Augmented & Virtual Reality Confabulation
What Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality developers are talking about
OLED laptops came and went, but now they're back. Along with a new version of the 15-inch Blade gaming laptop, Razer brought two more futuristic gaming laptops: One with an OLED panel and one with a super-fast 240Hz display.
The post The Razer Blade of the future could feature OLED screen, 240Hz refresh rate appeared first on Digital Trends.
Computing giant NVIDIA has got in early for CES 2019, holding the first major press event for the tech show today. Recently the company has chosen conferences to highlight the work it has been doing on AI and autonomous cars, rather than gaming. That’s been flipped on its head today with CEO Jensen Huang purely focusing on gaming, and in particular Ray Tracing. Huang has previously announced the RTX series designed to provide Ray Tracing for gamers, with today’s reveal being the new GeForce RTX 2060.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 is the baby of the 20 series range, yet still offers a powerhouse of a GPU when it comes to graphical processing, whether that’s on a standard screen or in virtual reality (VR). Specs revealed so far reveal the RTX 2060 has 52T Tensor Flops, can do 5 GigaRay’s / Sec, and has 6GB G6 RAM built in. What’s more impressive is the price, the GPU will retail for a wallet-friendly $349 USD.
Huang really has been touting the impressive visual quality of Ray Tracing, a technique that will help videogames look even more realistic. Most of the demos have showcased how good reflections look, whether that’s in glass, a puddle, or a shiny surface, each managing to replicate the scenery around it.
And it’s not just Huang who’s excited:
“GeForce RTX has made real-time ray tracing a reality,” said Epic Games founder and CEO Tim Sweeney in a blog statement. ”By making RTX technology available in Unreal Engine 4, we are shaping the future of game graphics.”
“Real-time Ray Tracing moves real-time graphics significantly closer to realism, opening the gates to global rendering effects never before possible in real-time domain,” said Natalya Tatarchuk, vice president of graphics at Unity Technologies.
So what does this mean for VR? Well right away not a great deal. Real-time ray-traced reflections will first be seen in Battlefield V which is due this October. As developers get used to the tech, and GPU’s supporting it become more ubiquitous then it’ll trickle into VR where it should make immersive experiences even prettier.
The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 will launch next week on 15th January. For any further updates form the company, keep reading VRFocus.
HTC dropped a big hint recently that the company has new VR gear to show off at CES 2019, and we may be getting a first-hand look during a special press event that’s taking place Monday.
The event is scheduled to take place on Monday, January 7th at 1 PM PST (local time here) here at CES in Las Vegas.
HTC tweeted earlier in the week that “[t]he cases are packed with some new gear we can’t wait to unbox for you.” The picture attached to the tweet shows a number of boxes; one in the lower left-hand corner prominently features a blurred out label.
While we’re none the wiser what’s in the box, it could be related to the ‘Vive Cosmos’ headset trademark the company filed a few months ago, which is supposed to be the name of a VR headset.
At CES 2018, HTC held a similar press event that saw the unveiling of Vive Pro, the pricey prosumer headset that introduced a number of critical refinements including higher resolution displays, better ergonomics, and SteamVR 2.0 tracking.
We’ll be attending, so tune in for our liveblog, which will be posted below a few minutes before the clock strikes 1PM PST.
The post HTC Holding Special VR Press Event Monday at 1 PM PST appeared first on Road to VR.
NVIDIA co-founder & CEO Jensen Huang took the stage today at the company’s CES 2019 press conference, issuing a strong claim that four million PC VR headsets have been sold to date.
Update (January 7th, 2019): Nvidia told Road to VR that the figure was the result of data compiled by analytics firm ABI. The original article follows below.
Original Article (January 6th, 2019): The two largest PC VR headset manufacturers, Oculus and HTC, have been cagey on providing sales numbers, although GPU manufacturer Nvidia might have a pretty good line on how many headsets have been sold since consumer PC VR came to market in early 2016.
While the provenance of the figure isn’t clear at this time, Huang seemed to imply, but didn’t outright state, that it was based on the company’s own analytics, which would make it a much more accurate figure than a mere estimate. (see update)
Aside from Nvidia’s own data, the figure could have come from official data shared by the company’s VR hardware partners, or be an analyst estimate.
It’s import to note that GeForce Experience, the company’s software suite, already detects your computer’s hardware to determine if it meets the ‘VR Ready’ specification. It might also provide Nvidia with the information about which displays customers are plugging into their GPUs, which could include whether a VR headset has been plugged in or not—an important part of the equation considering Nvidia makes up such a significant percentage of the GPU industry’s market share.
We’ve reached out to Nvidia to clarify the source of the four million PC VR number, and will update when we hear back.
We have feet on the ground at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. We’ll be reporting on all the latest AR/VR news this week, so check back soon.
The post NVIDIA Claims 4 Million PC VR Headsets Sold appeared first on Road to VR.
It’s the best time of year for tech fans with CES 2019 just around the corner, companies across the globe are revealing their very latest products. Chinese virtual reality (VR) headset manufacturer Pico has done just that by unveiling the Pico G2 4K, an uprated standalone head-mounted display (HMD) based on the Pico G2.
The Pico G2 range is part of the company’s initiative to enter the enterprise market rather than solely focus on the consumer industry, hoping to increase its share by improving the visual quality to 4K.
Other additions that showcase the Pico G2 4K’s enterprise functionality and customizable features include:
“VR and AR continue to grow on the consumer-level, but we feel there’s far more untapped potential in using these cutting-edge technologies to elevate businesses behind-the-scenes. The use cases for VR and AR are limitless and we aim to help businesses realize this with our products including the Pico G2 and Pico G2 4K headsets,” said Henry Zhou, CEO of Pico Interactive, Inc. in a statement. “We are carving out our own identity as a leading enterprise VR and AR hardware manufacturer while expanding the overall market by providing tailored products and options few of our competitors provide at this point.”
Companies using Pico’s VR and AR hardware in enterprise settings including VRtuoso, OperaVR, Limbix, In-Flight VR, Vivid Vision, NuEyes, and VRCoaster. Another is FlixBus, a bus service that began in Europe which recently expanded to the US and now offers VR experiences by way of Pico headsets on certain long distance routes.
The Pico G2 4K will be available in North America in the first half of 2019. Details regarding other territories aren’t currently available. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
HTC veröffentlichte kürzlich ein ominöses Foto per Twitter, welches auf neue VR-Hardware für die HTC Vive verweist. Ein mittlerweile klassisches Vorgehen des Unternehmens, denn bereits im letzten Jahr wurde auf ähnlichem Wege zur CES 2018 die HTC Vive Pro angekündigt.
Die Koffer sind für die anstehende CES 2019 gepackt. Zumindest bei HTC, wie das Unternehmen per Twitter verkündet:
The truck is loaded and we’re excited be on our way to #CES2019. The cases are packed with some new gear we can’t wait to unbox for you. Keep tuned to @htcvive social media during CES for announcements, news and daily coverage. #HTCVIVE #VIVEPORT pic.twitter.com/lkwKE7plPw
— HTC VIVE (@htcvive) January 3, 2019
Mit diesem Foto teasen die Social-Media-Verantwortlichen des Unternehmens derzeit die Community. Innerhalb des Bildes sind drei große Boxen zu sehen, die vielversprechenden Inhalt in sich tragen. So sind die Aufschriften Vive, Viveport und ein neues Logo zu sehen, welches absichtlich unkenntlich gemacht wurde.
Die Spekulationen über den möglichen Inhalt sind damit eröffnet. Besonders die dritte Box könnte auf ein völlig neues Produkt hinweisen. Heiße Kandidaten sind derzeit die Vive Gloves, also neue Handcontroller für ein immersiveres Steuerungserlebnis in VR, da man den Schriftzug noch leicht erkennen kann. Auch Vive Cloud wäre vorstellbar. Zu bedenken sei ebenso, dass HTC erst kürzlich die neue Trademark Vive Cosmos eingetragen hat. Ob uns also eine neue VR-Brille als Konkurrenzprodukt zur kommenden Oculus Quest erwartet?
Wir werden uns noch etwas in Geduld üben müssen, bis die Verantwortlichen ihre neue VR-Hardware nächste Woche der Öffentlichkeit präsentieren werden. Die Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2019 findet vom 8. bis 12. Januar in Nevada in den Vereinigten Staaten statt.
(Quellen: Road to VR | HTC Vive Twitter)
Der Beitrag HTC kündigt neue VR-Hardware für Vive zur CES 2019 an zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Last year HTC teased the VR world ahead of CES 2018 about what would become the announcement of the Vive Pro. Now the company is at it again, promising “new gear” that will be revealed at CES 2019 next week.
We’re a little less than a week from the start of CES 2019, the massive annual consumer tech show in Vegas. Road to VR will be boots on the ground once again to bring you the most important developments, including whatever HTC has up their sleeve.
Last year it was the reveal of the Vive Pro, the pricey but otherwise well refined headset that launched later in the year. This year something else is cooking, and HTC took to Twitter to tease us ahead of a reveal next week:
“The truck is loaded and we’re excited be on our way to #CES2019. The cases are packed with some new gear we can’t wait to unbox for you,” the tweet reads.
Notably, the three big crates shown in the photo represent Vive, Viveport, and a third one which is Vive something, with the second word intentionally blurred out.
It’s a bit of a stretch, but the big blue Vive logo prop seen in the photo—with its starry center—reminds us of the ‘Vive Cosmos’ headset trademark the company filed in late 2018. Indeed, the blurred wording on the third create looks like it could read COSMOS in all caps, but it’s tough to say definitely.
More importantly than what the crate says is what’s inside. HTC could be revealing a consumer-ready standalone headset to compete with Oculus’ upcoming Quest headset. HTC of course already has the Vive Focus, though it’s long remained a dev kit everywhere but China where it launched almost a year ago. The bulky 6DOF controller dev kit add-on for the Focus tells us too that the headset wasn’t designed with 6DOF hand input in mind—a defining feature of Quest—which will need to be more seamlessly integrated to compete with Oculus’ offering.
HTC is not expected to reveal a new PC VR headset this soon, unless it turns out the company is collaborating once again with Valve on the recently leaked headset, as they did in the first place with the original Vive. Plausible, but unlikely for CES next week by our reading.
We’ll be at CES to find out exactly what HTC is showing, stay tuned!
The post HTC Teases New Vive Gear to be Revealed at CES Next Week appeared first on Road to VR.
Hand tracking has the ability to offer even more lifelike virtual reality (VR) experiences by removing controllers and simply engaging your hands directly. When it comes to this type of technology Leap Motion is one of the more well-known companies, manufacturing a small USB powered device that goes on the front of devices to track users hands. Clay AIR Inc. is another working in the same field but taken a different approach, developing gesture recognition software that’s hardware-agnostic.
Clay AIR has announced a collaboration with Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. to provide OEMs with interaction technology to accelerate adoption of augmented reality (AR) and VR devices.
Thanks to the software being hardware-agnostic, Clay AIR works with several types of hardware inputs, individually or together like 2D RGB Cameras, near infrared (IR), TOF sensors and Fisheye cameras, making it compatible with a range of headsets.
“We are at the very beginning of an exciting shift in the way that we interact with devices,” said Thomas Amilien, Co-Founder and CEO of Clay AIR in a statement. “Users will soon be able to use their own hands to interact in real time with virtual reality, without the continuous need for handheld controllers, all with the help of our hand tracking software.”
“Transforming the AR & VR industry, enabling the ecosystem and our customers, continues to be Qualcomm’s priority and Clay AIR’s solution embodies that,” Hiren Bhinde, director, product management, Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Innovations like Clay AIR’s software are rapidly propelling the AR & VR industry and opening new possibilities for OEMs, developers, and consumers.”
The problem hand tracking has had is its lack of consistency, breaking immersion when the tracking glitches or you lose a finger. Clay AIR will be demoing its technology on the Qualcomm stand during CES 2019 next month in Las Vegas. VRFocus will be there at the event to report on all the new tech being showcased, and will take a look at Clay AIR to find out if its hardware-agnostic solution works as well as promised.
If you’ve ever dived right into an intense virtual reality (VR) experience – especially when new to the technology – then it’s likely you’ve experienced some form of motion sickness, and it’s not a nice feeling at all. Well, what if you suffered from dizziness and balance disorders on a regular basis, without the assistance of VR. That’s where immersive technology specialist Scale-1 Portal comes in with a new therapy called MoveR.
An application dedicated to vestibular rehabilitation therapy, MoveR is purely intended for health professionals, with the project aided by Thierry Guillot, a physiotherapist specialized in balance disorders.
Using 3D glasses rather than a headset, MoveR offers two experiences which are controlled live by the professional operator. Using a touchscreen they are able to direct these scenarios in order to adapt them to the patient.
The system aims to reduce visual dependence in disorders related to a users balance, so the two experiments generate a sensory conflict in order to make greater use of somesthesia and the vestibular system. One of the experiences is much more interactive than the other, encouraging patients to perform movements in response to the physician’s choices. For example, trying to catch virtual objects or avoid obstacles along a scrolling path.
Scale-1 Portal will be at CES 2019 to showcase MoveR to a global audience, having first installed it at the “Pôle Vertiges et Équilibre” (Vertigo and Balance Center) on 13th November, where more than 30 people have been able to test the product. For any further updates from Scale-1 Portal, keep reading VRFocus.
The CES show in Las Vegas, Nevada, is the biggest technology show on the planet and it’ll be opening its doors for another week of high tech debuts in a few weeks time. While some companies like to leave their announcements to the last minute, others are more than happy to reveal an early preview. Just like Croatian hardware manufacturer Orqa, which will be using CES 2019 to showcase its latest headset, the FPV.One.
The FPV.One headset isn’t the normal virtual reality (VR) device you’d find on VRFocus, it’s a first-person viewing platform designed for remote reality applications, like the increasingly popular drone racing sport or other remotely operated vehicles (ROVs).
Orqa is currently building its design around premium MOLED panels by Sony Semiconductor Solutions Group. The FPV.One features a 44-degree field-of-view (FOV), a resolution of 1280 x 960, MicroSD card slot to store footage, IPD and lens to eye distance adjustment, and a switchable de-fogging fan.
“The Orqa technology roadmap is a game-changer across the entire existing FPV technology stack, enabling more immersive experiences and more advanced FPV/RR applications the world has never seen before,” said Srdjan Kovacevic, CEO, Orqa in a statement. “Orqa will be a top-tier technology brand, targeting the most demanding applications in drone racing and competitive freestyle acro-flying. This second-to-none FPV technology portfolio will propel Orqa to the top of the emerging Remote Reality market.”
Details including the actual price of the FPV.One and its launch date have yet to be revealed. VRFocus will be at CES 2019 to get a closer look at the headset, a side of the market that gaining more fans who want to race as well as spectate.
