Category: hardware

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Digital Domain Reveals New Solutions For VR Broadcasting And Publishing

Digital Domain Reveals New Solutions For VR Broadcasting And Publishing

As 360-degree and virtual content grows, many entities are attempting to gain a foothold on either the content creation aspect or the side that provides the hardware and software for such creation. Digital Domain is a creative force in media that specializes in transportive content and they consider themselves one of the pioneers when it comes to 360-degree live streaming. Including a new spherical camera, new production tools, and a cloud-based distribution system, Digital Domain is aggressively tackling virtual broadcasting.

“VR experiences can transport audiences to new levels of engagement,” says Digital Domain’s Executive Director and North American CEO Amit Chopra in a press release for the announcement. “But the process can be a challenge for brands entering this new realm. We’ve made it much easier for our clients and partners by introducing a comprehensive suite of VR broadcast solutions that not only opens their eyes to what is possible but also dramatically reduces the production time and expense involved in bringing new VR content to consumers.”

Part of the introduced suite is a portable 360-degree camera capable of 4k, 60fps video capture. In addition to its compact size, it operates via a single cable for power and data which enhances the efficiency of any crew equipped with it. It comes with integrated 360-degree audio and is weather resistant for recording sessions featuring less than desirable shooting conditions.

“After a year in development and working with our partners and customers, the platform is now battle tested, scalable to millions of viewers and has reliably powered some of the most popular VR destinations and events on the market,” says Dhruv Gupta, Vice President of VR Platform and Apps for Digital Domain. Alongside the camera, Digital Domain is also adding to its VR production capacities with techniques that blend graphics from various sources without distortion in the 360 sphere and advanced tools like multi-camera streams. To round it out, they’re also allowing easier distribution of this new content across all popular VR headsets (including customizable apps) via a new cloud-based distribution system. With this new additions, Digital Domain looks to continue pushing the envelope and opening up the door to more creators interested in the VR platform.

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HTC Opens Up The Code For Its VR Vive Tracker

vive tracker

HTC is releasing tutorials and project files for studio-created Vive Tracker projects as a new resource for VR developers.

The company is hoping that this will enable more developers to make their own controllers and hardware while developing for the Vive VR headset. This is the latest bid to provide innovative and immersive gameplay in a VR context, alongside efforts such as the Oculus release of a guitar-controlled Rock Band VRexperience. According to research firm SuperData, the VR sector will grow to $4.9 billion this year, and Facebook, HTC, and other industry players are continuing to pour millions of dollars into funding content creation for a growing consumer base.

Innovating accessible VR experiences is a priority for the industry, as evidenced by Facebook’s latest announcements around their VR social experience, Facebook Spaces. By opening up the code for Vive Tracker projects, HTC is hoping to grow an ecosystem of custom peripherals as more developers experiment with different types of gameplay that might otherwise be unwieldy with a traditional controller.

Previously showcased at CES, the Vive Tracker is a plug-and-play motion tracker that you can attach to any number of objects. Tutorials demonstrate how to attach the Vive Tracker to a baseball bat, spray can, camera, and other items. The accessory is designed to open up more development options and controller-free play that could possibly be more intuitive.

This post by Stephanie Chan originally appeared on VentureBeat.

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Patent Hints At Further Oculus Research Into VR Hand Controllers Beyond Touch

Patent Hints At Further Oculus Research Into VR Hand Controllers Beyond Touch

A patent application filed today by Oculus indicates the Facebook-owned virtual reality team is researching new kinds of hand controllers.

The company’s current solution for bringing your hands with you into a VR experience is Oculus Touch. According to this site, Touch is the best VR hand tracking system available for consumer purchase today. However, this new patent demonstrates that Oculus is not content to rest upon those laurels and is currently working to design newer and more powerful VR hand controllers. This particular patent is for:

“A control for a virtual reality (VR) system contacting areas of user’s body is comprised of one or more materials having different stiffnesses at different positions of the control. In various embodiments, portions of the control contacting an area of the user’s body with a relatively limited range of motion comprise stiffly woven material to limit movement of the control. Conversely, portions of the control contacting an area of the user’s body with a relatively larger range or motion comprise softly woven material to allow the control to more easily move as the corresponding area of the user’s body moves.”

The basic idea for this patent seems to be for a glove with different amounts of rigidity at certain key points. Unfortunately, the sole drawing submitted with this patent doesn’t shed too much light on the concept of this particular idea. 

We’ve seen claw-like exoskeletons in the past meant to pull back the fingers in precise ways to simulate grasping objects. Gloves are also being pursued as well to perform finger tracking. Many of these devices, however, are merely concepts or are either expensive and require careful calibration to use. Steps forward in hand tracking and haptics will take much effort to refine, and the inventors of this idea are listed as living in Washington. That’s where the Oculus research lab is that Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg recently visited to tease advanced hand tracking. So this single idea is likely part of the much larger effort underway at Facebook’s Oculus to advance hand tracking.

Like all patents, take this one with a grain of salt. It’s not clear whether or not we will ever see this idea realized in a final project. However, we can say for certain that Oculus is continuing, at least in some capacity, to develop new hand control technologies for VR.

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Tactical Haptics Deep Immersion VR Controllers Likely Releasing In 2018

Tactical Haptics Deep Immersion VR Controllers Likely Releasing In 2018

The first time I tried a Tactical Haptics virtual reality controller was at GDC 2016. I wasn’t expecting much. The idea of believable haptics in VR seemed like something we wouldn’t be getting for a long time. From the moment that controller was in my hand, however, I knew I’d made a miscalculation. Impressive VR haptics are already on their way and could be in your living room in 2018.

I recently had the chance to speak with William Provancher, the president of Tactical Haptics, on the floor at SVVR. I asked him outright when customers might be able to purchase a set of TH controllers for themselves. According to Provancher “we were initially targeting holiday of this year but it’s become clear we aren’t going to make that. It’s possible we could release in Q1 of 2018 but we also might want to wait until the holiday season.”

Pronvancher also said his company will begin sending out the first round of developer kits to a very small (single digit) number of early testers. From there the rollout plan is to release more dev kits, around a thousand, and finally push a commercial release. No matter what happens, however, Provancher says he fully expects the TH system to remain a “niche” product.

As we chatted I was observing the latest, most advanced prototype of the TH control system to date. Previously, only one controller at a time could contain all the haptic hardware this studio is packing in to its devices. Now, however, both your hands can get the full experience. This has led to new sensation possibilities like tensile resistance (think pulling a strong piece of taffy with both hands).

The TH controllers are now also using Vive Trackers for tracking instead of strapping a full Vive controller like they were at last year’s GDC.

According to Provancher, the basic components of the TH controllers are largely the same as what I saw a year ago. The focus lately has been getting both controllers ready to go and perfecting Unity and Unreal Engine integrations. With these integrations, developers building VR games could start to take advantage of the TH controllers.

Haptic feedback has been relegated mostly to basic vibrations in this first generation of high-end, commercial VR. The TH system, on the other hand, is able to replicate a myriad of sensations and various forms of resistance.

Provancher did not say what price TH controllers would sell for.

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