding ammo throughout missions to ensure you have more opportunity to utilize your combo weapons.
  • CPU Optimizations: an experimental object culling technique has been added to improve CPU performance, especially notable on CPUs that may be previously bottlenecked on single core performance.
  • Buckets of bug fixes and tweaks to improve the overall experience!

Gunheart is currently available on Steam Early Access and via the Oculus store. It supports the HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality (MR) along with a range of play area configurations. If you want to know more about Gunheart you can read the VRFocus preview of the title.

Developer Drifter Entertainment released a short video where Creative Director Brian Murphy talks about some of the highlights from the update, which you can see for yourself below.

For more updates on Gunheart in the future, keep it reading VRFocus.