Facebook has finally unveiled its grand plan for social virtual reality – Facebook Spaces. Will you ditch real life to hang out with your friends in VR?
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F8 2017: Surround 360 Cameras Revealed, Sharing Your VR Game Moments & More
It’s Day 2 at Facebook’s tenth annual F8 conference, and after a Day 1 that focused strongly on all things augmented reality (AR) related, VRTV’s Nina is back to discuss a Wednesday full of virtual reality (VR) news – but one big on 360 degrees.
There’s new hardware in the form of two new Facebook Surround 360 cameras and partnerships with Framestore and Giroptic – the latter leading to a surprise for all F8 attendees. Whilst other organisations have been giving their own announcements. There’s also news of a new Facebook SDK that will allow you to share your best VR game moments on the social media platform.
Check it out below and for more information on everything mentioned within the video across VRFocus, click here.
Vizor Seed Funding Round Nets New Board Members & Over $2 Million
F8 might be Facebook Developer Conference but it isn’t all about what they themselves (or Oculus for that matter) are up to. Partners, be they studios, creators and developers of technologies and experiences are making announcements as well. Such as the earlier announcement about Framestore becoming a Creative And Technology Partner for Facebook’s Surround 360 Camera.
Once such announcement comes from virtual reality (VR) software company Vizor, who today revealed that they were the latest VR related company to have had successfully raised funds via seed funding. Led by The VR Fund and Inventure (both of whom will see members added to Vizor’s board), Vizor; which provides a platform for creators to develop VR 360 degree content for the web thanks to toolsets enabling instant previews, editing and web-related support, raised an additional $2.3 million (USD) for the company.
“Vizor’s platform is truly innovative and can be applied to any industry, representing tremendous market opportunity on a global scale.” Saids co-founder Marco DeMirozm on his company’s investment. “By combining virtual reality with the power and accessibility of the web, Vizor is redefining the future of how WebVR content can be created and viewed.”
“Immersive web is the next iteration of the internet, and our goal is to make it as seamless as possible for businesses and storytellers to fill the world with new, inspiring and beautiful virtual reality content.” Explained Kaarlo Kananen, founder and CEO, Vizor. “Our investors understand the value in evolving our platform and the limitless creative possibilities it can unlock.”
As the high levels of investment in VR and it’s technological cousin augmented reality (AR) continue, so will VRFocus‘ coverage. Who will be the next company to benefit from such investment? Be sure to check back regularly to find out the latest.
F8 2017: Going 360 with Giroptic and Facebook
The second day of Facebook’s 10th annual F8 conference has begun and the event has been awash with virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). For the second keynote Facebook has announced a collaboration with 360-degree camera maker Giroptic, giving all attendees a Giroptic iO device. VRFocus got the chance to sit down with the company’s COO, Pascal Brochier, to find out about the device.
Brochier discusses the new Giroptic iO, which can now be purchased with Android compatibility, whether that’s a micro-USB or USB Type-C connection. He goes through many of the features including direct livestreaming to Facebook.
While only available in the US at present, Giroptic will have several retail partners who’ll be able to distribute the camera worldwide like Amazon.
Checkout the interview below, and for further updates from Facebook’s F8 conference keep reading VRFocus.
GIROPTIC iO Partners With Facebook, All F8 Attendees Getting Camera
Today is the second and final day of Facebook’s F8 conference and for attendees the company has a little surprise in store. Facebook has partnered with 360-degree camera maker GIROPTIC and will be giving every attendee one of the new GIROPTIC iO camera’s.
GIROPTIC iO is fully integrated with Facebook Live, enabling users to easily livestream in 360-degrees using GIROPTIC’s patented real-time stitching technology. Today also marks an important step for GIROPTIC as F8 attendees will be able to get their hands on the first run of Android compatible cameras.
“We worked closely with Facebook to ensure that the GIROPTIC iO would deliver a smooth 360° live streaming experience,” said Richard Ollier, co-founder and CEO of GIROPTIC.
“We believe putting the GIROPTIC iO in the hands of F8 attendees and the developer community will unlock even more exciting uses for 360,” said Pascal Brochier, president and COO of GIROPTIC. “The freedom of field of view offered by 360 coupled with live streaming technology enables people to experience moments in an unprecedented way. We are grateful for our partnership with Facebook and excited to see the new ways people will capture and share key moments of their lives in 360.”
GIROPTIC iO plugs straight into the charging point of the compatible smartphone, allowing users to take 360-degree photos and videos. When Android users order they can select either micro-USB or USB-Type C connectors. GIROPTIC iO is available today from the company’s website or select retail partners for Apple or Android for $249.00 USD/€249.00 EUR.
For the latest announcements from F8 and further updates from GIROPTIC, keep reading VRFocus.
F8 2017: Join Us On The Show Floor And See Facebook’s New AR/VR Experiments Up Close
F8 2017: Facebook Spaces and AR Innovation
Today Facebook has begun its 10th annual F8 conference in California and its sure had its fair share of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) announcements. VRTV’s Nina is on the ground at the event to bring you first hand coverage of what’s been going on.
The big news for the event has been Facebook Spaces, the social giant’s first proper foray into combining its social network with VR. But that’s not all that’s going on at the event, as there’s plenty taking place away from the keynote stage which captures most of the spotlight.
Nina looks at all the social changes Facebook is looking to implement in the near future, from VR and AR integration, to AI and enabling developers to easily build immersive apps that leverage all of these impressive technologies.
Checkout the video below and for all the latest announcements from F8, keep reading VRFocus.
F8 2017: Facebook’s Social VR Spaces Will Support Platforms Beyond Oculus Rift
Facebook to Focus on WebVR and Social VR with 7 Sessions at F8 Conference
Facebook’s 2017 F8 developer conference has seven scheduled sessions dedicated to VR. The company’s annual two-day event is dedicated to exploring the future of Facebook’s family of apps and services (including Oculus), and how businesses and developers can leverage them.
With sessions covering topics such as research, analytics and artificial intelligence, as well as their major acquisitions Instagram and WhatsApp, Facebook has scheduled seven sessions relating to Virtual Reality. Since their purchase of Oculus in 2014, Facebook has attempted to methodically ease itself into the space, with the ultimate vision of social networking in VR. In the last 12 months, the Facebook brand has become increasingly visible and involved with the Oculus subsidiary.
Although CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently posted pictures of himself testing new hardware technologies in the Oculus Research lab, which highlights their long-term commitment to the medium, the essential focus in the short term is content. Looking through the list of VR-related sessions at F8, it is clear that Facebook is encouraging creativity, and ensuring developers are hitting the right notes for social features, intelligent narrative design, and building cross-platform content for the web.
F8 takes place at the San Jose McEnery Convention Center, starting April 18th. Oculus and virtual reality are expected to be key part of the conference’s keynotes, and the further VR session schedule follows:
Tuesday, April 18
Crafting Compelling Narratives in VR
Sit down with best-in-class VR filmmakers to learn what it takes to create amazing VR experiences. Whether you’re working on a 360 video or real-time rendered content, these tips will help you to understand best practices from the cutting edge of VR.
WebVR: Enabling Developers to Build Engaging Cross-Platform VR Content
Web-based frameworks such as React VR are making it easier than ever to create VR content that can be distributed across VR, mobile, and web. Join us as we showcase the potential of React VR across verticals such as travel, news, commerce, and more.
Bringing VR Experiences to Everyone: Scripting, Producing and Planning
Learn how to develop a VR experience, and take a project from creative idea to a piece ready for prime time. Gain best practices and tips and tricks for producing experiences, how to approach acting and directing in VR, and distribution.
VR Together: Adding Social Components to Your VR Apps
Interactive and fun social experiences foster greater consumer engagement in VR. This talk will focus on the APIs and features that Oculus provides to add a social layer to your app, including the Avatar SDK, VoIP, Invites, and Oculus Rooms.
Wednesday, April 19
Creating Social Presence in VR
Achieving social presence in VR presents a host of fascinating challenges, from designing avatars that avoid the “uncanny valley” to determining what kind of tools and spaces best facilitate interaction.
VR 201: Lessons from the Frontlines of VR Gaming
We will share some of the roadblocks that engineers will encounter as they ramp up in VR development with practical lessons and case studies to overcome them. Attendees can expect insights on everything from code samples to tools to design tips.
React VR: Build amazing VR experiences using React
Learn how React VR builds upon React Native, and how the supporting layers and libraries interact. We will take you through a sample VR web app built with React VR, and show how easy it is to create immersive experiences across VR, mobile, and web.
The post Facebook to Focus on WebVR and Social VR with 7 Sessions at F8 Conference appeared first on Road to VR.