Ahead Of SXSW, TheWaveVR announces updated creation tools and exciting VR music experience partnership for "Ready Player One"

TheWaveVR, the creator of the world’s first social VR platform and community for VR music and visual arts experiences, has announced it will bring to life the amazing dance club scene from the upcoming theatrical release of Steven Spielberg’s new action adventure “Ready Player One” at South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festival.

With special live VR DJ guest performance by Tye Sheridan, who stars in “Ready Player One,” in theaters March 29, the experience will allow anyone to virtually step inside a scene inspired by The Distracted Globe zero-gravity dance club in the film. In partnership with HTC Vive™, TheWaveVR designed the dance party as an immersive experience for SXSW, including specially designed avatars, iconic 80s visuals and music, plus the ability to fly to the music in zero-gravity. Sheridan will DJ his set virtually using the new Vive Pro VR headset.

“This is a big moment for VR. ‘Ready Player One’ is essentially taking VR performances and features we’ve been delivering to our community and propelling them into the mainstream for anyone to see just what VR is capable of,” said Adam Arrigo, TheWaveVR CEO and co-founder. “We were really inspired by the visuals of this scene, and wanted to let people experience this idea of a futuristic dance club first hand. It was such a natural fit, since we’ve been building the tech platform that already makes it possible.”

TheWaveVR activation will be live at the Ready Player One Experience with VIVE VR at SXSW on Friday, March 9, 2018 at 9:00 pm CT. The experience will be launching for anyone on TheWaveVR’s free app on Steam in the U.S. beginning Thursday, March 15 at 9:00 p.m. CT.

The team also announced updates to its Wave Builder tool, which allows anyone to create their own VR venues, parties and shows. Using an ever expanding library of content from Google’s Poly API and custom visual tools from TheWaveVR, users can upload any 3D model of a scene or venue, perform as the DJ at their own shows, and throw parties for any number of friends or others in the community.

Now users can easily search for specific 3D Poly objects and build a unique VR experience for their friends. For example, a user could host a concert in a French cathedral or throw a bachelorette party in a Las Vegas club. Users can also create tunnels and vortexes, while also utilizing user-interface improvements like easily traveling to different shows and parties from the main menu or checking out which party a friend is located at and easily transporting there.

“The Wave Builder breaks down any barriers between audience member and artist,” said Adam Arrigo, TheWaveVR CEO and co-founder. “It provides meaningful context for VR created art, either spatially, by letting users arrange it, or socially, by letting users share their creations or scenes with other people in real time. This is a major step for us as we build the platform for artists to create and share this new type of content which is native to VR.”

TheWaveVR also officially kicked off its Resident DJ program, which allows anyone to apply to throw regularly scheduled parties, using their own music, on TheWaveVR platform. The program will offer the TheWaveVR community frequent and unique events to attend virtually. The application to apply is available here.

For more information on TheWaveVR, visit http://thewavevr.com/. You can also follow the company on Facebook and Twitter.

BestMeta, the world’s first Blockchain based ecosystem for esports talent, launches today

BestMeta, the first cryptocurrency based platform designed for the esports community, is revealed today. BestMeta aims to give the freedom of creative control back to the talent by providing esports personalities, shoutcasters and professional gamers with an unrestricted platform to connect with fans. The pioneering ecosystem offers a sustainable and transparent network for talent and consumers by utilising the power of Blockchain.

BestMeta was born from a passion for esports and a desire to address the issues which threaten to limit the industry. Led by esports superstar TobiWan, the legendary Dota 2 shoutcaster with more than a decade of experience throughout the esports scene, this is a brand that understands esports and its community. Esports is the fastest growing digital industry in the world today, with over 385 million people watching esports events throughout 2016. For talent, including shoutcasters and professional gamers, though, it can be a different story as there is currently no control for the esports community and no transparency for donation and spending within the industry. Content creation for talent can be restricted by industry giants and sponsors, and the talent themselves have little to no financial independence, or the wiggle room to create their own content outside of stifling sponsorship guidelines.Meaning no sustainable income for talent and no rewards or incentives for fans.  

By creating the BestMeta platform, its founders believe they can provide a sustainable ecosystem for esports talents, providing an opportunity open to all talent to create content and the all-important esports community who can be rewarded through BestMeta Tokens. Through the platform’s token system, BestMeta aims to create a streamlined ecosystem where the talent and the fans are seamlessly connected. The platform gives full control back to talent, allowing them to create content how they want, when they want, whilst also allowing the esports community to benefit through their support. BestMeta utilises Blockchain technology which offers complete transparency and full accountability with all spending and donations between content creators and fans. BestMeta tokens can be purchased by the esports community allowing them to exchange funds for interaction with their favourite talents. A little like collecting your favourite sports cards only you actually get something back in return.

“Utilising Blockchain technology, we harness the power of mass community passion into a trusted, accountable and sustainable esports ecosystem”, says Amy Yu, Managing Director of BestMeta. “BestMeta is the first of its kind to be developed exclusively to support esports talent, born out of a passion to help content creators reach their true and fullest potential.”

Talent can launch their own personalised tokens representative of their brand value, the community is then able to purchase these talent tokens to financially support their favourite esports personalities. As the talents grow in popularity, they will generate greater support, adding to their brand value and rewarding fans for their loyalty and creating a system where the talents and the fans are constantly giving back to each other.

BestMeta’s system of constant cyclical support not only enables the esports talents to earn a regular sustainable income, it offers pay for entry into competitions, opens up funding to explore creative freedoms, and constantly gives back to the fans that are supporting them on their journey. For the community, alongside the value of their BestMeta tokens constantly increasing as their talents grow in popularity, the talent tokens completely break down the barriers between the talent and the fans, offering up unique collaborative opportunities and the option to interact with and support their favourite esports personalities.

“The esports community is one of the strongest in the world and we want to empower that community to achieve great things”, states BestMeta’s Esports Director, Toby ‘TobiWan’ Dawson. “Through BestMeta, we will enable talent the power to build their brand the way they want, their only limit will be their imagination.”

To coincide with the launch, BestMeta will also be producing a brand new 4 episode show called Well Played. Presented by TobiWan, Well Played is the first of its kind to bring together a host of esports pros, content creators, cosplayers, casters and streamers including SirActionSlacks, PyrionFlax, SingSing, Cyanide and OD Pixel for a fun, light hearted, comedy Never Mind the Buzzcocks-style panel show with a mini game storyline. Filmed in partnership with the Department of Theatre, Film and Television at the University of York, Well Played aims to bring the esports community together as an inspirational example to content creators of what they can achieve with their own brand through the BestMeta platform, and what the community can expect to see through the token purchases of their favourite talent. The first episode of Well Played will air at 8pm (GMT), Wednesday 24th January on the BestMeta YouTube channel. 

The BestMeta token pre-sale goes live on 15th February, giving the opportunity for talent and the community to snap up BMT at exclusively discounted prices.

https://www.bestmeta.gg/

HTC VIVE enters CES2018 with new VIVE PRO Upgrade, Wireless VIVE Adaptor, and major upgrade to Viveport

Heading into CES2018 HTC VIVE announced the introduction of Vive Pro and Vive Wireless Adaptor.

In addition, the company debuted new improvements to Viveport VR and Vive Video. These improvements promise on VR   users higher resolution, improved audio, greater comfort, wireless freedom and immersive content discovery.

Vive Pro is a new HMD upgrade from Vive, built for VR enthusiasts and enterprise users who want the best display and audio for their VR experiences. Vive Pro includes dual-OLED displays for a crisp picture resolution of 2880 x 1600 combined, a 78% increase in resolution over the current Vive HMD.

“There’s a clear need in the VR market for a premium VR experience with high resolution display, integrated audio and the best components available today in a headset,” said Daniel O’Brien, GM U.S., VIVE. “Vive Pro offers an immediate upgrade for both VR enthusiasts and enterprises that want to utilize the best VR experience.”

More details on Vive Pro availability and price will be made available soon.

Vive Wireless Adaptor

Also unveiled today, the Vive Wireless Adaptor will be the first to market with a truly wireless VR headset integration for both Vive and Vive Pro.

The Vive Wireless Adaptor features Intel’s WiGig technology and offers a premium VR wireless experience that operates in the interference-free 60Ghz band, which means lower latency and better performance. The Vive Wireless Adaptor will ship in Q3 to customers worldwide. 

“Wireless VR has been on nearly every VR user’s wishlist since the technology was unveiled,” said Frank Soqui, General Manager Virtual Reality Group at Intel Corporation. “By collaborating with HTC to commercialize Intel’s WiGig technology, we will guarantee that wireless VR meets the most discerning quality bar for home users and business VR customers.”

“Viveport is moving to a VR first experience model, and with the all-new Viveport VR, we are changing the way consumers discover, experience and acquire VR content,” said Rikard Steiber, president, Viveport.  “Until now, there has not been a shopping and browsing experience that takes advantage of the full functionality of VR. Available in early access today, Viveport VR increases interaction with content and offers developers a preview that showcases the quality of their titles and experiences.”

Earlier this year, Viveport launched the world’s first VR subscription service to provide a whole new way to access the best VR experiences for a great price. With more than 1,000 titles available on Viveport today, and more than 325 available for subscription, Vive is changing the way users browse and discover content through Viveport VR.

Via Vive Blog

Fashion Comes To Social VR As Sansar Launches User-Created Avatar Clothing Market

Sansar™, announced the launch of a fashion market for user-created avatar clothing, opening new creative and entrepreneurial opportunities for users. In addition, Sansar has launched a first-of-its-kind integration with Marvelous Designer, the fashion design software by CLO Virtual Fashion Inc. used by numerous mainstream brands and independent designers. Fashions created with Marvelous Designer can now be exported directly to Sansar, where users can take advantage of realistic cloth simulation as they customize the fit and style on their avatars.

Virtual fashions enable Sansar users to further customize their avatars, bringing a new level of individuality and personality to the rich social interactions held among VR and PC users on the platform every day. For designers, Sansar’s fashion market also represents a significant new business opportunity. In the popular virtual world Second Life, avatar fashions account for a major portion of the $500 million (USD) user-to-user economy, and some designers have earned millions of dollars from their virtual fashion businesses.

“Our experience operating Second Life has shown how important and valuable user-created avatar fashions are, and with Sansar, we’re taking it to an exciting new level,” said Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab. “Our integration with Marvelous Designer means that not only can you change what you wear, you can customize the fit and style to adjust how you wear it in Sansar. For example, you can roll up your sleeves, loosen your collar, and arrange your scarf just as you like it.”

“Innovative fashion companies, world-leading film and gaming studios, and creative hobbyists around the world are already using Marvelous Designer to create incredible virtual clothing designs,” said  Jaden Oh, CEO & CTO at CLO Virtual Fashion Inc. “Our integration with Sansar is the first of its kind, and it makes it easy for our users to sell their creations in this new market.”

For a limited time, an extended 60-day free trial of Marvelous Designer will be available exclusively to Sansar users. New Sansar users must redeem free trial offer within 90 days of account creation. Existing users can view their offer expiration date by logging into their Sansar accounts.

https://www.sansar.com/

Cat dating sim, Purrfect Date set to hit Steam and your cat loving hearts December 15th.

Drawing inspiration from the dating sim genre (Dream Daddy, Hatoful Boyfriend) and the overall unique world of indie games (Undertale, Pony Island), Purrfect Date is a cross between a visual novel, dating sim, and dark British comedy. You, a human, will get to date cats and uncover the secrets of the mysterious Cat Island.

The trailer says this is about love and not bestiality so I am pretty sure it is going to be a fun light-hearted ode to cat friendship. 

Throughout the game’s seven chapters, you’ll adopt the roles of multiple freshly employed research assistants on an island almost entirely populated by cats. Choose your own adventure as you romance talking cats, balance your stats and carry out your research into the dark and questionable history of the Island.

Developed by Bae Team, a duo of Oliver Hindle (aka YouTube’s Oliver Age 24) and Ruby-Mae Roberts, Purrfect Date’s origins are explained in the game’s new release date trailer.

Published by Bossa Studios (I Am Bread, Surgeon Simulator), Purrfect Date mixes dark British comedy influences with (decidedly furry) dating sim mechanics. Throughout the game, the player adopts the role of several freshly employed research assistants on an island almost entirely populated by cats, on a mission to uncover the location’s shady history.

Get ready for hijinks and hairballs by adding Purrfect Date to your Steam wishlist here. For more information, follow the game on YouTube, Twitter,  Facebook and Instagram.

Vantage Point looks to eradicate sexual assault and sexual harassment, with the help of virtual reality.

Morgan Mercer and the team at Vantage Point are looking to eradicate sexual assault and sexual harassment, with the help of virtual reality.

The team says that existing educational programs fail in several way to truly help victims of sexual assault and sexual harassment.

Morgan Mercer has started a crowdfunding campaign for a virtual reality tool to help people combat the issues of sexual assault and sexual harassment faced by many in campuses and the workplace.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sexual-harassment-training-in-virtual-reality-film-education#/

Working with entertainment industry vet Louisa Spring, Mercer looks to find a way to make many of the issues that seem to only now be strongly addressed by the media truly become things of the past.  

Long before #MeToo, sexual assault and harassment was an epidemic that impeded a woman's ability to live, work, and advance her role in society. Women are now empowered to speak up, speak out, and are working to build a world where sexual assault and harassment will not be tolerated. Vantage Point is a ground-breaking and innovative part of this effort -- and one that will not only change the dialogue and the response, but will hopefully help to put an end to the culture of acceptance around sexual assault. "

- Sara Elizabeth Dill, Director of Criminal Justice Standards at the American Bar Association

"Being a career woman has not always been easy, but having the fortitude to persevere and helping those in need has been my goal throughout life...both personal and professional.  With the recent sexual harassment revelations coming out of Hollywood and beyond, Morgan's virtual reality is a much needed program which will educate and change the culture. It has the impact and positive tone that once unleashed will transform the world."

- Louisa Spring, SVVR Panelist & Founder, SAM-i

Tony Parisi, head of AR/VR strategy at Unity Technologies is currently an advisor on this project along with other influential figures in the tech community including Leen Segers, CEO of LucidWeb and Carrie Shaw, CEO of Embodied Labs.

Please check out the crowdfunding page and support Vantage Point.

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/sexual-harassment-training-in-virtual-reality-film-education#/

Virtual reality haptics startup Contact CI announces equity crowdfunding campaign with SeedInvest

Cincinnati based startup Contact CI ,has announced that they have partnered with the equity crowdfunding online platform SeedInvest to help grow their vision of haptics and spatial computing. SeedInvest is a equity crowdfunding platform that allows access to venture capital and angel investing to everyone. 

Recently Contact CI sent their Maestro glove haptic technology to selected Alpha partners to begin the first in-market use their tech.  Using the feedback the received in the Alpha the team has reduced the size and improved tracking in their prototype haptic glove

"For VR to reach its ultimate potential as a computing platform, the limitless and immersive environments need to feel life like. Our work is focused on enabling virtual reality experiences to be as tangible as the natural world. To improve simulation training capabilities, enable physical feeling virtual handshakes, and create higher levels of presence in VR, we are seeking to raise a seed round with the equity crowdsourcing platform SeedInvest."

         -Craig Douglass, Co-Founder & CEO Contact CI

Related Links:

More info can be found follow this link to the fundraise profile: https://www.seedinvest.com/contact.ci/seed

Get ready for the spookiest Caturday yet with the new Mindshow Spooky Mansion Playset.

Just in time for the season the Mindshow team has released a spooky and cute Mansion Playset with new Halloween themed characters and props.

The new playset allows several ways to create some very scary yet cute scenes.

Oh my lord what is going on with this cat!? Get ready for the spookiest caturday yet!

Download the update and tweet your video to the Mindshow team with #MadeInMindshow!

Microsoft acquires AltspaceVR to bolster their VR positioning.

In July AltspaceVR announced that it was closing its doors, stating that a funding deal fell through at the last minute. The following month, the company would go on to release the following statement “We are now in discussions with third parties to develop a sustainable solution to continue development and growth for the future,” Well it looks like we may now have an idea of who one of those third parties were as Microsoft has acquired the popular Social VR platform.

Announced at Microsoft’s Mixed Reality event in San Francisco Tuesday, Microsoft’s mixed reality lead Alex Kipman, went on to call Altspace “a pioneer in social mixed reality. 

AltspaceVR CEO Eric Romo said Tuesday that the company will continue to embrace the many platforms Altspace currently caters to and it unclear how the AltspaceVR brand and apps will continue under the Microsoft umbrella. 

When AltspaceVR was announced as shutting down in July and official "closed" in August it was met with much sadness in the community.

Though the terms of the acquisition by Microsoft has not been fully revealed and it is unknown of the status of the many employees of AltspaceVR this is a good sign for them. This is also a sign Microsoft wants to take on Facebook in the Social VR plane.

Update: After posting the AltspaceVR team reached out with a quote from AltspaceVR CEO Eric Romo as well as some answers to pending questions about the acquisition.

Quote from Eric:

"When we announced our closing, a common sentiment was that we were pioneers, if not ahead of our time. People were sad that they wouldn't be able to see what we could have built together with our community. I'm grateful that we get a chance to follow through on the story we started five years ago and see how much farther we can take this technology."

What events lead up to Microsoft's acquisition of AltspaceVR?

AltspaceVR announced their closure back in August. Many members of the AltspaceVR team worked hard in the following days and weeks to make sure the technology lived on. They connected with Alex Kipman and found a natural overlap between his goals for mixed reality and their hopes for the future of AltspaceVR. 

Why did Microsoft acquire AltspaceVR?

Microsoft is excited to incorporate communications technology into our mixed reality ecosystem. Today’s social experiences can be one sided: text, photos, and videos are posted by a single person, to be consumed by others later. But AltspaceVR takes social networks, combines them with real-time experiences, and leverages immersive presence to transcend beyond sharing posts to sharing situations. Situations of people, places, and things have deeper meaning and in turn, are more memorable. We’re excited to see how far this technology can go. 

What about AltspaceVR the company?

AltspaceVR will stay AltspaceVR. Microsoft is most interested in preserving the current community that uses AltspaceVR to connect and interact with new and old friends. These first few months will focus on fostering our community and making sure AltspaceVR remains a friendly, welcoming and vibrant place to hang out in virtual reality.  

What about AltspaceVR users?

It’s been a rollercoaster ride for AltspaceVR users and their team. The team will be spending a lot of the next few weeks talking to the AltspaceVR community and finding out how they can build an even better place to hang out in virtual reality. Their new partnership with Microsoft will be an adrenaline shot for AltspaceVR and they hope to bring new events, features and activities for their community to enjoy soon.

Will AltspaceVR stay cross-platform?

Yes. AltspaceVR will continue to work on PC and Mac in 2D mode, HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Daydream by Google, and Samsung Gear VR. 

What does this mean for the AltspaceVR community? 

AltspaceVR will stay AltspaceVR. Microsoft is committed to being the best place in VR to hang out with a diverse community of people. 

Will AltspaceVR work on HoloLens?

The team is excited to see how AltspaceVR can be a part of Microsoft’s MR ecosystem but there aren’t plans to bring AltspaceVR to HoloLens now.  

CatsAndVR.com

Tonight TheWaveVR and Ash Koosha challenge the boundaries of music and take on tyranny with the power of VR.

London-based electronic musician Ash Koosha will perform in the US for the first time via virtual reality in TheWaveVR. Originally from Iran, Koosha is currently hindered by Trump’s travel ban, which targets people from majority-Muslim countries and bars them from entering the United States.  In Ash's 2016 Ted Talk from Oslo he challenged where is the boundary of what is just a sound, and what is actually music. Is there even such a boundary? Tonight TheWaveVR accepts that challange
 

Our real-time 3D visual controls. @AshKoosha will be controlling the entire environment, in addition to the music.

AKTUAL 8.16 7PM PT pic.twitter.com/l6uLe0Fre4

— THΞWAVΞVR (@TheWaveVR) August 15, 2017

Ash Koosha, who had been imprisoned and blacklisted by his home country for making rock music and films, lives in asylum in London, where he produces what RollingStone calls, “uncompromising, dizzying and dense” electronic music. RollingStone named him “An Artist You Need To Know,” last February, upon the release of last year's I AKA I on Ninja Tune.

Unfortunately, Ash had to cancel his supporting tour due to “extreme vetting” of his visa. Earlier this year, he had to cancel yet another tour due to Trump’s travel ban, and has yet to set foot in the US, where he seeks to promote his music.

In January, he issued a statement on the travel ban, writing, “All of my ambitions, contributions and efforts were reduced to bureaucratic paperwork that left me feeling betrayed and burdened because of my ‘place of birth’."

Ash's wave will bring his audio visual show, AKTUAL, to the US, where users will be transported inside his mind to watch him perform his music and conduct dynamic visual forms using TheWaveVR's revamped performance tools.
 

http://thewavevr.com/

2017 Disney Accelerator company The VOID to work with Lucasfilm’s Immersive Entertainment division to create Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire hyper-reality experience.

Lucasfilm, ILMxLAB and The VOID today announced the new Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire hyper-reality experience. This ground-breaking experience will open to the public at two new VOID Experience Centers at Downtown Disney at Disneyland Resort and Disney Springs at Walt Disney World Resort beginning this holiday season, giving Star Wars fans the opportunity to step beyond reality and into a galaxy far, far away.

“At The VOID, we combine the magic of illusions, advanced technology and virtual reality to create fully immersive social experiences that take guests to new worlds,” said Curtis Hickman, co-founder and chief creative officer at The VOID. “A truly transformative experience is so much more than what you see with your eyes; it's what you hear, feel, touch, and even smell. Through the power of The VOID, guests who step into Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire won’t just see this world, they’ll know that they are part of this amazing story.”

ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s Immersive Entertainment division, created this first of its kind experience, in collaboration with The VOID. Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire will plunge guests directly into the iconic Star Wars galaxy. Guests will move freely throughout the untethered, social, and multi-sensory experience as they interact and engage with friends, family and Star Wars characters.

“At ILMxLAB, we want people to step inside the worlds of our stories,” explained Vicki Dobbs Beck, executive in charge of the division. “Through our collaboration with The VOID, we can make this happen as guests become active participants in an unfolding Star Wars adventure. By combining Lucasfilm's storytelling expertise with cutting-edge imagery, and immersive sound from the team at Skywalker Sound, while invoking all the senses, we hope to truly transport all those who experience Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire to a galaxy far, far away.”

Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire marks an important milestone in the continued expansion of The VOID, which also joined the 2017 Disney Accelerator earlier this year.

About The VOID

The VOID is a destination that inspires the exploration of fully immersive worlds with friends and family, creating memorable experiences together. By combining physical sets with real-time interactive effects, The VOID allows you to step beyond reality, engaging all your senses, transporting you to new and unimaginable worlds. In July 2016, The VOID opened its first public experience at Madame Tussauds New York. In 2017, The VOID expanded with locations at The Rec Room in Toronto and the company’s headquarters in the greater Salt Lake City area with additional locations planned for the second half of the year. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.thevoid.com and join @VOIDVR on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.

About ILMxLAB

Founded in 2015, ILMxLAB, Lucasfilm’s Immersive Entertainment division, combines compelling storytelling, technological innovation and world-class production to create truly impactful, immersive entertainment experiences. ILMxLAB develops experiences for virtual reality, augmented/mixed reality, real-time cinema, theme park entertainment and narrative-based experiences for future platforms. For more information visit ilmxlab.com or follow @ILMxLAB on Twitter.

HP’S VR STRATEGY PAVES THE WAY FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS FOR VR.

HP’S VR STRATEGY PAVES THE WAY FOR COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS FOR VR.

8/1/2017 - LOS ANGELES - “76% of virtual reality applications are geared towards video games” explains Xavier Garcia, VP for HP Z Workstations. And on Monday, HP announced a set of products as part of a broader strategy to diversify the VR landscape with offerings geared towards businesses. The two most noteworthy: A wireless VR workstation - The HP Z VR Backpack, and 13 Immersion centers slated to open globally.

THE BACK PACK - Solving Untethering

The backpack addresses a major hurdle for higher end VR developers - an untethered experience allowing full freedom of movement without sacrificing computing power. Partnering with giants like Intel, NVIDIA and VIVE (the major hardware giants in the space) HP hopes to solve the tethering problem by strapping the user with the workstation. Other solutions which include streaming the signal from the workstation to the headset (TP Cast for example) or offering an all inclusive headset (such as the GEAR VR or HTC Vive’s unreleased 3 DOF heasets)

Speaking with HP reps, it was clear that at the very highest end of the market, the mild inconvenience of carrying the workstation would be the only downside to giving enterprise clients a best in class VR experience. Streaming solutions as of yet, have resolution hiccups and are limited in multi-user experiences. All inclusive headsets such as Samsung Gear VR, are too underpowered when compared to high end workstations.

When demoed - the backpack itself felt super light weight (approximately 10 lbs), pretty quiet and didn’t overheat. I didn’t get a chance to demo it for longer than 15 minutes so the jury’s still out on how it performs over long periods but from what I could see and feel, It was a far superior experience to being tethered to a traditional workstation. It’s also built to be rugged - withstanding the demands of military and law enforcement training requirements. Lastly the pack can be charged with a docking station, and since I didn’t get a chance to test it for long periods of time I’m uncertain of how much power you’ll get with the pack.

The backpack will start at $3299 and will be available in September.

THE IMMERSION CENTERS

The second announcement addresses another hurdle - a crisis of imagination. The immersion centers hope to allow commercial clients to see VR applications applied to their businesses. Whether that be virtual showrooms, design and product prototyping or training applications.

This could go both ways - if the demos and applications are well thought out and targeted, it could help push commercial VR adoption. But, if the demos fall short it may turn off businesses from considering VR technology. I’m optimistic for the former, and applaud HP for making the investment. VR’s commercial adoption hinges on companies and business leaders finding value and use cases in the technology. Showcasing commercial applications, if done right, could help decision makers find these use cases.

While VR hasn’t yet become an integral part of industry or business in the same way the internet, smartphones or PC’s have, the big hardware manufactures think its adoption as another tool is around the corner. Hopefully, with manufacturers shifting their priorities towards businesses, we’ll be moving a little closer to that breakout moment.

www.catsandvr.com/blog/

Today as we battle for the future of all of the Cait And Doggo memes, check out Cyber Animal, a game about feeding Cyber Animals to save the internet.

Today as we battle for the future of all of the Cat And Dog memes, check out Cyber Animal, a game about feeding Cyber Animals to save the internet. The game came from developer Moodie Younis's obsession with GIPHY. Younis describes GIPHY as a sort of vast catalog of mostly useless and terrible one hit wonder records. He used that inspiration to create a shooter where you are rocketed into cyberspace, and tasked with feeding the ravenous Cyber Animals of Cyberspace with little nuggets of love and whip cream.

Moodie's game encapsulates several elements of why our Internet freedom is important. Not only are Memes an integral part of the game but Moodie used several online Unity tutorials to become a first time VR game developer. He then decided to share his experience and new found knowledge base with the world using Medium.

 https://medium.com/@myounis/cyber-animal-vr-case-study-ada0c9d4b86b

Comcast, Verizon and AT&T want to end net neutrality so they can charge extra fees to control what we see & do online. On July 12, we take the first step to stop them. This is a battle for the Internet's future. A fight not only for the freedom of Cait and Doogo Memes but also a future of knowledge building and sharing. 

https://www.battleforthenet.com/

Moodie is an interior architect turned VR / AR designer and developer based in San Francisco.

http://moodieyounis.com/virtual-reality/

Decentraland looks to be the decentralized VR creators paradise built on the Blockchain we have all been dreaming of since last year.

Gamers spend upwards to 20 hours a week building, gathering, teaming up with other gamers, and fighting over digital good in virtual worlds owned by central organizations like Facebook and Blizzard. As VR grows we see value in Virtual worlds like AltspaceVR pop up but issues still exist like l the imitations of what 'rules' can be modified as well as issues of the ownership of content built by the users.

The lack of a true 'creators paradise' as well as the incentive to invest time and effort creating unique VR experiences has created some of the lack of content issues VR is currently facing. 

Decentraland is looking to tackle the creators paradise head on with its distributed platform for a shared virtual world in which participants can navigate, discover, and interact with other people and entities. Ownership of virtual land is blockchain-based and the land itself is a non-fungible, transferrable, scarce digital asset stored in an Ethereum smart contract that can be acquired by spending an ERC20 token called MANA.

View fullsize

To fund the continued development of the platform a token sale has been announced for August. https://blog.decentraland.org/the-decentraland-token-sale-terms-81861704c086

The platform could very well help to create those Ready Player One ecosystems that VCs are expecting today without understanding the massive leaps VR needs to make. It can also help make the Blockchain more appealing to content creators looking for a new avenues of monetization and discoverability. 

Also I am pretty sure there will be porn on there...and the Decentraland team is aware of how complicated this may be in a decentralized virtual platform as noted in their white paper. This is a discussion I see debated very much in the early stages of the platform.

Example User feedback on the ongoing discussion of Adult Content on the platform.

For many Blockchain and VR are sexy silicon valley buzzwords, for many more they are potentially the backbone of a new ecosystem of trade, information, financial and societal growth just like the Internet was promised to be. Also much like the internet it may still be a new platform for adult content and cat videos. I personally am trying to be the cat king of Decentraland. 

Word.

By the way they are working with Aragon very closely. Pretty sure Aragon will be the reason Ether will be wayyyyy super valuable in the future. You prob should know what they do. https://aragon.one/

Also is you want more tech news from a cat perspective check out my new site ARKittens.com

Oculus partners with the California State Library to continue their goal of making VR accessible

“Without libraries what have we? We have no past and no future.” —Ray Bradbury

Access to information and knowledge opens the doors to new possibilities and let us experience worlds that would otherwise be beyond reach. Through a new partnership with the California State Library, Oculus is giving access to VR to people that may never have the chance. This pilot program will place 100 Rifts and Oculus Ready PCs in 90 libraries throughout the state.

“It’s pretty cool to imagine how many people will try VR for the very first time—and have that ‘wow’ moment—in their local libraries,” says Oculus Education Program Manager Cindy Ball. “We hope early access will cause many people to feel excited and empowered to move beyond just experiencing VR and open their minds to the possibility of one day joining the industry.”

The 90 participating locations span nearly half of the state’s 184 library jurisdictions—with the possibility for future expansion.

“If this pilot is successful, that shows that library patrons and librarians value the availability of VR equipment in libraries,” Ball said. “Next steps would include the California State Library expanding the program by allocating or raising additional funding to scale the presence of VR.”

The applications available for discover and explore include Google Earth, Apollo 11, Titans of Space 2.0, Everest, Ocean Rift, The Body VR, Guided Meditation VR and Star Chart. This program also gives some additional life to the excellent work of the now defunct Oculus Story Studio. Dear Angelica, Lost and Henry will also be available.

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/

Women In Tech Spotlight: Emily Olman (Hopscotch Interactive and VR/AR Association)

Emily Olman is the founder of Hopscotch Interactive, a marketing and media services company for promoting extraordinary spaces. They create custom marketing solutions with Matterport 3D Photography, 360°, and VR. Hopscotch Interactive was recently nominated as Matterport Service Partner of the Year from over 1000 MSP's for the inaugural "Matty Awards". To see a list of all of the nominees, winners, and some stunning examples of 3D photography visit the Matty Awards homepage here.

Emily is also the San Francisco Chapter Co-President of the VR/AR Association (VRARA), the global association for the Virtual Reality & Augmented Reality industry with local chapters in major cities, connecting leading solution providers with brands and customers. VRARA works with each member company to promote their solutions and services and puts on high-level VR/AR events in the San Francisco Bay Area. 

You can join Hopscotch Interactive and the VR/AR Association SF Chapter on Wednesday, June 14 (6pm-10pm) at The Flight Deck in Oakland for an exciting program on Lightfield Technology & Volumetric VR featuring speakers from: Lytro, Visby, and Lightfield Labs and Hopscotch Interactive. The fun continues with demos, giveaways, VIP networking, and Exit Reality in action with their mobile VR truck!

And, 360° Filmmaker Kevin Kunze of Kunze Productions will be giving away 100 cardboard viewers to lucky attendees. Use code SPEAKER5 for $5 off tickets. Reserve your VIP ticket here. 

http://www.catsandvr.com/blog/

Beast In Show @ AWE 2017 is Beast Pets! Check out this interview with the Mother Of Dragons Vivian Tan.

Beast is a VR platform that brings digital pets to virtual "life" through artificial intelligence and personalities. It is also the winner of the very first CatsAndVR Best Of Cute award which goes to the cutest thing I saw at a particular conference.  Seriously Beast Pets are basically smart pets for VR. The dragons are basically flying puppy-kittens that actually interact like I would expect out of Cat Dragons. I spent a little bit rubbing their lil dragon tummies, playing laser with them, and just overall going into cute overload.

I could go further into this cute thing and say Chief Beast Of Beast Inc is cute as a button but I'm not. I'm going to say she is the mother of Dragons and beasting her way with a product that has the potential to not only be a cute VR experience but also have the ability to touch the lives of those who have disabilities. I believe this company is doing a good job of separating it self from the multitudes of VR gaming startups in the ecosystem.

For one Beast Inc is part of the current Boost VR class and is using that to establish connections and be everywhere.  Beast Inc recently had the chance to showcase their product and brand in partnership with SVVR at Maker Faire and was so very well received they won a blue ribbon. 

I ran into the team at AWE2017 and all I really had to say was AWE! I totally loved the product and suggest CatsAndVR readers be part of the beta. We even secured our readers access to the private beta. Just send an email to Team@BeastPets.com and mention CatsAndVR.com sent ya. 

To be completely transparent I was a tad bit jealousy that Vivan beat me to the VR Pet market but I am ok with it because that market I care about looks to be in the hands of a very sharp individual who cares about the product, the ecosystem, and the true value of pet friendship to others. She has partnered with BoostVC, SVVR, and has assembled a team that also cares about her vision including Kate Hughes who is known for her Holo-Dog project for Hololens. 

All in all I believe in this product and I am V glad there are others out there that believe in the Beast Inc vision. 

Edit: Can't end this with out giving a shout out to Beast Co-Founder Mat Tyndall. Thanks for the demo!

Meta: Making Augmented Reality Fashionable.

At AWE 2017 Meta announced its Meta Workspace, a spatial AR operating environment designed for creativity and collaboration.

The original Meta AR headset was a great proof of concept with a great 40° field of view much like Microsofts Hololens is today. That was three years ago. The feedback the Meta team received from this was that it was good for R&D, good for innovation, good as a glimpse into the future of computing, but not good enough to replace the screens that characterize our lives in technology. 

The teams answer was to tap in some of the most innovative AR minds globally to develop an optical engine that can create a 90° field of view. The Meta team also tapped into the Google Project Tango framework to acquire the expertise of Alan Betran in developing a sensor array capable of dexterous hand interaction.  With over 600 patent claims for the technology, the Meta team now offers us a truer vision of their future of reality. 

I spoke with Meta's evangelist extraordinaire Ryan Pamplin about what its like to be part of an award winning AR company making the term Augmented Reality fashionable. 

Ryan Pamplin: It is an honor, really and truly, the team loves this. The team sleeps, eats, and breathes Meta. Not for the sake of AR, not for the sake of technology but for the sake of a more natural computing experience.  

Check out my interview with Ryan above. 

What is the Meta vision for the future of computing? To shift the paradigm of computing from a small scale flat experience to a visceral reality of interaction and point of view.

The Meta team has stepped their game up with their new operating system which overlays the physical world with your computer's desktop, eliminating the need for a monitor. Meta won an Auggie award for Best In Show at AWE 2017.  

Meta is the precursor to a future that will use VR, AR, voice control, a digital canvas and haptic technology (recreating the sense of touch) all working together to let people create in more natural ways.

Ryan Pamplin had some advice for me to work on AR cats.....well maybe if I had a Meta Cat shirt I might be incentivized. 

www.catsandvr.com/blog/

Sony and Grammy Award winning Selfie fanatics The Chainsmokers colab for FREE Playstation VR interactive musical experience.

Grammy winning dance music duo, The Chainsmokers have a free Playstation VR app out now. A collaboration between Sony and The Chainsmokers, the free Paris.VR Virtual Reality Music experience is currently only available in North America and getting some good reviews on Reddit with user feedback being one Reddit user saying, “Whether you’re a fan of EDM or not, I highly recommend checking this thing out!”
 

You can Influence new remixes of the hit song ‘Paris’ based on the choices you make throughout the experience. Structures and objects activate new audio elements simply by looking around. Choose a new path each time you enter the experience, and let the music engulf you as you lean into the experience, or simply lean back and enjoy the ‘Paris’ daydream.

The Chainsmokers came to my attention with their tonuge in check video for their song "Selfie" and have come quite a way to now be considered established creative talents. I look forward to checking out Paris VR.

CatsAndVR.com

The Awesome VR Content Creation Platform MINDSHOW gets a HUGE Update!

As the Mindshow team heads into their upcoming open beta they have released a HUGE update for early adopters. 

First up the team has introduced starter scenes to provide a little creative inspiration!

Starters help you create shows very quickly because they come with half the story - it's up to you to complete the scene by adding your own personality!

Currently their are three starter scenes: Mile High Hug, Made Up News, and Bad Doctor. You can look forward to seeing even more starters as they head towards Open Beta! 

Here is the CatsAndVR take on the Bad Doctor starter scene

The Dev team has also added in some great camera improvements with a fixed camera, a stedicam, and also doubling the size of video exports to 1080!

BUT WAIT THERES MORE!

New Characters and scenes make the platform well worth going back to if you have not touched it in a while.

Now you get to play as: Doctor Cleo, Scientist Franklin. Reporter Carlita, Lenny the Pilot. and Surgeon Clark. 

Operating Room:
Perform surgery on a piñata and other life saving scenarios!

Mindshow Nuze TV Studio:
Shoot your own news segment in VR!

Mindshow is quickly becoming the darling of the LA VR scene and a must play expereience. 

Cosmo and the Mindshow team are hard at work heading into the open beta, if you are currently in the Alpha I suggest you jump back in ASAP. If you have not tried Mindshow yet go learn more about this amazing VR experience and all the new updates here.  https://medium.com/@Mindshow/4-26-update-31e1516bad2e