The Next@Acer event took place earlier today in New York City, with the company revealing several new products including a 360-degree camera called Holo 360. Also at the show was Starbreeze, showcasing six new virtual reality (VR) shorts set to be produced for future location based initiatives using the StarVR head-mounted display (HMD).
Bo Andersson-Klint, StarVR Chairman of the Board and Starbreeze CEO, as well as Brooks Brown, Starbreeze Global Director of VR, took to the stage to present the following experiences: Presenz, The Raft, Hero, Ape-X, Project Golem and Elementerra.
PresenZis a technology for immersive VR cinema made by Belgian company Nozon. It allows for interactive parallax in VR, delivering high quality blockbuster computer graphics (CG) with true immersive feeling.
“The Raft takes players on a thrilling cinematic adventure and comes from RED Interactive Agency,” states the official description. “Lured by an ancient treasure, a brave band of explorers make their way down an ominous river. Players must work together to navigate and protect their raft, but keeping it afloat is the least of their worries. As they venture deeper into the mysterious jungle, various creatures will be attacking them and wreaking havoc to the raft. Only resourceful, coordinated teams will reach the prize, while others will be lost forever to realities unknown.”
Hero comes from iNK Stories creating a first-person rescue experience that throws players into the volatile streets of the civilian warzone in Syria. As a volunteer rescue worker, alongside your trusted canine companion, players are called upon to enter their own journey.
Ape-X from Lucky Hammers, has players fighting for survival and freedom atop a towering building. Finding themselves 500 meters above the city street as a 12-ton cyber APE named, Big Mike, they must listen closely to the Doctor’s instructions in order to survive and gain your freedom. With 360-degrees of mobility players have to shuffle around the building ledge in order to avoid being spotted, then blast and swat guard drones out of the sky.
Project Golem features another giant robot mech, this time fighting off an alien invasion threatening the world.
Elementerra is a social VR world-building puzzle game, that takes place amidst a cosmic event of the cataclysmic sort. The player will be able to take on the role of a god-like deity and assist the population of the universe to rebuild the planets.
There’s been no confirmation of launch dates, when there is VRFocus will bring you the announcement.
Today computer manufacturer Acer has been holding a special showcase event called Next@Acer. As you’d expect from the company there’s been plenty of laptop and PC focused announcements with some surprise reveals as well. Acer is now entering the burgeoning 360-degree camera market with its own vision, the Holo 360.
For Holo 360 the company has taken a completely different route to those of its rivals like Samsung Gear 360, Insta360 or Ricoh for example. The Holo 360 doesn’t connect to a smart device to provide a screen or controls, everything is built-in. Described in the presentation as a ‘swiss army knife’, the camera does all the processing, editing, and sharing, with a touchscreen, Wi-Fi and 4G LTE available, so users could even use it to make calls. It should also connect to services like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, LinkedIn, and Pinterest.
Acer hasn’t yet released the exact specifications for the Holo 360, so details such as battery life, storage capacity and lens quality are still unknown. With a device that looks as big as the Holo 360 – almost resembling a smartphone – the likelihood of some decent internal memory is promising.
Availability and price are two more aspects Acer has kept quiet on. While the product will likely launch in the next few months, where the company aims the market price at will be crucial. Most consumer focused 360-degree cameras seem to hover around the £200 – £350 price point, if Acer go any higher than that it’s going to hit the prosumer market like the Vuze VR Camera.
As VRFocus learns more about the Holo 360, we’ll bring you further details
Acer's 2017 press event is nearly upon us, and we're expecting news about Chromebooks, VR, laptops, gaming-focused desktops, monitors, and more. Here's how to watch it, and what to expect.
Die StarVR Brille von Starbreeze war zur Vorstellung auf der E3 2015 eindeutig seiner Zeit voraus. Die Entwickler hatten der Brille Displays mit einer Auflösung von insgesamt 5120 × 1440 Pixel spendiert und das Team schaffte mit einer speziellen Bauweise ein Field of View von 210 Grad. Doch im Jahr 2015 waren die nackten Spezifikationen auch das Highlight der Brille, denn in vielen anderen Bereichen musste sich das VR Produkt der Konkurrenz geschlagen geben. Mittlerweile haben jedoch auch Acer und IMAX ihre Finger bei der StarVR Brille im Spiel und wie ein Bericht von Road to VR zeigt, soll sich die Brille in den letzten Monaten signifikant verbessert haben.
5K VR Brille jetzt mit Low-Persistence
Eine wichtige Neuerung ist die Verwendung der Low-Persistence Technik, welche das Verschmieren des Bildes bei Kopfbewegungen verhindert. Bei diesem Verfahren wird der entsprechende Frame nur kurz angezeigt und anschließend wird es dunkel, bis der nächste Frame bereitsteht. Da das Anschalten und Ausschalten aber extrem schnell geht, bekommt unser Auge diesen Umstand nicht mit. Aktuell setzen alle VR Brille für Konsumenten auf die Low-Persistence Technik.
Generell setzt Starbreeze beim Display aber weiterhin auf ein Display mit 62Hz und nicht auf ein Display mit 90Hz oder 120Hz wie die Mitbewerber. Wer also empfindlich gegenüber Flackern ist, der wird sich am aktuellen Display stören. Die Erfinder wollen aber demnächst ein Display mit einer höheren Bildwiederholungsrate verbauen.
Auf der letzten VRLA zeigte Starbreeze den Prototypen mit einem Tracking-System von PhaseSpace, welches leider auf der Messe nicht überzeugen konnte, da es sehr anfällig war. Theoretisch könnte Starbreeze aber zukünftig auch einfach auf die Technologie von Valve zurückgreifen, denn Valve verlangt keine Gebühren für eine Lizenz des Lighthouse-Systems.
Doch technische Daten erzählen immer nur die halbe Wahrheit und deshalb ist der persönliche Eindruck von Road to VR extrem spannend. Das Magazin schreibt, dass die StarVR Brille (in Verbindung mit dem gezeigten Content) bereits heute zeigt, wie wir uns die Zukunft von Virtual Reality vorstellen. Ein riesiges Field of View, kein Fliegengitter und Content, der in einer extrem guten Qualität daherkommen soll.
Aktuell möchte sich Starbreeze mit der Brille noch auf den Arcade-Markt und auf die Installationen in den IMAX Centern konzentrieren, doch ein zukünftiger Release für Konsumenten ist nicht ausgeschlossen. Die derzeitige Hardware beschreibt das Unternehmen aber weiterhin als Development Kit und deshalb wird es noch einige Zeit dauern, bis ein fertiges Produkt verfügbar ist.
Voraussichtlich wird in diesem Jahr eine neue Konsole von Microsoft erscheinen, die aktuell noch als Xbox Scorpio bezeichnet wird. Die neue Konsole soll neue Maßstäbe setzen, echtes 4K Gaming ermöglichen und im Jahr 2018 Mixed Reality Inhalte erhalten. Welche VR Brillen die Scorpio unterstützen wird ist aktuell noch offen und wir werden wohl frühstens zur E3 im Juni neue Informationen erhalten. Phil Spencer, Leiter der Xbox-Abteilung, überbringt aber schon vorher eine frohe Botschaft.
Keine exklusiven VR Titel
Während Oculus und Sony auf exklusive Deals mit Entwicklern setzen, sagt Valve, dass man keine Entwickler zu einer Exklusivität zwingt. Das Microsoft bei der Xbox generell auch auf exklusive Inhalte setzt, ist nichts Neues und wir gingen eigentlich davon aus, dass es bei den VR Inhalten ähnlich aussehen wird. Gegenüber Gamasutra hat Spencer jedoch nun gesagt, dass es für Entwickler keine gute Entscheidung sei, sich auf eine Plattform festzulegen. Seiner Meinung nach sind alle aktuellen Plattformen zu klein und deshalb sei eine Exklusivität für die Entwickler nur nachteilig. Spancer bestätigt außerdem, dass Microsoft keine exklusiven Deals mit Entwicklern schließen wird.
Im Vergleich zu Sony hat Microsoft aber auch leicht Reden, denn Microsoft profitiert natürlich auch von einer Veröffentlichung auf dem PC und möglichst für Windows 10. Sony hingegen ist darauf angewiesen, dass die eigene Plattform ein paar besondere Anreize bieten kann. Die Aussagen von Spencer lassen außerdem vermuten, dass die bekannten Brillen für den PC auch mit der Xbox verwendbar seien könnten, denn Spencer sagt, dass die Scorpio nicht separat von VR für Windows 10 agieren wird, denn die kreativsten Ideen werden laut Spencer für den PC veröffentlicht.
Acer is rolling out its Predator 21 X laptop for deep-pocketed PC gamers, sporting a $9,000 starting price and two GTX 1080 chips in SLI. It also packs a 21-inch curved display supporting G-Sync tech and a WFHD resolution.
Im letzten Jahr kündigte Microsoft mit dem Creators Update einen direkten Support von Windows für Mixed Reality Brillen oder Virtual Reality Brillen an. Gleichzeitig versprach Microsoft, dass das System mit unterschiedlichen Brillen genutzt werden kann, welche speziell für Windows 10 entwickelt werden. Die angekündigten Brillen scheinen zwar noch nicht in greifbarer Nähe, doch Microsoft wird dennoch das entsprechende Update für Windows 10 im kommenden Monat ausrollen.
Mixed Reality Support für Windows startet im April
Eventuell ist diese Strategie von Microsoft durchaus clever, da die ersten Kinderkrankheiten bis zum finalen Release der Brille ggf. ausgebügelt werden können. Microsoft möchte mit der Mixed Reality Version von Windows 10 euch ein neues Wohnzimmer und einen neuen Arbeitsplatz bieten, in dem ihr alle Anwendung erreichen, News abfragen und Content erstellen könnt. Das Unternehmen legt dabei auch einen besonderen Fokus auf die Erstellung von 3D Objekten im virtuellen Raum. Diverse kreative Programme haben bereits gezeigt, dass die Menschen gerne in VR basteln und malen und deshalb wird eines der bekanntesten Programme in diesem Bereich auch eine VR Umsetzung erhalten. Die Rede ist natürlich von Paint, welches mit dem neuen Update zu Paint 3D wird.
Wenn das Update verfügbar ist, sollt ihr die entsprechenden Anwendungen auch mit der Oculus Rift und der HTC Vive starten können. Eine echte Integration in das Windows 10 System wird es aber nicht geben und somit bleiben euch viele Funktionen noch vorenthalten. Ob Sich dieser Umstand zeitnah ändern wird, ist leider fraglich.
In my last VRFocusarticle from September, I stressed the importance of Virtual Reality (VR) applications in focusing on usefulness and superseding reality. Then going on to highlight how content should be delivered via accessible (cheap and easy-to-use) hardware such as VR headsets connected to media boxes (e.g., Netflix) to reach mass market adoption.
Well, cases of such VR hardware are coming into play this year: Microsoft announced their VR OEM Windows “Mixed Reality” headset plans last year (previously called “Holographic”) and just provided more details at Game Developers Conference in San Francisco, beginning with key partnerships with Dell, Acer, Lenovo as well as launching their developers kits. These easy-to-setup and more affordable devices have the potential to become a home accessory for the mass market (I am not covering the gaming or B2B industries, nor their customer base or high spec VR & Augmented Reality (AR) hardware in this article, and therefore not referring to those).
The headsets don’t require external trackers and instead use their on-board sensors to provide indoor tracking, as well as other technologies, to enable what Microsoft has coined ‘6 Degrees of Freedom’. Although they are still tethered – for the moment at least as the wireless technology has been changing a lot in the past few months with cheaper solutions being offered by many different providers – their setup seems to be as simple as plug and play.
Microsoft announcing their VR headsets in 2016
Although their specifications are yet to be announced, at a price point of $300 one would hope they will be sold as bundles with new laptops and desktop computers. Indeed, as they are OEM and therefore built and distributed by computer manufacturing partners such as HP, Dell, Lenovo and more, it would make sense for Dell (as an example) to sell them as a PC with VR headset bundle this upcoming Christmas season. However, they could also lower the margins so much so that when someone is shopping for a computer the additional cost to add a VR headset would be even lower.
Also, one can expect GPU/CPU requirements and parts costs to go down, especially for the screens and chipsets; therefore, this will dramatically increase the accessibility in terms of cost and lower spec PCs requirements in future versions.
Example of a Dell online purchase bundle options, VR coming soon too?
As part of the Microsoft developer community, the Windows “Mixed Reality” or “Holographic” developer program also offers the promise of attracting an enormous pool of Microsoft developers to develop news apps, as well as extensions and browsers toolkits.
Perhaps the most important aspect here is the potential for the Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets to become a home accessory sitting next to one’s printer. Imagine you are browsing a website and there is a VR button to visualise the items on your basket at their real size or to watch a preview of a potential holiday; one would just click, put the headset on, experience the products and services, then remove or continue to finish your purchase in the VR mode!
The headset could become a tool which improves the customer journey experience, especially in terms of e-commerce – this is where there is truly mass-market adoption potential. Therefore, I don’t believe these VR headsets will be purchased by the mass market as a gaming or entertainment device (unlike the headsets which would be twinned with media boxes or gaming consoles, but also the Windows “Mixed Reality” VR which will be compatible with the Xbox gaming console), but instead as a tool being used sporadically to improve the internet browsing experience or through some VR apps experiences.
The browsing experience will also be seamless, with VR call to action buttons integrated within existing browsers – such as Internet Explorer – to create a seamless experience. We’ve already seen Google integrating VR functionalities in its’ Chrome browser and, therefore, it seems logical that Microsoft Explorer will also have these VR integrations. Given that there is a whole VR/Augmented Reality (AR) Windows Mixed Reality integrated development platform, we will be sure to see more and more AR, Mixed Reality (MR) and VR integrated features within the Windows Operating System and its’ core applications, such as Explorer, Apps, Office, Skype, LinkedIn and more.
At this stage, VR becomes part of the e-commerce customer journey which, amazingly, extends into an AR/MR/VR/Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Internet of Things (IoT)/Wearables circle:
A customer uses a mobile or wearable Augmented/Mixed Reality device to gain more information in a shop about a product or location, or just special offers. To do that, AI computer vision and IoT provide more information about the product whilst also learning about the customer’s behaviour. While doing this, an updated 3D pointcloud of the shop and the product has been scanned. All this information can be used in a Virtual Reality version of the shop by another customer who is shopping fully or partly in VR (i.e., browser mode).
Of course, more detailed scanning and updates will also be carried over by specific staff (and drones) in shops, with the VR versions will be customised and adapted using machine learning to deliver a personalised experience.
On the AR and MR side, which company is better positioned to provide cloud point data and then a VR rendering and version of a location such as a business? The answer is a company who has had AR products tested long before the current wave of AR and VR buzz.
Google
It seems logical that Google will be (or already is?) a central provider of those AR cloudpoints through existing data; but also of AR wearables and mobile devices, such as the hybrid DayDream/Tango phones like the Asus Zenfone AR. It’s also logical that it will release a successor to the Glass product for the mass market, since it arguably has the most experience in that area (with companies like ODG, a very experienced AR glasses maker).
ASUS ZenFone AR with Google Daydream integration
Also, bear in mind that there is already a VR version of Google Earth on Steam for the HTC Vive, which shows that having Google Maps VR is not far-fetched at all and that all AR scanning would update outdoor and indoor datasets. Google also has relationships with businesses that are mapped and on the internet through its’ SEO; this provides a great advantage for existing information and relationships to integrate those within the AR/MR information systems, as well as VR e-commerce experiences.
This illustrates how close and connected AR/MR and VR have become, as well as how intrinsic AI, IoT & wearables technologies are to the whole system.
From a hardware perspective, it also shows that Microsoft Mixed Reality VR OEM headsets are not the only potential mass market devices; it seems logical that future Google Daydream VR headsets and their wearable AR products will be fully integrated with Google Tango phones as a hybrid (beyond the current two modes in one phone).
Therefore, Google and Microsoft will have strong multi-platform AR/VR capabilities that harness their operating systems, technologies and ecosystems.
Most importantly, this means the Omni channel strategy for brands and marketers is more streamlined and effective if they ensure they harness those AR/MR/AI/IoT/Wearables interactions and prepare accordingly.
Consequently, instead of calling this a ‘circle’ or a ‘system’, it seems to be more a strategic AR/MR/VR vision relying on a product/service’s ‘omni-channel presence’ or ‘omnichannel realities’.
To prepare for their presence on those various technologies, brands and agencies must prepare for seamless integrations of AR and VR features within their marketing and e-commerce channels. It starts, for example, with adopting 3D scanning technologies to make the products available for visualisation, as well as to integrate those assets for narrated/interactive marketing experiences. However, these are not simple integrations as they require different skillsets and product management systems.
Also, by making products available in 3D, their design is out in the open, which is no different from stocking a product physically in a shop for a customer to observe. However, the most conservative brands may be slower to accept this, although they will eventually be required to adapt.
These are exciting times to prepare the grounds for augmented customer journeys, in which the focus really comes back to usefulness and personalisation.
I don’t believe in providing more information to visitors/customers in augmented shops or on e-commerce websites with VR functionalities, but instead a more seamless and customised information delivery system providing much higher satisfaction and conversion rates.
Microsoft announced last year that they were partnering with device makers Acer, ASUS, Dell, HP, Lenovo, and 3Glasses to create a range of headsets for use with Mixed-Reality compatible Windows PCs. Now Microsoft has revealed that the Acer development version of the headset will begin roll-out this month.
Microsoft development partners who attended the Windows Mixed Reality session at GDC this week are set to receive the Acer developer edition headset within the next few months. Other Windows game developers can sign up via the Windows Mixed Reality website.
Specifications for the Acer Windows Mixed Reality headset are as follows:
Two high-resolution liquid crystal displays at 1440 x 1440
Display refresh rate up to 90 Hz (native)
Built-in audio out and microphone support through 3.5mm jack
Single cable with HDMI 2.0 (display) and USB 3.0 (data) for connectivity
The development kit will also include documentation, access to Windows 10 Insider preview builds and a software development kit for building mixed reality applications.
VRFocus will provide you with further information on Windows Mixed Reality as it becomes available.
