It’s been a very successful week for virtual reality (VR) companies raising funds with the likes of Fast Travel Games and MyDearest both completing multimillion rounds. Adding to that list is Virti, a specialist in providing training solutions to organisations which has just secured $10 million USD in a Series A funding round.
Led by IQ Capital, the $10m round also saw the participation of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center and a new, UK-based learning technology VC fund. Thanks to the funding raise Virti will be able to continue its international growth whilst researching and developing new technologies to improve its training platform. That growth has seen Virti’s revenues grow 978% in the past year as well as doubling the company’s workforce.
Virti’s technology helps organisations train staff on various skills such as communication, teamwork and decision-making under pressure using interactive simulations and AI-powered data analysis. Companies can even build their own bespoke training modules using its cloud-based, no-code simulation creation suite. These modules are able to analyse user performance using computer-vision AI and Natural Language Processing (NLP), providing useable analytics to further improve performance. For example, in 2020 the NHS used Virti to help train employees at scale on COVID-19 procedures.
“At Virti, our goal is to maximise human performance by making experiential learning affordable and accessible for everyone,” said Dr Alexander Young, CEO and founder of Virti in a statement. “In-person training has always been expensive with e-learning often unengaging – and research shows that employees forget upwards of 80% of episodic training. Virti exists to help organisations get the very best out of their people, by improving how teams train, learn and perform using scalable deep learning technology with a focus on soft-skills.”
“On-the-job training can be serendipitous, with the learning experience varying significantly depending on where you are, what day it is and who is training you. Soft skills also tend to be subjectively assessed in most settings. We’re providing the tools to help organisations create and distribute evidence-based training, which can be standardised and scaled across organisations and geographies,” Young continues. “The data insights our platform generates reduce training variability and generate objective feedback that can aid real-world improvement – with the ultimate goal of improving human performance around the globe.”
As Virti continues to improve its training solutions, VRFocus will keep you updated.
HTC’s first Vivecon event last month officially revealed the Vive Pro 2 and Vive Focus 3 headsets, showcasing the company’s intentions to deliver both consumer and enterprise compatible devices. While the Vive Pro 2 is now available, its all-in-one (AIO) sibling is due for release later this month, with pre-orders for the EMEA region going live later this week.
Unlike other standalone virtual reality (VR) headsets the HTC Vive Focus 3 is very much geared towards businesses, so the general public won’t be able to get their hands on HTC’s next-gen HMD. Companies that do want to order the new headset can place their pre-orders from 10th June, with the official launch scheduled for 24th June. The Vive Focus 3 retails for £1,272 GBP/€1,404 EUR.
In comparison to the previous Vive Focus model, the new design is far more compact and sleeker in appearance, looking much more professional in the process. Powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 Platform the Vive Focus 3 provides users with 5K resolution visuals from dual 2.5K displays running at a smooth 90Hz refresh rate. And to help users feel even more immersed in a VR experience the headset boasts a 120-degree field of view (FoV).
When it comes to comfort and user-friendliness the Vive Focus 3 has a rear-mounted battery for even weight distribution, it can be swapped out for longer sessions or charged to 50% capacity in just 30 minutes. Users will also be able to adjust the interpupillary distance range between 57mm to 72mm plus the facial interface can easily be removed via a quick-release button for easy cleaning or swapping for a new one.
New open-back speakers featuring a pair of dual drivers help to deliver spatial audio without touching your ears. And a new headset also means new controllers, with each 6DoF controller having a built-in battery providing 15 hours of use per charge. And in the future the Vive Focus 3 will support hand tracking.
To complement the hardware the Vive Focus 3 will also feature the all-new Vive Reality System 2.0, providing a more streamlined and professional ecosystem for enterprise customers. For continued updates on the latest HTC Vive HMD models, keep reading VRFocus.
Today, HTC Vive in collaboration with Immerse UK have released the UK Immersive Tech: VC Investment Report, providing a deep-dive into 31 XR startups who have managed to raise significant amounts of investment. The report not only looks at how some of these companies achieved their success in a difficult market but also highlights investor interest in enterprise-focused technology.
Investment in the XR industry has ebbed and flowed over the years with significant interest in and around 2016, whilst a couple of years later it declined due to the initial hype wearing off. Yet initiatives like HTC Vive’s Vive X programme has continued throughout, supporting over 100 companies in the process. In this first report, Vive X and Immerse UK have produced looking at the UK’s immersive sector and how despite the pandemic have managed to thrive.
“Firstly, despite its drawbacks for the overall economy, the immersive sector has been well placed to benefit from the global pandemic. Lockdowns all over the world have led to consumers looking to virtual worlds to spend more of their leisure time and connect with others,” says Dave Haynes, Director of Development Ecosystem & Vive X EMEA in the report. “Whilst, workers and their employers have thrown out old ways of working, turning to technologies such as VR to collaborate, design together or host and attend virtual events.”
Regular readers of VRFocus will notice some very familiar names among those listed, each involved in very different segments of the industry. Anything World, for example, enables creators to bring 3D models to life simply using their voice, whilst Bodyswaps focuses on soft skills training, its most recent module is a job interview simulator.
Anything World – Total financing £600K
Bodyswaps – Total financing £549K
FitXR – Total financing £6.91m
FundamentalVR – Total financing £7.6m
Gravity Sketch – Total financing £4.25m
Loveshark – Total financing undisclosed
Maze Theory – Total financing £1.85m
Poplar – Total financing £2.75m
Ultraleap – Total financing £63m
VividQ – Total financing £6.5m
Immerse UK’s 21 XR Startups to watch
Beem
Darabase
Dubbl
Edify
Evidential Reality
Factory 42
Generic Robotics
GiveVision
Holoxica
Igloo Vision
KageNova
KIT-AR
Masters of Pie
Rescape Innovation
RETiniZE
REWIND
Tiny Rebel Games
Virti
VU.CITY
XR Games
XYZ Reality
The report also conducted a survey of 50 UK-based investors who had a positive outlook for the next 12 months. Out of those surveyed, 63% think overall investment will increase with a notable lean towards enterprise VR/AR.
As UK-based XR companies continue to make strides in the industry, VRFocus will keep you updated.
In the first of a two-part feature in his latest Virtual Arena column, industry specialist Kevin Williams marks the six-year anniversary of HTC’s Vive platform in commercial entertainment – initially looking at the lesser reported history of the VR tech in this scene and the influence it has had on shaping the business.
While many are focused on the consumer sales of virtual reality (VR), the commercial (enterprise) aspects of the market seem to be the new recruiting sergeant for innovation and advanced design. Following a major launch of new VR hardware, HTC shines a light on this approach. But it’s the commercial entertainment deployment that also needs some perspective to better understand the thinking going forward for VR adoption.
HTC is a company that has epitomised the eventual separation of the VR community between the “Serious VR” and the “Casual VR” businesses. While many would see consumer videogames as a vital aspect of the industry, it is still a casual pursuit, and with the projection of the standalone VR scene as the focus of considerable investment this can overshadow the rest of the business. But as has been seen VR headset manufacturers now pivot towards a B2B, high-end PC-VR, approach.
– Early Period
HTC entered the VR space in 2016, being the first to field a PC-VR headset. Much of this lead was achieved by the licensing and partnership with Valve. This relationship fostered in the ashes of Valve’s abandoned involvement with Oculus. This after the controversial loaning of the famous Valve ‘VR Room’ proof of concept that defined the fundamentals of tracking, strong immersive display, and comprehensive controllers. Much of the lessons taught by the ‘VR Room’, would lead to the creation of Lighthouse tracking infrastructure, a mainstay of the platform. Allowing the HTC Vive to offer room-scale VR while others initially offered seated only VR.
The famous Valve “VR Room” in operation
Selling at first to prosumers and commercial buyers, it was obvious that VR had drawing appeal, and while complicated hardware, the interest to use Vive systems in promotional work, as Pop-Up installations, allowing an audience to experience immersion that would normally be out of their price point. HTC working with many corporations to create deployable pop-up promotional experiences, such as the 2016 ‘Fantasy Forest VR Experience’ in partnership with Walt Disney and a promotional tool for their new Jungle Book properties.
The Asian focus of the Taiwanese corporation has seen HTC partner with many companies in this territory. Regarding LBE development, HTC would sign a partnership with Chinese based LEKE VR. The company had already penetrated the VR amusement scene selling several of their unique VR platforms, and with the partnership with HTC could represent their VR headsets into the market, with LEKE VR getting early access to the new HTC VIVE Pro. This business approach would go on to feed HTC’s aspirations in this sector.
Deep Ocean Adventure from LEKE VR
Taking the basic idea of the pop-up installation and placing experiences in a dedicated showroom environment led to HTC devising the creation of their own entertainment facility. Under the VIiveport Arcade brand, the company opened several Taiwanese based VR arcades, acting both as a showroom of HTC hardware, but also offering VR game experiences that the audience could try. The company would continue to invest in a facility style approach to the deployment of their hardware, and would even open HTC VIVELAND, with more attractions created by third-party developers on the hardware.
One of the many experiences at VIVELAND
It was more than obvious the high price of VR technology and the skill set needed to effectively field this hardware that there would be an opportunity for commercial entertainment centres to operate as VR arcades. The hardware of choice would become the HTC Vive in the West, and one of the first to effectively roll out a chain of facilities was CTRL-V in Canada. Their first facility in 2016 would be located near the University of Waterloo campus and would set the model. With 16-stations for players to try out the latest VR experiences on the HTC Vive from a custom library of VR content. From this first facility, the company would go on to roll out a chain of some 10 facilities across the territory and be a popular model of excellence in VR arcades that others emulate. Proving the draw of a pay-to-play model for VR entertainment.
Inside one of the first CTRL-V facilities
Regarding Western LBE VR applications, one of the first to gain traction in 2016 was from Virtuix, forming a joint venture with Hero Entertainment to create Crisis Action – using the Omni-directional treadmill, players could compete in the hectic shooter, that used HTC Vive headsets. This concept would solidify and be relaunched as the standalone ‘OMNI Arena’ system that has seen a strong penetration into the amusement facility scene and is supported by a thriving eSports championship business.
The initial design for Crisis Action
More unusual applications of VR hardware have been in the deployment for visitor attractions, using the immersive experience to entertain the gathered audience. One of the early examples was the Sky Circus Sunshine, located on the observation deck of the Tokyo landmark, several VR experiences simulated heart-pounding aerial exploits some 700 feet in the air from the towering structure. Including being launched from a cannon, or riding an immense swing. Deployed using the HTC headset, content developed by specialists Hashilus, who would go on to create other innovative pop-up entertainment installations in VR.
One of the many unusual VR experiences at the observatory
The deployment of VR as more of an attraction would not be seen until the launch byMerlin Entertainment of ‘Derren Brown’s Ghost Train’ at Thorp Park. A unique attraction married VR experiences interspersed around a ghost train application. Some 14 passengers transported from a tube train through numerous environments including digital and grand scale illusions. The attraction, VR elements developed by Figment Productions, first launched in 2016 would see several revisions to address issues, and would prove a mixed bag with audiences, but paved the way for the deployment of VR, and in particularly HTC Vive headsets in large audience configurations. Opening the door to other VR attractions that would follow.
First virtual scares for theme park guests
The landscape to establishing LBE VR has been littered with many failures, and projects such as the IMAX VR arcade andHub Zero as some of the more notorious false steps, but there has also been an incredibly successful and lucrative business in supporting the LBE VR scene for HTC, an aspect of their business not only involving unit sales of the Vive but also support and maintenance and an extensive software and firmware support infrastructure.
The amusement trade would see arguably some of the greatest penetration of VR hardware in an entertainment format, with key leading developers selling in the hundreds of VR amusement variants, and establishing a new genre of product.
One of the first to investigate the possibilities of VR for amusement would be Bandai Namco, after initial investment, the corporation set up an offshoot of its amusement GM operation, to specialize in VR development called “Project-i-Can”. The group would go on to create several formative VR entertainments that were fusions of popular amusement genres married to VR hardware based on the HTC Vive. The experiences would be placed in their own unique location-based venue named VR ZONE, with several sites, including a flagship location opened. VR ZONE Portals would offer pop-up opportunities for players outside of Japan to experience the delights. And Bandai Namco would even partner with Nintendo to create a VR interpretation of Mario Kart.
Player on ‘Ski Rodeo’ at a Tokyo VR ZONE
Along with more conventional applications of amusement VR hybrids, Bandai Namco would also broach into the realm of free-roaming VR experiences. The company developed several attractions that looked at PC backpack Arena Scale experiences. But one of the most notable being their partnership with Square-ENIX towards creating a four-player free-roaming attraction based on the popular fantasy title with Dragon Quest VR. An innovative multi-player adaptation, with the deployment of advance haptic feedback game interfaces based on the key roles of the players’ characters.
Players working as a team against the bosses in Dragon Quest VR. Image credit: KWP
This concludes the first part of this two-part feature on the anniversary of HTC’s investment into location-based entertainment. The second part will look at the continuing legacy and reveal some of the plans for the future of this vital entertainment sector.
The time has finally come for HTC Vive to reveal what its been teasing these last few weeks. As expected it’s a new all-in-one (AIO) headset designed for the enterprise market, the Vive Focus 3. The third-generation of HTC Vive’s standalone Vive Focus product line, the new device strikes a very different aesthetic to its predecessor, the Vive Focus Plus.
As a standalone headset for companies looking for the best quality virtual reality (VR) experience with any cables, the Vive Focus 3 certainly has the stats to raise a few eyebrows. Offering users 5K resolution from dual 2.5K displays with fast-switching panels combined with real RGB subpixels, there shouldn’t be any worry when it comes to the screendoor effect. This is in addition to a 90Hz refresh rate and a wider 120-degree field of view (FoV) to make collaborating with colleagues even more immersive.
The images showcase a radically overhauled design, with the magnesium alloy frame 20% lighter and 500% stronger than traditional plastics. There’s a new strap design with the weight balanced for premium comfort. Part of that is thanks to the rear-mounted battery which can be charged to 50% in 30 minutes plus there’s a power indicator so you know how much charge is left. And for the first time ever, the Vive Focus 3’s battery is swappable, so users can keep a spare on charge for those longer VR sessions.
Other features include a manual inter-pupillary distance adjustment between 57mm to 72mm, quick release magnetic front and rear face gaskets for easy cleaning, and new open-back speakers featuring a pair of dual drivers. Built into the side arms, the speakers are contact free so users can still hear the outside world whilst a special audio privacy setting means that VR meetings can’t be heard by others in the room.
All of this is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon XR2 platform with the Vive Focus 3 able to provide accurate inside-out tracking for its four cameras which utilise an AI algorithm. Rounding out the feature set are a new pair of 6DoF controllers which have built-in batteries providing 15 hours of use per charge. HTC Vive has also confirmed that Vive Focus 3 will support hand tracking in the future.
“Vive Focus 3 heralds a new era of business VR – crafted for stunning visuals while also being durable and lightweight, with superior comfort and ease of use. Our new VIVE Business solutions make it easier than ever for an organisation to use VR, so whether it’s a small start-up or a multinational, everyone can benefit from the transformative potential of VR.”
As an enterprise-only device, the Vive Focus 3 will go on sale from 24th June, retailing for £1060 GBP/ $1300 USD/ €1180 EUR – the price includes 24-month Vive Business Warranty and Services. Don’t forget to check out HTC’s other new headset, the Vive Pro 2, and for further updates from ViveCon 2021 keep reading VRFocus.
Mixed Reality (MR) headset manufacturer Magic Leap didn’t have a particularly great 2020, even though it raised $350 million USD, as there were layoffs and CEO Rony Abovitz stepped down. Now with ex-Microsoft and Qualcomm veteran, Peggy Johnson at the helm the company is looking towards a brighter future, confirming Magic Leap 2 is on the way with the initial launch beginning later this year.
Magic Leap One. Image credit: Magic Leap
Talking to Protocol this week, Johnson said the Magic Leap 2 will be focused on enterprise customers with those part of the early adopter programme gaining access to the new headset in Q4 2021. This will then be followed up by a general release in Q1 2022.
While no images or detailed specifications have been released just yet for Magic Leap 2 Johnson did have this to say: “For frontline workers, the product has to be something comfortable that they can wear all day long. So we’ve made the product half the size, about 20% lighter. But most importantly, we’ve doubled the field of view.” She went onto comment: “That’s a hard thing to do. The optics around that are complex, but we have a very talented engineering team.”
Making the product lighter and more convenient will be an important step when it comes to offering a product that can offer a better experience than Magic Leap’s competitors. The main one is Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 which recently secured a $22 billion deal with the US Department of Defense to supply soldiers with augmented reality (AR) headsets based on HoloLens technology. Even though Magic Leap lost that deal it will continue to look at the military sector. “I think our next-generation product hits all the right feature sets that are needed for soldiers to wear the device for longer periods of time. It needs to be comfortable indoors, outdoors and [in] all types of environments,” she mentions.
Hopefully, the new Magic Leap 2 will offer a lower price point allowing more companies to get involved in AR and the possibilities it brings. For further updates from Magic Leap, keep reading VRFocus.
HP is really the one company carrying the torch for Microsoft’s Windows Mixed Reality (WMR) system having launched the HP Reverb G2 at the end of 2020. Its not stopping there though. After announcing an enterprise-focused model called the Reverb G2 Omnicept in September, today HP has announced it’ll be available in May priced at $1,249 USD.
That price might sound a little steep but it’s not considering other pro-level headsets and the amount HP has packed into the device. Because there are a lot of sensors, all designed to help provide developers and companies with data-driven insight depending on their requirements. Built into the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition are sensors for eye tracking, heart rate monitoring, facial movements and even pupil dilation.
All of this can be used for any number of use cases, from training scenarios looking at how users cope in particular situations; mental health and monitoring someone’s well being to creating a more realistic, immersive experience where co-workers can collaborate with expressive avatars.
For creators, alongside the hardware launch, HP will also release the Omnicept software development kit (SDK) in four options depending on the organisation and planned use. HP Omnicept SDK ‘Core’ will be free but won’t offer the Inference Engine SDK, whilst the Academic version is free for educational use or 2% revenue share for profit. The Developer Edition of the SDK is a flat 2% revenue share with the Enterprise Edition pricing tailored to the company. Only the Core version has a couple of extra exclusions, Pulse Rate Variability API and HP VR Spatial Audio omitted. The latter uses dynamic head-related-transfer functions (HRTFs) to create a personalised sound for a more immersive experience.
As previously reported, the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition’s other specs still mirror its consumer cousin, with a 2160×2160 per eye resolution, Valve’s off-ear headphones, four cameras for inside-out tracking, a 90Hz refresh rate, a 114-degree FOV and a 6 meter cable for plenty of freedom to move around.
The HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition will be available to order through HP’s own website in May. If you’re just looking for a decent PC VR headset for gaming then the standard HP Reverb G2 goes for $599. For further updates on HP’s VR plans, keep reading VRFocus.
The XR collaboration space has been hotting up over the last year with new apps arriving as well as new features being added to existing software. Today, Spatial has announced its latest raft of updates to improve its service, taking on board requests from customers and making them a reality.
Spatial has strived to meld the real and the virtual, allowing users to take selfies and upload them as an avatar. Bringing that sense of realism into Spatial has taken a step further today with support for iPhone/iPad Pro LiDAR. Now you can scan a model or your own physical environment and import it into Spatial. Thus, you can create your own room environment should you wish.
Another big addition is live translation available to Pro users. Supporting over 30 languages, ideal for teams based in different regions worldwide, the feature ensures there’s no barrier with communication. Users can also enjoy a new outdoor environment, stronger host controls to handle large meetings, a selfie stick to take pictures that can then be shared, spatial audio improvements and enhanced avatar customization which includes skin and shirt colour.
“Real-time 3D collaboration was always an inevitable future for the next medium of computing but Covid-19 has catapulted it forward,” said Anand Agarawala, CEO of Spatial in a statement. “We never built Spatial with the idea that it would replace in-person work but as we suddenly find ourselves in this new normal, companies are having to tackle issues they had not foreseen. Some of the new features mirror in-person work etiquette like greater security and controls for meeting organizers, whereas others have surfaced naturally after spending hours collaborating in these new virtual spaces. Our plan is to make Spatial as ubiquitous and useful as Google Docs is today. We want it to become a tool users can’t live without.”
Like many collaborative apps Spatial prides itself on being easily accessibly, whether that’s via a virtual reality (VR) headset like Oculus Quest, a mixed reality (MR) device such as Microsoft’s HoloLens 2, and even through the web for desktop users. Today’s update further improves the latter’s ease of use. Guest access is now available where no account sign-up or user account is required for web users, great for setting up quick meetings. Plus, web participants can now move their viewpoint for a more optimum position in the room.
Spatial is free to download for Oculus Quest, HoloLens, Magic Leap, Nreal, iOS and Android. The company has announced plans to launch a PC VR version for Steam, supporting Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, Valve Index, Windows Mixed Reality and Varjo headsets in the near future. For further updates, keep reading VRFocus.
There’s an extensive selection of virtual reality (VR) apps that specialise in remote collaborate with one of the most fully featured being HTC’s Vive XR Suite which arrived in 2020. Today, the company has announced that its selection of five applications is now available in four new markets.
Originally released in China, Vive XR Suite can now be purchased in EMEA (Europe, Middle East & Africa), Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan by companies wishing to expand their immersive online work efforts. The suite’s five apps provide a range of services, from small meetings all the way up to online conferences.
Compatible with VR headsets, PCs and smartphones, the package is comprised of Vive Sync, Vive Sessions, Vive Campus, Vive Social, and Vive Museum, some as part of partnerships with other VR solution providers. Vive Sync was initially created by 2 Bears Studio as an internal collaboration tool and now allows other companies to create a private meeting room for one-to-one or group meetings. This is the core app a lot of business will be interested in.
For more large-scale events you have Vive Sessions – powered by Immersive VR Education’s Engage platform – allowing the creation of conferences, exhibitions and educational events. Vive Campus (powered by Virbela) has a mixture of locations such as virtual offices, learning environments and event spaces, with private, always-on virtual workspace for remote teams to nip in and out of.
The VRChat powered Vive Social is your ticket to a virtual universe that’s always changing and being improved. A community of creators have built virtual worlds, avatars, and interactive experiences. Numerous festivals have been held within VRChat, such as Raindance and Venice VR Expanded, plus SXSW Online XR is being held there this week.
Finally you have Vive Museum. Making use of Museum of Other Realities, this is the perfect spot for artists to showcase their work, where users can wander around amazing digital exhibitions, chat in groups and easily capture the odd selfie or two.
Businesses interested in the Vive XR Suite in the new regions can purchase it as one entire bundle or each app standalone depending on their needs. For further updates keep reading VRFocus.
Last week British XR specialist Make Real announced a new partnership with construction services company Kelbray. This week the studio has revealed another, teaming up with Immerse to provide an all-in-one virtual reality (VR) training platform for their enterprise customers.
Both companies are already well-versed in providing immersive training solutions across a range of industries. The partnership will see them create a library of VR training content which enterprise organisations can access through the Immerse platform.
Initially, Make Real will add its current selection of training programmes to the platform. These will include Slinger Signaller, Site Access Traffic Marshalling, Rear Guard and D&I Perspectives VR (all Oculus Quest compatible) and End Point Assessment (for HTC Vive). All available alongside Immerse’s own VR content, covering topics such as health and safety, business development, and soft skills training.
“Since going on the road to promote our immersive experiences at events from 2014 onwards, we have always had a great, supportive relationship with Immerse, often sharing expo floors and crossovers of clients and sectors we both focus on and service within. As we move forwards into 2021 and the rapidly growing enterprise marketplace, it is the right time to formalise a strategic partnership to bring the experience and unique strengths of both companies together,” said Sam Watts, Immersive Partnerships Director at Make Real Ltd in a statement. “This will form a unified solution of a virtual reality software platform combined with engaging content, providing the best outcomes for enterprise customers of learning and measurement.”
“Partnering with Make Real is a fantastic step in our endeavour to enable all businesses to capitalise on the opportunity offered by immersive technology in a rapidly changing world. This collaborative offering will enable companies to import and deploy world-class content on a powerful platform, with minimal setup and expertise required. Immerse prides itself on delivering innovative solutions to complex challenges across businesses processes, and we hope that this will be the first of many partnerships of this nature,” Tom Symonds, CEO at Immerse adds.
Between them, they already have customers including Shell, DHL, Vodafone and Lloyds Banking Group. As the partnership continues to grow and expand its content selection, VRFocus will keep you updated.
