Category: vtime

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‘vTime’ Goes XR with New Cross-platform AR Support for Apple & Android Devices

vTime, the social VR platform, today announced that users can now connect with friends through smartphone-powered augmented reality in addition to VR.


In the past, users popped into vTime using a number of devices, including Cardboard, Go, Gear VR, Rift, Vive, Windows VR, and smartphones using what the company calls a ‘magic window’. Now smartphone-clad users can also engage in chats using handheld AR thanks to Apple’s ARKit and Google’s ARCore integration released today.

Now officially dubbed vTime XR, the free platform lets AR users join in chats by placing a live 360-degree diorama of the destination on any real-world, flat surface.

“AR users can easily interact with others, change and scale their view of the destination, as well as having full access to vTime features such as avatar customization, image sharing, private messaging, and more,” a press statement says.

The AR integration is available today on iOS and Android, offering compatibility for all supported phones capable of supporting ARKit and ARCore. (ARCore compatible devices & ARKit compatible devices)

“Creating the world’s first cross reality social experience was such a unique opportunity for us that we couldn’t pass it up. AR provides vTime with another immersive platform for future innovations, and vTime XR marks the next step in providing our global community with market-leading and highly-engaging communication experiences, regardless of their technology of choice,” vTime managing director Clemens Wangerin said.

SEE ALSO
Social VR App 'vTime' Closes $7.6M Series A Investment, AR Experience to Come in 2018

The app itself is organized similar to traditional social platforms—vTime XR allows you to create a profile, chat with friends and family, and even discover new friends by meeting random people online. Unlike other social VR platforms though, vTime XR puts a emphasis on seated conversation in a large variety of ‘Destinations’, which can be anything from a ride in an opulent, Victorian-style train cabin to a space station overlooking planet Earth.

For more information and links to all versions of vTime XR, head over the company’s website.

The post ‘vTime’ Goes XR with New Cross-platform AR Support for Apple & Android Devices appeared first on Road to VR.

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VR Social Network vTime Adds AR Support, Quest Version Inbound

vTime AR XR smartphone

Nearly a year on from raising $7.6 million, social VR network vTime is rebranding and jumping on AR platforms.

The company today launched the AR version of its app on iOS and Android. It joins the already-available VR headset and smartphone app versions where users can make a virtual avatar and meet up. The AR version gives users a full 360-degree diorama to explore with their phones. Most importantly, all versions are compatible with each other, so a VR user can be talking with an AR user.

Take a look at a walkthrough of the AR mode below. Dioramas appear on a flat surface and can be scaled up or down. You can move your phone through the virtual space too. Virtual emojis let you express yourself without the need for VR’s hand controllers.

To coincide with the news vTime is also rebranding as vTime XR. In a press release, the company also noted that this would help it set “the stage for further social VR and AR technologies currently in development.” The company confirmed to UploadVR that the app is coming to Oculus Quest. As for Magic Leap and HoloLens, vTime Managing Director Clemens Wangerin told us that “vTime’s current focus is on consumer platforms. Ultimately, we want to be as cross-reality as we are cross-platform, so when the consumer audience is there, we will be too.”

vTime XR is free to download on pretty much ever device under the sun. That includes Android, iPhone, Google Cardboard, Oculus Go, Gear VR, Windows Mixed Reality, Daydream View, and Oculus Rift.

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The post VR Social Network vTime Adds AR Support, Quest Version Inbound appeared first on UploadVR.

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Social Network vTime Gets an Audio Overhall With a DTS Update

During CES 2018 earlier this year virtual reality (VR) social network vTime revealed plans to make its service even more immersive by improving the sound quality by employing the expertise of audio specialist DTS. Today, that implementation has become a reality with vTime unveiling an update to rollout DTS integration.

vTime - Arctic Expedition

The update features DTS:X Game Audio – a new DTS plugin – which uses a combination of localized, spatial and head-tracked sound, to put the listener at the center of the virtual soundscape.

“Having led the field visually on mobile VR since launch, vTime’s partnership with DTS now sets new standards for VR audio across mobile and PC,” said vTime Managing Director Clemens Wangerin. “vTime’s mission has always been to be the easiest and most immersive way to connect in alternate realities. Integrating DTS:X Game Audio brings us closer to achieving absolute immersion for our community.

vTime is the first consumer product to use the DTS technology, aiming to give users the best sounding 3D, spatial audio for their VR needs. To hear the new update in action vTime has created a newly launched Magic Show destination. Here, users will be able to enjoy a show featuring vTime magician Mr. Vee, while DTS showcases spatial descriptors, proximity effects for heightened social presence, and laser-focused directional sound.

vTime

“We believe that premium, immersive audio is essential for the best VR experience. vTime is the perfect platform and partner for DTS to deliver audio technology that enhances the user experience,” adds DTS Executive Vice President and Chief Products and Services Officer Geir Skaaden.

This is just the latest improvement the vTime network has seen since its completed a Series A funding round of $7.6 million USD earlier this year. It’s not just VR that vTime is interested in, the company is also developing a standalone augmented reality (AR) product, set to launch in 2019.

As vTime releases further updates, VRFocus will keep you informed.

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vTime Opens New US Office Led by Former Gartner Research VP Brian Blau

vTime, the company behind the titular social VR app, today announced the studio is making a strategic expansion into North America with the opening of its San Francisco office. Brian Blau, former Research Vice President at Gartner, has been tapped to run vTime’s US office, and joins the executive team to “develop strategic partnerships and further expansion opportunities, as well as manage and build out the US-based team.”

Blau has held several senior positions at companies such as Autodesk, Silicon Graphics, and Double Fusion, and most recently as a Gartner analyst, serving as lead for Apple and other AR and VR technologies.

In a press statement, the company says its US office will be “pivotal in realising the company’s ambitions to be the leading immersive technology engagement platform for consumers and businesses.”

Since its founding in 2013, vTime has operated out of their Liverpool, UK-based studio. In April 2018, the company secured $7.6 million Series A financing to accelerate global growth and product development, and to fuel research and development for the company’s upcoming AR experience, which is slated to release sometime next year.

Image courtesy vTime

vTime, the company’s free VR app, is organized similar to many standard social platforms; you to create a profile, chat with friends and family, and even discover new friends by browsing by common interests or languages. vTime however lets you chat in a number of plush environments face-to-face, share both 360 and conventional ‘flat’ images, and even make your own unique look with a pretty robust avatar creator.

SEE ALSO
‘vTime’ Becomes Most Widely-Available Social VR Platform

At the time of the Series A investment, vTime was lauded for having generated nearly one million downloads since launch in December 2015.

vTime now supports Oculus Rift, Windows VR headsets, Google Daydream, Oculus Go, Gear VR, Google Cardboard, as well as non-VR modes through Android and iOS. See how to download vTime here.

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Social VR App ‘vTime’ Closes $7.6M Series A Investment, AR Experience to Come in 2018

vTime, the social VR platform, today announced the closure of a $7.6 million (£5.4 million) Series A funding round led by Deepbridge Capital with included investment from Liverpool, UK-based institutional loan and equity provider MSIF.

vTime founder and CEO Martin Kenwright says the investment will “accelerate global growth and product development, and fuel R&D for the brand’s augmented reality (AR) experience coming later in the year.”

“The advent of consumer AR at scale is allowing us to use decades of expertise to develop another unique way to connect and engage with friends and family in alternate realities,” says Kenwright. “Crucially, Deepbridge share our vision for the future – both in delivering a matchless social XR experience and our expansive plans to monetize and build upon the vTime framework with future technologies.”

According to the developers, vTime has had “almost a million downloads” since launch in December 2015, something the company can claim thanks to its many platforms; vTime supports Oculus Rift, Windows VR headsets, Google Daydream, Gear VR, Google Cardboard, as well as non-VR modes through both respective Android and iOS apps. You can find links to all of those here.

The app itself is organized similar to non-VR social platforms; vTime allows you to create a profile, chat with friends and family, and even discover new friends by browsing by common interests or languages. vTime also puts an emphasis on sharing both 360 and conventional ‘flat’ images. It (of course) comes with a pretty robust avatar creator so you can create your own unique you.

vTime’s core development and management team tallies over 40 people in both its UK Liverpool headquarters and in the USA.

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VR Social Network vTime Raises $7.6 Million, AR Version Coming

VR Social Network vTime Raises $7.6 Million, AR Version Coming

vTime, one of the first ever VR social networks, appears to still be going strong; the team behind the app just raised $7.6 million in a series A round of funding.

The investment was led by Deepbridge Capital and also included UK-based loan and equity provider, MSIF. According to a press release, these funds will be used to “accelerate global growth and product development” as well as assist with R&D on a new AR version of the app coming later this year. No details on what to expect from that version just yet, though it’s not hard to imagine the app’s social meetups taking place on a smartphone.

If you’re not familiar with vTime, it’s pretty simple. You create a virtual avatar and meet up with friends online to chat in a range of exotic locales from cliff tops to caves. Friends can share images and even visit each other’s 360 degree photos. Unlike other apps such as AltspaceVR and Rec Room, though, vTime doesn’t allow you to move; every user remains in a seated position the entire time. That said, the app is available on a range of headsets spanning both mobile and PC categories.

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VR Social Network vTime Announced Close Of Funding Round

There has been a big rise in the level of interest in social virtual reality (VR) experiences, with many consumers seeking to find or build communities within VR. UK-based VR social network vTime has been seeking funding to continue to fulfil this need, and has just closed a successful Series A funding round.

Already one of the most successful examples of VR social networks, vTime has been downloaded almost a million times across six major VR platforms since it was launched back in December 2015.

vTime - Arctic Expedition

The new investment injection will allow the company to continue to develop the platform and provide funding for the upcoming augmented reality (AR) experience which is planned by the brand for later this year.

The funding round was led by Deepbridge Capital, using the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Funding was also raised by Liverpool-based loan and equity provider MSIF.

vTime CEO Kenwright said: “vTime offers users the most immersive and intuitive way to engage with others in VR from wherever they are. The advent of consumer AR at scale is allowing us to use decades of expertise to develop another unique way to connect and engage with friends and family in alternate realities. Crucially, Deepbridge share our vision for the future – both in delivering a matchless social XR experience and our expansive plans to monetise and build upon the vTime framework with future technologies.”

Ray Eugeni, Partner at Deepbridge Capital, commented: “vTime perfectly represents the innovative and disruptive technologies that we at Deepbridge provide investment for. We are delighted to be working in partnership with the vTime team and are excited by the future opportunities for vTime’s market-leading virtual reality and augmented reality technologies.”

vTime - Studio V

Simon Thelwall-Jones, MSIF Investment Director, added: “We’re really pleased to have been able to play a part in this round of investment for vTime. It’s great to be able to assist and support a genuinely world-class business based here in the Liverpool City Region.”

For further new on vTime and other social VR projects, keep checking back with VRFocus.

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AltspaceVR to close next week

Women in VR. (Image courtesy AltspaceVR

AltspaceVR will close its doors next Thursday, August 3, because it ran out of money.

“We can’t afford to keep the virtual lights on anymore,” the company said in a note posted last night.

I’ve been writing about the company since it released its first closed beta in early 2015, and have met with their executives. I’ve used their platform with the Oculus Rift headset, with the Gear VR, and through their desktop viewer, and was impressed with their technology and business strategy.

In fact, I was thinking about launching a new community for a project I’m planning on the AltspaceVR platform.

The company was a leader in creating shared virtual reality spaces, attracting celebrities, holding high-profile events, supporting causes I care about, and making it easy for users to find things to do.

It’s absence will leave a big hole, unless a new investor decides to step in and provide more funding.

I’m actually surprised that funding fell through, given the huge amount of interest in virtual reality from venture capitalists — more than $2 billion over the last 12 months, according to Digi-Capital, and $800 million of that in the last quarter alone.

Where to go now

So if you’re an AltspaceVR user, or are just starting to get interested in social virtual reality, where do you go now?

Here are the leading alternatives:

vTime: My best pick. This platform has received a lot of media attention, and supports the widest variety of devices of any platform. It’s had more than 100,000 installs on Android alone — by comparison, AltspaceVR had fewer than 50,000 installs on Android. The vTime destinations can be accessed with Oculus Rift, Gear VR, and Daydream headsets and with Google Cardboard-compatible viewers via iOS, and Android apps.

Watch the vTime preview video below:

 

Other platforms:

VRChat: Currently has more than 200 virtual spaces, and allows users to use Unity to create their own. Available for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets.

myVR: A mobile-friendly virtual reality environment that runs on the Google Cardboard platform. Available for iOS and Android devices.

Facebook Spaces: Use your own photograph to create a virtual reality avatar of yourself, then hang out with your Facebook friends. Currently only works with Oculus Rift headsets, but there’s a similar platform called Oculus Rooms for Gear VR, which doesn’t have the same kind of integration with Facebook.

RecRoom: A social virtual reality space focused around playing games with your friends. Works with the HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift.

BeanVR: This is a Chinese company, with the platform available in English and Chinese. Works with the Oculus Rift.

Still in preview: Linden Lab’s Second Life replacement, Sansar, designed to be VR-friendly from the ground up, and Linden Lab founder Philip Rosedale’s new platform, High Fidelity.

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VR Social App vTime Gets Oculus Touch Support

The inclusion of the social into the virtual reality (VR) sphere has become something of a hot topic of late, with Facebook aiming to normalise social VR with Facebook Spaces. Another social app that tries to bring people together through the power of VR is vTime, which has just released an update that brings in support for Oculus Touch controllers, among other improvements.

The social app has had a wide range of ‘vMotes’ gestures for some time, adding more in another recent update, but now users of the Oculus Touch will be able to use the motion controllers to throw a thumbs up, blow a kiss or do the devil horns. The full suite of vMotes can be accessed using the Touch controllers.

In addition, the developers have refreshed some of the virtual destinations that are available, with Paris, On the Edge, The Executive Jet and Around the Cave Fire having received a minor makeover to allow for a greater range of interaction between users.

With the added realism and immersion of the Touch controllers, the team have had to make some tweaks with regards to people who require a bit more with regards to personal space. A new feature called Personal Shield has been introduced, which allows users to control how close other player characters get, because even in a virtual environment, having too many people too close can get overwhelming.

The development team are also seeking feedback from users on the new features and what other updates players would like to see in future. Users can find out how to send feedback by visiting the official vTime website.

The new update is available now for the Oculus Rift.

VRFocus will continue to report on updates and new features for VR titles.

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Get Emotional with vTime’s vMotes for Oculus Rift and Gear VR Touchpad

This week social virtual reality (VR) app vTime has rolled out several new updates, adding wider support for its vMotes system, the vTime Mini-Menu, and a new destination called The Retreat. 

When the new Samsung Gear VR controller arrived last month vTime added vMotes to the headsets, allowing users to express themselves in numerous ways. These include: Wave, OK, Thumbs Up, Shrug, Clap, Thumbs Down, Peace, Devil Horns, Salute, Hands Up, Celebrate, Hug, Blow Kiss, Love (heart hands), Happy Dance and Robot Dance. Now the Oculus Rift and Gear VR users who don’t have the new controller can also access these gestures.

vTime-vMotes-Virtual-Emojis-Heart-Symbol

A new mini-menu has been included, giving quicker access to the most-used social functions without having to visit the Connections Screen. This is activated by pressing the touchpad while pointing at another user, bringing up options like Add Friend/Unfriend, Block/Unblock, Kick, Make Host, and vText.

Additionally, those looking for a nice relaxing setting to socialise in can head to The Retreat, a Japanese blossom garden. Inspired by Japanese temples and Zen gardens, users will be sat underneath a pagoda with a babbling brook and the gentle sounds of wind chimes in the air.

VRFocus will continue its coverage of vTime, reporting back with the latest updates to the social app.