Apollo 11 VR – Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation

October 25, 2019

VR Education’s ENGAGE Platform Selected for Oculus ISV Programme

VR Education Holdings, the group best known for the Apollo 11 VR and the Titanic VR experiences also released a proprietary virtual reality (VR) education platform at the end of 2018 called ENGAGE. Today, the company has announced that the platform has been selected by Facebook for its Oculus Independent Software Vendors (ISV) programme.

Working with enterprise developers and software companies, the Oculus ISV programme looks to accelerate customer adoption of VR solutions built for Oculus enterprise products. In conjunction with Oculus for Business, during 2020 VR Education Holdings expects to make ENGAGE available to Oculus enterprise clients via a special portal, accessing its specialised training and education solutions.

“It is fantastic to be chosen by Facebook to help accelerate the wider adoption of VR globally. Oculus has an amazing technology platform and ENGAGE is leading the way when it comes to distance learning and remote team collaboration. I see an extremely bright future for this technology with the release of high-end mobile devices, such as the Oculus Quest and the HTC Vive Focus, as well as the release of 5G high-speed mobile internet,” said David Whelan, CEO of VR Education in a statement.

“Business and enterprise will only adopt new technology when they see compelling advantages to doing so and ENGAGE is being developed to meet these business needs providing virtual meeting rooms and training scenarios which save customers time and money. To date, adoption of VR/AR has been steady, however with Facebook, HTC, O2, Deutsche Telekom and many others all now working towards the growth of 5G and AR/VR, we believe that will see an acceleration of adoption over the next 18 to 24 months,” Whelan adds.

ENGAGE was developed to overcome certain limitations of online courses and traditional learning methods, allowing users to collaborate on tasks remotely, create new content and learn in VR. Since the official launch last year the ENGAGE team has gone on to secure various commercial deals in the US and Korea with educational institutions. There are also negotiations still ongoing with several large multinationals to provide enterprise solutions to their workers.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of the latest advancements in educational VR, reporting back with further updates.

December 14, 2018

Titanic VR Developer VR Education Release Learning Platform ENGAGE

Thanks to its IPO in March which raised £6 million GBP, VR Education Holdings not only managed to fund projects like Titanic VR, but also further develop its proprietary VR education platform, ENGAGE. Today, the company has announced the launch of version 1.0 for commercial use.

Titanic VR image

This initial release of ENGAGE supports HTC Vive, Oculus Rift and Windows Mixed Reality headsets with devices such as the Oculus Go, Vive Focus and Google DayDream to be added in the new year.

In development since 2015, ENGAGE has been designed to overcome certain aspects of online courses and traditional learning methods. The platform allows for virtual face-to-face education and training in a variety of environments regardless of the geographical location of the user, with one of its key components being the ability for educators and trainers to use the software to create their own VR lessons and presentations.

“The full release of ENGAGE is a transformational moment in our corporate history and is the result of many years of hard work, cutting-edge research and innovation,” said David Whelan, CEO of VR Education in a statement. “People today all over the world say let’s SKYPE when talking about online communications and meetings. In the future we want people to say let’s ENGAGE and enter VR to communicate in a more natural way.”

HTC Vive stock image 4

VR Education has already partnered with Nokia Corporation and Shenandoah University, with them testing the pre-release versions of the ENGAGE platform before signing up to commercial agreements. Intel is currently promoting the ENGAGE platform throughout the US as part of the Tech Learning Lab initiative which will be touring Europe and the UK soon.

“Although significant revenues are not expected to be generated from the ENGAGE platform until general adoption of VR and AR increases over the next two to three years, I am nonetheless delighted that both Nokia and Shenandoah University have signed commercial agreements. Being aligned to global leaders like these institutions demonstrates the potential and need for the platform,” Whelan adds.

And thanks to partnerships with the BBC, the University of Bristol, the University of Oxford and the University of New Haven, the content VR Education has helped create will immediately be available on the platform.

You can check out VR Education’s VR projects at home by downloading Titanic VR or Apollo 11 VR HD. For any further updates, keep reading VRFocus.

November 26, 2018

VR Education Upgrades Apollo 11 VR With HD Edition

While there have been lots of educational virtual reality (VR) experiences set in space (Overview, Spheres, Mission: ISS), one of the first to see notable acclaim was VR Education’s Apollo 11 VR. Today, the team has launched an improved ‘high definition’ version for an even more immersive and visually entertaining experience.

Apollo 11 VR originally launched back in 2016 when VR Education was a much smaller team, allowing users to experience the historic moon landings from the viewpoint of US astronaut Neil Armstrong.

The HD edition isn’t an update for the original. Due to the work done to improve the visuals users will need to purchase and download it separately.

“The original Apollo 11 VR showcase experience has been a great success, bringing additional revenue to the Group and also effectively showcasing our technology in advance of the launch of our ENGAGE platform in December 2018. Apollo 11 is still in demand across a variety of platforms and we are confident that this new HD version will stimulate further interest,” said David Whelan, CEO of VR Education in a statement.

“The original Apollo 11 was built when we had a small team of three working for the Group. This new version enhances the user experience greatly as we have had the time and expertise to give the experience a level of polish not achievable before, due to new technology and overall talent available at VR Education today. The coming year represents the 50th anniversary of the moonwalk and we believe Apollo 11 HD will be in high demand throughout the next 12 months and beyond.”

Currently, Apollo 11 VR HD can be downloaded via Steam for £9.99 GBP, supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive and Windows Mixed Reality headsets. The studio is working on a PlayStation VR version which should be ready in Q2 2019.

VR Education has revealed that as of 31st October 2018, the original Apollo 11 VR experience had been downloaded circa 145,000 times across all the various sales platforms. Check out the studio’s other VR project which recently arrived for all four headsets, Titanic VR. For any further updates form the company, keep reading VRFocus.

October 30, 2018

‘Apollo 11 VR’ Studio Partners with Shenandoah University to Create the Next Generation of VR Training Programs

Virginia’s Shenandoah University is the first in the state to offer a Bachelor of Arts and a Bachelor of Science in AR/VR design. To further round out the department’s facilities, the university announced it’s partnering with Immersive VR Education, the company behind VR experiences such as Apollo 11 VR (2016) and the VR learning platform Engage.

Engage is a full-featured social VR program that lets educators create multiuser VR training experiences and craft their own immersive lectures using a vast library of 3D assets, locations, and effects. It’s already been in use at a few colleges and universities worldwide, including University of Oxford, New Haven University, The Royal College of Surgeons, and corporations such as the BBC.

The partnership with Shenandoah is a little less about taking students on thrilling trips to the surface of Mars, or watching famous scientists give immersive lectures (both possible in Engage), and little more about letting students build virtual worlds and scenes that allow them to create simulated life experiences; the students’ ultimate goal is to create a five-minute immersive training experience for real-world clients.

Shenandoah University says in a press statement that these VR training experiences will aid businesses, law enforcement and emergency medical services “in everything from suicide prevention to simulations for communicating with patients of dementia.”

“Engage is going to move us so far beyond our brick and mortar here at Shenandoah. We’re going to have the ability to help companies and entities nationally. Rapid training and retraining of individuals is becoming essential. It’s important to be able to efficiently and cost-effectively train employees in the newest and best practices,” says Shenandoah Center for Immersive Learning (SCiL) Executive Director and Associate Professor of Theatre J.J. Ruscella, M.F.A.

The Ireland-based Immersive VR Education is known for their work on everything from realistic recreations of the Titanic to the 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing. The studio, which is a publicly traded company on both the London and Irish stock exchanges, also collaborated with the BBC on 1943: Berlin Blitz (2018), a World War II experience brought to life through VR.

“We are always very careful entering into partnerships of this kind because we need to be sure that whoever we team up with has the same vision for the future of VR education as we do,” says David Whelan, CEO and Co-founder of Immersive VR Education. “However, the drive and innovation Shenandoah has shown for the future of its students was palpable from the minute they reached out to us and we knew immediately this University and its students were a perfect fit for what our company has to offer.”

Engage has been in Steam Early Access since 2016, and represents an important step forward into the enterprise education space for the studio, as they intend on eventually releasing the platform for businesses, academic institutions, and singular users alike.

The post ‘Apollo 11 VR’ Studio Partners with Shenandoah University to Create the Next Generation of VR Training Programs appeared first on Road to VR.

October 19, 2018

HD Remaster of ‘Apollo 11 VR’ Coming to Vive, Rift & Windows VR Next Month

Apollo 11 VR (2016) is an educational experience that takes you on a breathtaking trip to the Moon, virtually recreating the July 24, 1969 mission that has inspired so many. The creators Immersive VR Education are taking Apollo 11 VR’s commitment to realism one step further though with their newly remastered version, dubbed Apollo 11 VR HD, which is now set to launch on Steam November 7th for Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and Windows VR headsets.

As the result of a successful Kickstarter in 2015 built for the Oculus Rift DK2, Apollo 11 VR was created with the mission to let VR users experience the first manned mission to the Moon, which includes a first-person interactive rocket launch, iconic lunar landing, and humanity’s first step on the Moon. The experience, which has since been made available for HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, stitches in original archival audio and video, not only giving you the first-hand experience of making the fateful trip yourself, but packing plenty of historical info along the way.

Apollo 11 VR HD is a complete remake, and includes all new assets, new textures, new animation, new lighting, revamped audio, and Windows MR support.

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Like the original, you’ll be able to take control of the command module for docking with the lunar module, land on the Moon’s surface, explore the Apollo 11 landing site and deploy the original experiment, and explore every detail of the lunar module and command module at your own pace. If you’re not in it for the gamey bits though, you’ll also be able to skip around the experience with a new chapter selector that let you pick which sections to experience.

Check out the side-by-side comparisons of the original vs. the new to see what Immersive VR Education has in store.

The post HD Remaster of ‘Apollo 11 VR’ Coming to Vive, Rift & Windows VR Next Month appeared first on Road to VR.

January 23, 2018

Make [Real] Announce new VR Videogame Pastimes for Pirates at XR Connects

Make [Real] are likely a familiar name to VRFocus readers. They created virtual reality (VR) videogame Loco Dojo and are a regular fixture around the VR scene in Britain. Sam Watts, Director of Immersive Technologies at Make [Real], has been heavily involved with VR in Brighton thanks to VRlab; as well as helping Roto VR allow developers to integrate native support and control over the VR chair’s motion directly into VR apps. Since then Make [Real] have also been creating various training simulations, as seen at the Great British VR event last year. They’ve also been supporting Immersive VR Education to bring their experience Apollo 11 to Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream from the Oculus Rift. VRFocus spoke with Watts about a new project for the studio – their new VR title Pastimes for Pirates at XR Connects, London.

Makereal_Pastimes_for_Pirates — All images and footage of Pastime for Pirates are placeholder art at this time.

So, you’re a pirate – swashbuckling merrily away on the seven seas. People hear tales of your escapades but only the parts where you’re boarding boats and plundering foreign lands. But what happens when you’re just trying to go from point A to point B? Well, besides the risk of getting scurvy, it’s all fun and games it turns out. Pastime for Pirates immerses you into that world of pirating (not the scurvy part) and re-invents it into a completely functioning pirate galleon, which you can fully explore in VR. You can either play online or offline, explore distinct areas of the ship and play various pub like games with friends or AI crewmates.

Taking a satirical twist on the ever-popular theme of pirating, Pastime for Pirates will give players a social space to explore and play in. Various mini-games exist on different parts of the ship. You’ll be able to throw darts, play a game of shuffleboard, skittles, try some knife or axe throwing and challenge your friends. Not only will you hear the ocean and the evil cackle of crewmates as they challenge you, but you can also just choose to just enjoy the ocean view.

Winning the mini-games you’ll be able to rack up various achievements and wealth, enabling you to spend on fancy, customisable wardrobe attire for your pirate avatar from hats and buckles to wooden legs. Pastime for Pirates will make use of 6DoF tracking motion controllers, a vibrant graphical style and plenty of seafaring sound effects.

To find out more watch the video below.

December 1, 2017

Loco Dojo Developer Sam Watts on Make[Real] and British VR

Level 39 in partnership with PwC, the London VR and AR Association organized the Great British VR where various companies working in virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR). A list of the companies that participated and a recap video can be found here. One of the companies VRFocus spoke to was Make Real’s Director of Immersive Technologies Sam Watts, who also happens to be voted the 12th most influential VR influencer on Twitter about what Make Real has been doing in the field of VR.

Make Real is the developer behind VR videogame Loco Dojo but it also focuses on corporate training. At Level 39 Make Real showcased a prototype training simulation VR experience for a global telecommunications company. Designed to showcase the long and treacherous climb maintenance crews have to take up mobile phone masts. The prototype acts as an outreach awareness program that allow other departments to understand the role and help change the concept that the job of maintenance crew is easy. The prototype can also be an actual health and safety training programme for maintenance crew members, with health and safety information that appears, spotting hazard interactions and testing of vertigo on the first floor of some scaffolding. If users are unable to handle the first floor, Watts explains that they wouldn’t bring them up the mobile phone mast. They do a sweat test when the user finishes, seeing how sweaty the controllers are to tell how terrified users were or how authentic the experience was. Built in the Oculus Rift, Make Real have showcased this around various events and Watts explains that like all people who try VR for the first time: “they suddenly have their head filled with ideas of things they could use it for.” Make Real try to workshop with clients to narrow down the focus to a valid use case, rather than using VR just for the sake of using VR.

Beside the fact they create VR videogames, work in finance big data as well as building training simulations, Make Real have also done some porting, supporting Immersive VR Education to bring Apollo 11 to Samsung Gear VR and Google Daydream from the Oculus Rift. Since setting up four years ago Make Real have grown from a team of four members to fifteen and are keen for standalone headsets to help reach the consumer market. Watch the video below to learn more about the Brighton VR community and Make Real.

August 29, 2017

Oculus Launches Two Discount Bundles for One Week Only

If you’ve been living under a rock you’ve probably missed this summers deals that Oculus has rolled out. Those that have been paying attention will have seen the Oculus Rift get $200 USD/ £200 GBP knocked off for a limited time (it’s still going), as well as plenty of content discounts. As August draws to a close the virtual reality (VR) company has veiled two new bundles, each with four games apiece.

First up is the Rift Summer Hits Pack. As you may expect these are four of the most popular videogames – so it’s great for new Oculus Rift owners – covering first-person shooters (FPS), role-playing games (RPGs) and some comedy gameplay. Included are: The Mage’s Tale by inXile Entertainment, Rick and Morty: Virtual Rick-ality and Job Simulator from Owlchemy Labs and Arizona Sunshine by Vertigo Games and Jaywalkers Interactive.

The Rift Summer Hits Pack retails for £69.99/$89.99, offering approximately 35 percent off the regular price of all four.

The Mages Tale screenshot 2

The second bundle is the Rift Essentials Pack, made as an introduction to VR for newbies. Here there’s The Climb by Crytek, Survios’ Raw Data, SUPERHOT VR and Apollo 11 VR. This bundle retails for £44.99/$59.99, offering the bigger discount of around 50 percent.

Both of these deals are only available for the next week, ending on 4th September 2017.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of Oculus Rift, reporting back with the latest offers.

August 24, 2017

Oculus Store Offering Back to School Gear VR Pack

Virtual reality (VR) has already seen a variety of uses in the training and education sector. Oculus are encouraging use of the Samsung Gear VR to help young people learn by offering a ‘Back To School’ pack featuring educational VR experiences for a significant discount.

Available in the Back to School pack through the Oculus Store are five VR experiences including:

Apollo 11 VR Mobile, available for 50% off as part of the bundle, this VR experience is a recreation of the events that led up the historic moon landing by the crew of the Apollo 11 spacecraft.

Unimersiv is also available for 50% discount, and is an educational app familiar to many teachers and educators which offers a large library of historical and scientific education VR ‘field trips.

Our Solar System is an educational trivia quiz designed to expand the knowledge on the solar system, including details of the formation of the planets and the different structures of each planet.

Feel – TheMustOfTheSea is an underwater experience designed to recreate what a trip underwater is like for an experiences scuba diver.

House of Languages VR offers a new way of learning languages such as English, German or Spanish, using the immersive environment of VR to teach in several different ways.

Apollo 11 VR Experience

The full pack is available for £9.99 (GBP). With just one of the available apps, Unimersiv, costing £7.99 without a discount, the bundle is something of a bargain.

Further details can be found on the Oculus Store.

VRFocus will continue to report on discounts and deals for VR products.

July 9, 2017

One Small Step Onto Gear VR For Apollo 11

Putting man on the moon is quite possibly mankind’s greatest technological achievement. It was a task that inspired the world technologically and a goal that inspired the world culturally. And even so many years after the fact the first reach out of man into space – that first, small step – continues to amaze and affect us.

Apollo 11 VR Mobile for Samsung Gear VR sees the history of NASA’s famed eleventh Apollo mission in 1969 brought to life in an interactive documentary. An educational experience made through a combination of archived audio between the astronauts and mission control, accurately recreated views inside and out of the capsule and lunar lander, and use of the data from the time. Any would be Buzz Aldrins or Neil Armstrongs can even take control of the craft during particular sequences.

Originally created with the assistance of a Kickstarter campaign and made popular online via a number of reaction videos and also available on both Steam and Viveport for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive, Apollo 11 VR also known as Apollo 11 Virtual Reality Experience is developed by Immersive VR Education Ltd, who are also responsible for educational platform ENGAGE and Titanic VR.

Apollo 11 VR Mobile for Gear VR is now available on the Oculus Store for £3.99 (GBP), you can see a trailer released by the developers below. VRFocus will bring you more news regarding Gear VR releases as we get them.