Google, Udacity and Upload Join Forces For New VR Education Program
Only Select Developers Can Publish Google Daydream Apps Until 2017
Google Daydream is supposed to launch Fall 2016, but only a select group of developers will be able to publish Daydream apps to the Google Play store until 2017.
Daydream, Google’s high-end VR initiative for Android, is set to launch in the next few months, but the company is not flinging the door wide open when it comes to VR app submissions. While any Android developer can submit Cardboard applications to the Google Play store, Google will be keeping a tighter grip of Daydream apps early on by restricting which developers can publish their applications through Android’s app store.
Only developers who are accepted into the Daydream Access Program (DAP) will be allowed to publish apps at this Fall’s Daydream launch. Everyone else will be allowed to publish apps “early next year.”
Developers can apply now to join the DAP. The application form consists of some pretty basic information gathering, including a description of the VR app that’s being developed and whether or not it has launched on any other VR platforms. Google says that those who are selected to join the DAP “get a first look at updates to Daydream’s developer tools and are connected to our team and the DAP community throughout the development process.”
The criteria upon which developers will be accepted into the Daydream Access Program is unclear. This restrictive step appears to be a rather simple way for Google to sift for high quality VR content at Daydream’s launch, rather than opening the floodgates to any and all would-be Android VR developers. It’s tough to say exactly what the company’s reasoning for introducing the DAP is, but some guesses include a way to ensure that the initial Daydream offerings abide by VR best practices, show a good face for Google’s new VR initiative, and establish a foundation of initial high-quality apps for newer VR developers to learn from.
Google, which just last week launched the Daydream SDK out of beta, is hosting an October 4th press event which is widely expected to see the announcement of new Daydream-ready phones from the company, amidst other news. This aligns with Google’s promise earlier this year that we’d see the first Daydream phones launch in Fall.
The post Only Select Developers Can Publish Google Daydream Apps Until 2017 appeared first on Road to VR.
Google Daydream SDK Launches Out of Beta, Adds Unity Integration
After announcing Daydream earlier this year, Google’s platform for high-end virtual reality on Android, the company has now says the Daydream VR SDK has reached version 1.0 and is now ready for download.
Building upon the prior Cardboard SDK, Google has now combined both Cardboard and Daydream development into the Google VR SDK. The company says the SDK includes “a simple API used for creating apps inserted into Cardboard viewers, and the more complex API for supporting Daydream-ready phones and the Daydream controller.”
The Daydream side of the SDK is a foundation for VR developers, handling important basic functions that every VR app needs, like stereo rendering, spatial audio, head tracking, lens distortion, and asynchronous reprojection.
Developers can get the Google VR SDK over at the Google VR developer site. In addition to the Unreal Engine Daydream integration which has been improving since its launch alongside the Daydream announcement, the promised Unity integration has finally arrived in the form of a ‘technical preview’ which developers can download today. Unity writes on their official blog:
Unity’s native support for Daydream aims to solve the hard problems for you. To get optimal performance and latency from the platform we have done a deep integration with the Daydream SDK to leverage the platform’s asynchronous reprojection and VR performance mode. We have also made it easy to switch in and out of VR mode so that your applications can easily expand to the Google VR audience.
While the Daydream Unity technical preview is currently a separate package, the company says it will ship as part of the standard Unity package at a later date.
The timing of the Google Daydream VR SDK launching out of beta comes just ahead of an October 4th press event hosted by Google which is widely expected to see the announcement of new Daydream-ready phones from the company, amidst other news. This aligns with Google’s promise earlier this year that we’d see the first Daydream phones launch in Fall.
As part of the announcement of the Google VR SDK hitting version 1.0, the company teases, “Stay tuned for more information about Daydream-ready phones and the Daydream headset and controller coming soon.”
The post Google Daydream SDK Launches Out of Beta, Adds Unity Integration appeared first on Road to VR.
Unity erhält Google Daydream Support
Unity ist eine der führenden Engines, wenn es um die Entwicklung von Virtual Reality Spielen und Anwendungen geht. Das Unternehmen erhielt im Juli ein Investment in Höhe von 181 Millionen US-Dollar und wollte damit den Support ausbauen und die Engine verbessern.
Google Daydream Support in Unity
Google Daydream Referenzdesign: VR-Brille & Controller
Jetzt unterstützt Unity auch nativ Google Daydream und bringt dadurch eine signifikante Optimierung und eine reduzierte Latenz in den Support. Die native Integration soll deutlich besser sein, als die Integration die Google für Unity anbietet. Mit der nativen Unterstützung soll es für Entwickler einfach sein, für Google Daydream und Google Cardboard gleichzeitig zu entwickeln und somit einen größeren Markt zu erreichen.
Aktuell beschränkt sich der Cardboard-Support aber auf Smartphones die auf Android basieren. Für iOS Geräte wird Unity aber auch bald eine Lösung bereitstellen.
Dennoch könnte es schwierig werden, wenn Entwickler für das Cardboard und für Daydream entwickeln wollen. Beim Daydream Headset gehen Entwickler von einem zusätzlichen Controller aus, der zwar nicht im Raum getrackt wird, aber dessen Bewegungen erfasst werden. Will man also sein Spiel für beide Plattformen veröffentlichen, dann müssen die Entwickler wohl den kleinsten gemeinsamen Nenner wählen und dies schließt den Daydream Controller aus.
Aktuell empfiehlt sich für die Entwicklung von Daydream Inhalten das Nexus 6P. Dieses wird von Google offiziell für die Entwicklung von Daydream Inhalten beworben. Doch auch andere Daydream Smartphones stehen in den Startlöchern. Das ZTE Axon 7 wird bereits in Deutschland verkauft und ist Daydream Ready.
Es bleibt weiterhin spannend, ob Daydream der Samsung Gear VR das Wasser reichen kann. Am 4. Oktober sollten wir aber mehr erfahren, denn dann lädt Google zu einer großen Vorstellung der Pixel Smartphones ein.
ZTE Axon 7
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1 Tag(e)
Preis kann jetzt höher sein.
Total*: 232,70 EUR
Versand*: n.a.
s. Shop
Preis kann jetzt höher sein.
Total*: 379,90 EUR
Versand*: 9,95 EUR
s. Shop
Preis kann jetzt höher sein.
Total*: 450,99 EUR
Versand*: 1,99 EUR
auf Lager
Preis kann jetzt höher sein.
Total*: 454,99 EUR
Versand*: 5,99 EUR
1 Tag(e)
Preis kann jetzt höher sein.
Der Beitrag Unity erhält Google Daydream Support zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Google’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody Experience’ Proves That VR Music Videos Are the Future
In collaboration with Queen, Google Play’s Bohemian Rhapsody Experience for Cardboard is an impressive example of where VR music videos are heading.
In an age where people rarely buy physical albums anymore, music videos are today’s cover art; they connect memorable imagery to sound, and function as vehicles to spread songs beyond where they would go on their own. As a testament to their power, music videos sometimes becomes as iconic (or even more so) than the music they’re tied to (think Gangnam Style).
The music video genre has always been about spectacle and pushing creative boundaries; in some cases, music videos transcend their role as a marketing vehicle and push into the territory of art.
What better place to engage viewers with powerful and memorable imagery than the immersive medium of VR?
Google, through a collaboration with Queen, has given us an excellent case study in the future of the music video and just how well the genre can work in virtual reality.
The Bohemian Rhapsody Experience, just launched for free on Android for Google Cardboard (and coming soon to iOS), is an immersive VR music video for Queen’s iconic six minute ballad.
The experience, which “offers a journey through frontman Freddie Mercury’s subconscious mind,” is filled with diverse imagery from hand-drawn animation to motion capture to CGI. The changing visuals reflect the song’s distinct stylistic segments, which range from opera to rock. It isn’t just a 360 video either, it’s a fully 3D experience rendered in real-time, with 3D audio, and has subtle interactive elements depending upon where the user is looking.
Google, Queen, and Enosis VR, a production studio heavily involved in the development of the experience, talk about creating the Bohemian Rhapsody Experience:
The impressively crafted visual journey, created in large part by Enosis VR, employs lots of impressive hand-drawn animation. This at first seems out of place (flat, 2D animation in an immersive 3D experience?), but it turns out to be so well executed that the Bohemian Rhapsody Experience serves not just as proof for the future of VR music videos, but secondarily as a showcase for how such animation can not only survive, but thrive in virtual reality.
You can snatch the Bohemian Rhapsody Experience for free from Google Play. You’ll need a Cardboard viewer to watch it, or, if you have Gear VR, you can use the CB Enabler for Gear VR to view it through your Gear VR headset.
The post Google’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody Experience’ Proves That VR Music Videos Are the Future appeared first on Road to VR.
Google Brings Cardboard Camera to iOS, Take 3D ‘VR Photos’ With Your 2D Camera
Google’s Cardboard Camera lets you capture immersive photos from smartphone hardware you already own. The app has now launched on iOS, letting you snap 360 degree 3D photos from your iPhone.
Cardboard Camera launched on Android late last year. The ingenious app uses the parallax created by the rotation of your phone, along with some computer vision processing, to capture a 360 degree panorama in 3D—all with the camera that’s already on your smartphone. That’s particularly cool, because even dedicated consumer 360 degree cameras like the Samsung Gear 360 and Ricoh Theta can’t shoot in 3D.
Today, Google launched Cardboard Camera on iOS, bringing the magical 3D capability to the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad.
The app captures what Google calls ‘VR Photos’, panoramic views up to 360 degrees along the horizon (sadly, not fully spherical) that also have 3D depth. To use it you just hit the capture button then slowly rotate in a complete circle. Google then assembles and renders the photo, which you can share easily across the web with a link. You can also opt to record the sound of the scene to be played back during viewing for added immersion.
Of course you won’t be able to see the 3D effect without a Cardboard headset, but even if you don’t have one yet, you can still snap and share panoramas easily with the app (even to friends who don’t have a headset themselves), and you’ll get the added immersive benefit of 3D later when you decide to pick up a headset.
Viewing the photos through an iPhone reveals the same impressive depth capture we saw in the Android version. With the iPhone’s display lacking in pixel density compared to flagship Android phones, the Cardboard Camera photos don’t look as sharp, but this is balanced out by the quality of the iPhone’s camera compared to phones in the same class.
Cardboard Camera is free on both Android and iOS. On Android, the app is rated 4.3 out of 5 across 11,000 reviews, and has been installed more than 1 million times.
The post Google Brings Cardboard Camera to iOS, Take 3D ‘VR Photos’ With Your 2D Camera appeared first on Road to VR.
Google’s $500 Million Learning Investment Pays Off With an AI That Mimics Human Speech
HTC Vive: Tilt Brush bekommt neue Funktionen
Googles Tilt Brush ist ein Programm zum Zeichnen in der virtuellen Realität und erfreut sich großer Beliebtheit. Das Programm bietet euch die Möglichkeit, euch künstlerisch in der virtuellen Welt auszutoben und neue Kunstwerke zu erschaffen. Ebenso kann die Anwendung auch der Entspannung dienen, denn nichts ist entspannender, als den virtuellen Pinsel zu schwingen und sich eine eigene kleine Welt zu erschaffen. Da getrackte Controller für die Erfahrung notwendig sind, ist die Anwendung auch derzeit nur mit der HTC Vive verwendbar.
Tilt Brush bekommt neue Funktionen
Mit dem neusten Update auf Steam bohren die Entwickler die Erfahrung weiter auf. Eine neue wichtige Funktion ist die Möglichkeit der Vergrößerung und Verkleinerung. Somit könnt ihr deutlich mehr Details in eure Werke bringen. Dazu müsst ihr einfach die Darstellung vergrößern und die Details dann punktgenau einzeichnen. Außerdem lassen sich jetzt 3D Objekte importieren und bemalen. Hier die wichtigsten neuen Funktionen im Überblick:
Rotate and resize: Ihr könnt nun die Umgebung in der Größe anpassen und die Welt drehen.
3D model import: Ihr könnt direkt 3D Modell in Tilt Brush einfügen. Dazu müsst ihr eine .obj Datei in den Ordner „Documents/Tilt Brush/Media Library/Models“ schieben. Anschließend geht ihr in Tilt Brush auf die „Media Library“ und wählt das entsprechende Objekt aus.
High resolution snapshot mode: Wenn ihr Bilder von euren Kunstwerken machen wollt, dann ist dies nun mit einer Auflösung von 11,880 x 6,588 Pixel möglich. Wie es funktioniert, erfahrt ihr hier.
Tiltasaurus: Mit Tiltasaurus kommt ein kleines Spiel in die Anwendung Tilt Brush. Ihr benötigt für das Spiel nur ein VR-Headset. Das Spiel zeigt euch ein Wort, und ihr müsst das entsprechende Objekt dann zeichnen. Eure Freunde müssen am Monitor erraten, was ihr da zeichnet. Somit ist das beliebte Spiel Montagsmaler direkt in Tilt Brush integriert.
Controller swapping: Ihr könnt jetzt die Controller tauschen, ohne das ihr die Controller in die andere Hand legen müsst. Dazu einfach die beiden Enden der Controller zusammenführen.
[Quelle: Upload VR]Der Beitrag HTC Vive: Tilt Brush bekommt neue Funktionen zuerst gesehen auf VR∙Nerds. VR·Nerds am Werk!
Tilt Brush Update Lets You Create Big Worlds With Tiny Details
Electronic empathy: meet the next wave of virtual reality
Immersive technologies are expanding creative experiences, and have a broader reach than simply Pokémon Go
Brands are experimenting with immersive technology to create electronic empathy – blending digital and experiential marketing to bring shared experiences to a wider audience.
This year, virtual reality (VR) headsets including Oculus Rift and HTC Vive hit the consumer gaming market, while Google Cardboard offers a limited VR experience via the smartphone. Augmented reality (AR) adds a virtual digital layer to our smartphone screens and mixed reality blends physical and digital elements.
Related: Virtual reality: are you ready for surreal estate?
Related: Facial recognition – a powerful ad tool or privacy nightmare?
Immersive technology needs to focus on connecting humans to humans in a profound way
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