Psychic VR Lab, the Japanese studio behind XR content creation platform Styly has announced a new app specifically for the Nreal Light mixed reality (MR) glasses. Called Styly for Nreal, the app allows creators to distribute their work via the recently released device.
Available through Google Play, Styly for Nreal enables Nreal Light users to view cutting-edge immersive artworks from artists around the world. The app is merely a viewing tool rather than a creative one, all the has to be created on Styly Studio, Psychic VR Lab’s web-based platform.
Psychic VR Lab won an award itself recently, winning VRFocus’ very own The Better-Than-Reality Awards last week. The public voted for Styly AR as the Best AR App, beating a strong lineup of rivals.
Whilst accessing the Styly app might be easy, at the moment the real difficulty is in acquiring the Neal Light. The smartphone connect MR glasses first arrived in South Korea during the summer followed by Japan. As for western shores there’s still a bit of a wait, Vodafone has confirmed it’ll begin distribution in Europe starting in the Spring beginning with Germany and Spain.
As Qualcomm unveiled earlier this year when discussing its XR2 5G platform, there is going to be an influx of these ‘XR Viewers’ like the Nreal Light. Smaller, lightweight devices which offer new communication and entertainment possibilities without the limitations suffered by mobile VR headsets like Gear VR.
As further updates for Styly and Nreal Light are released, VRFocus will let you know.
What a year it has been for the XR industry, with both highs and lows felt across the board as companies deal with remote working conditions, lockdown restrictions and much more. So in October VRFocus decided to launch its very first awards showcase, celebrating the best of what the industry has to offer; all with a little twist, public voting. So now it’s time to reveal who the lucky winners are.
Dubbed The Better-Than-Reality Awards, there were eight categories up for grabs, ranging from the consumer-focused ‘Best VR Game of 2020’ to business solutions and rising stars in the XR space.
Whilst some categories were almost dead certs having redefined AAA VR gaming, there were still a few surprises considering all the winners were chosen by the public.
“For us, building a Half-Life game from the ground up for Alyx was always about bringing that universe back in an exciting way, and to do that through VR was a rewarding process. But the positive feedback from fans of Half-Life is truly the most rewarding part, and we are just super grateful for the community support,” said Robin Walker, Programmer / Designer at Valve Software.
“We are extremely honoured that STYLY received the Best AR App award, and we are incredibly grateful for this recognition from VR Focus and the AR community. STYLY continues to move forward, taking on new challenges in XR. We are very proud to be designing and building a new XR world in Tokyo, Japan, with incredible XR artists and content creators from around the World,” said Ryohei Watanabe, CMO of Psychic VR Lab Co., Ltd. “It is an ambitious goal, but we are incredibly excited to bring VR, AR, and MR content together in a spectacular showcase in the heart of Tokyo. We hope that everyone can come to Japan to enjoy this XR world. Once again, we are honored and grateful for receiving this award, and thank you to everyone who helped make STYLY the Best AR App!”
“We are thrilled that VRFocus’ readers named Transformers: VR Battle Arena as their favourite location-based VR experience in a category filled with such worthy competition,” noted Vander Caballero, CEO of Minority Media. “This just goes to show the power of a great brand and social gameplay in attracting players, even in these challenging times.”
“I’m truly honoured to receive the Top XR Influencer 2020 award! Thank you! My mission with MRTV though is not to “influence” my viewers but rather to give them all the information they need so they can make their own educated purchasing decisions!,” said MRTV’s Sebastian Ang. “Therefore I’d rather call myself an XR Content Creator! This award shows me that the community appreciates independent XR content on YouTube! Thanks again to everyone who voted for MRTV!”
“It’s a huge honour to take home the award of Favourite VR headset for Oculus Quest 2. We’ve seen an incredible response from the VR community since launch in October, and to know this award was voted for by the public means a lot. We’re looking forward to delivering more incredible Quest 2 content in 2021 for people to experience,” said Rangaprabhu Parthasarathy, Product Manager, Oculus Quest 2.
“We’re extremely excited that FitXR has been announced as the winner of the Most Promising XR Startup award, as given by VRFocus. This is a great win for us so thanks to everyone for their votes and continual support for FitXR,” said Sam Cole, CEO & co-founder, FitXR. “We’re focused on continuing our mission of creating a virtual reality exercise experience that remains fun and effective at its core and have lots of exciting updates in store for the FitXR platform in 2021. Next year is going to be huge so keep your eyes peeled!
Congratulations to all of VRFocus’ The Better-Than-Reality Awards winners and their contribution to the industry. Best of luck to everyone for 2021!
Towards the end of 2019, Psychic VR Lab launched a new mobile app under its Styly brand which allowed you to view various artworks in augmented reality (AR). At the time the studio also noted plans to enable AR content creation at some point during 2020. That update has now arrived.
To build an AR experience you use Styly Studio, the same web-based software that Psychic VR Lab launched a couple of years ago for virtual reality (VR) content creation. The update allows you to select between AR and VR templates and then go about creating your scene without any programming knowledge to publish on mobiles and tablets.
Designed to be easy to use, Styly features a drag and drop editor to get you started whilst more advanced creators can import content from 3D modeling software such as MAYA or Blender as well as digital material from YouTube, SoundCloud, and Instagram.
Once the AR experience has been created there are a couple of ways it can be published and viewed. The easiest is directly through the Styly mobile app which is compatible with iOS and Android devices where users can search for scenes. The other method is via Styly markers (QR codes). Once your AR content is published, STYLY markers are automatically issued. These can then be scanned by the app to view the content. This is a great way for artists to showcase their work by printing the markers and placing them in locations like a gallery.
All the software under the Styly banner is free to use, Psychic VR Lab even created the NEWVIEW Awards to help showcase and celebrate artists work.
The studio has also added several other improvements to the software including a non-WebGL screen so users can view and configure scenes quickly. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Styly, reporting back with the latest app updates.
Japanese developer Psychic VR Lab launched its cloud-based virtual reality (VR) platform Styly in 2017, enabling customers to build immersive content through a simple, easy to use drag and drop interface. Today, the company has expanded into augmented reality (AR) releasing a mobile app to view AR art.
To start with, the app will feature an art piece called World’s End Supernova created by the XR spatial designer “Discont” – who won the Parco VR content award at the 2018 NEWVIEW Awards. The artwork will change based on the user’s surroundings, with natural, green environments offering a similar theme, while more industrial settings likewise.
The piece is also interactive, with users able to change the ending depending on what they tap on screen or how they tilt the device. As such, World’s End Supernova offers a replay factor to entice multiple viewings.
Compatible with iOS and Android devices, it’s the features coming next year which will most likely interest creatives. In Spring 2020 Psychic VR Lab will be releasing a tool so that you can create and publish your own AR content without any programming knowledge. While further details of the tool have yet to be released, it’ll probably feature a similar drag and drop interface to the VR editor.
World’s End Supernova will also be part of the Shibuya Parco XR Showcase, combining art, fashion and culture with VR and AR technologies. Discont’s artwork will be a permanent fixture – QR codes will be used – while #calif SHIBUYA will be a more limited piece. A collaborative piece between Calif and graphic artist Stereo Tennis, once guests scan the QR code a giant picture fills the wall, with objects then popping out to fill the space.
These are obviously examples of what you’ll be able to do with Styly’s new AR app once the creative tool becomes available next year. VRFocus will continue its coverage of Styly, reporting back with the latest app updates.
