Virtual reality has moved from science fiction to marketable consumer product astonishingly quickly, partly because the incorporation of the smartphone into the technology makes it accessible, if not ubiquitous. Its looking more and more like those who bet that virtual reality is here to stay, and not a flash-in-the-pan trend, made the smart bet. But what about in healthcare? Could a technology primarily associated with gaming turn out to be a serious therapeutic tool? Well, a growing number of doctors, researchers, and entrepreneurs think it can. Some are even starting to collect efficacy data to that effect. In May, Kalorama reported that the virtual and augmented reality market in healthcare grew from $525 million in 2012 to an estimated $976 million in 2017. Virtual reality is showing promise in treating pain, phobias, post-traumatic stress disorder, smoking cessation, and even at the dentists office. Below, weve rounded up 15 VR use cases, the companies or research institutions that are investigating them, and the successes theyve had so far. Read on for the whole list. 1. Surgical Training As far as medical understanding and technological advancements have come, educating current and prospective doctors is still largely done the old-fashioned way: books, tests, pens and paper. Virtual reality enthusiasts arent standing for it, especially when it comes to training medical professionals for surgery.

Fed up with the almost comical-sounding current method of surgical training, which take place at a few specialized centers around the country and requires the use of expensive artificial body parts a few innovators are offering a new option. Osso VR, which just raised $2 million, provides software that creates a virtual operating room on VR platforms like Oculus Rift/Touch or the HTC Vive. Practicing surgeries in virtual reality allows surgeons to get in more reps, particularly on complicated procedures.

"Right now the way theyre doing it is people have these devices in their trunks, you can only fit like one in and they drive around with hundreds of dollars in disposable, simulated bones to allow people to practice one procedure once," founder and CEO (and trained orthopedic surgeon) Dr. Justin Barad said last year in a presentation at Health 2.0. "Ive done surgeries where I just sat there reading the instruction manual like we were putting together IKEA furniture because people dont have a training option thats something like this. So I really hope this is the future of medical training to increase patient safety, decrease complications, and increase the learning curve for complex medical devices."

Chicago-based Level EX is another surgical training innovator. Airway EX, the company's first app, is a surgical training simulator built by video game developers and physicians from real footage of surgeries. It was launched in beta in October 2016 and available for free on iOS and Android, and the app offers physicians the opportunity to perform virtual airway surgery on realistic patients which are detailed down to their pores across 18 different procedures on the airway. The game is designed for anesthesiologists, otolaryngologists, critical care specialists, emergency room physicians and pulmonologists. Along the way, they can earn Continuing Medical Education credit by playing the game. The idea came to CEO Sam Glassenberg after realizing there was a dearth of surgical simulation centers around the country, and that the simulators lacked the sophisticated graphics and video he saw in the video game industry. Glassenberg, a game developer who comes from a family of doctors and has many friends in medicine, had also been asked several times to help build surgical training programs.

There is a big gap between surgery training simulations and the video game industry. Its like the old business video game distribution model where the equipment was expensive, so you'd grab your roll of quarters and go across town to an arcade, Glassenberg told MobiHealthNews. Of course, now you dont do that, because what you have in game consoles and computers is way better, but the surgical training simulators of today are still like the Pac-Man arcade games. It's that level."

Through realistic simulations of human tissue dynamics, endoscopic device optics and moving fluids to recreate life-life surgeries, doctors who need to practice surgical techniques can do so in a way that doesnt run the risk of harming anyone, even though mistakes in the game can end up a bit shocking.

It bleeds, it coughs, it reacts and its running on a device you already own, Glassenberg said. Its a totally reactive patient.

Additionally, the availability of the app means surgeons can really explore in ways they otherwise couldnt with traditional training modes.

Right now, if you want to try out a new device, they reserve a cadaver lab, or you a mannequin in a room, Glassenberg said. But the beauty of this is you have it on a tablet or phone and it reacts, but its not a live patient. Its perfectly safe. You can try things you never would. 2. Pain Management Probably the virtual reality use case weve covered the most at MobiHealthNews is pain management, specifically Cedars Sinais virtual reality program, headed up by Dr. Brennan Spiegel. As Cedars Sinai, patients use virtual reality to escape the bio-psycho-social jail cell, as Spiegel calls it, of the hospital bed. Using apps made by Applied VR, they have deployed VR headsets to a number of patients to help them manage pain. Weve now done this with well over 300 of our patients and we have been learning a lot about when it works and when it doesnt work, Spiegel said. How effective is this for managing conditions like pain, managing depression, managing anxiety, even managing hypertension? In a small controlled study, the VR technology was able to drop patients average self-reported pain scores from a 5.4 to a 4.1. A 2D distraction experience in the control group only dropped that score to 4.8. And theres some evidence that, by noting whether the headset helps or not, the technology could be used to help determine when pain is a result of something in the body or purely mental. You can read more about Spiegels efforts at Cedars Sinai here and here. 3. Patient Education Pain management is just one area where Cedars Sinai is exploring virtual reality. The hospital is also partnering with Holman United Methodist Church in south LA on a community health education initiative aimed at reducing hypertension in a vulnerable population. The education initiative is much bigger than VR. But the VR aspect is interesting. Members of the Holman congregation used a VR program that takes users into a virtual kitchen where foods are labelled with their sodium content. It then takes them inside the body for a visualization of what hypertension does to the heart. Finally, Cedars-Sinai and Holman UMC created a relaxation app to help congregants deal with stress, which also contributes to hypertension. Holman Pastor Rev. Kevin Sauls narrates the guided meditation in the app. Another virtual reality company, BioLucid, also uses VR for patient education, designing virtual tours of the human body. BioLucid was recently acquired by digital health M&A juggernaut Sharecare. Visual storytelling technologies particularly virtual reality blended with 360-degree video have boundless potential in healthcare and patient engagement, yet consumer-facing innovation in VR has been limited mostly to entertainment and gaming, Jeff Arnold, chairman and CEO of Sharecare, said in a statement at the time. By differentiating our platform with BioLucids immersive simulation of the human body, we can turn data into actionable, visual intelligence, and make a transformative impact on patient engagement, health literacy, medical education and therapy adherence. 4. Clinician Education Gone are the days where text books and two dimensional anatomical images are the only way for physicians to learn about common afflictions. Salix Pharmaceuticals, a New Jersey-based drug development company that focuses on gastrointestinal conditions, developed an interactive virtual reality platform to guide clinicians through an open-minded approach to treatment, which can be difficult to pin down due to the mysterious etiology of IBS. In an educational voyage up close and personal with the GI tract, Salix will guide healthcare providers through the numerous theories floating around on the potential causes of IBS, including changes in the gut-brain axis, an imbalance in the gut microbiome, hypersensitivity to pain signals in the intestinal wall, or a chronic imbalance set off by a temporary gastrointestinal bug.

As a gastroenterologist who treats conditions like IBS on a daily basis, I believe this virtual reality experience will move GI treatment forward by helping healthcare professionals better understand this complex condition," Dr. Brooks Cash, one of Salix's gastroenterology advisors, chief of gastroenterology and director of the Gastroenterology Physiology Lab at the University of South Alabama Digestive Health Center, said in a statement. 5. Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation A few years ago, the Microsoft Kinect and similar 3D motion tracking cameras were set to revolutionize physical therapy. By tracking and gamifying movement, the Kinect could be used to send patients home with exercises, motivate them to do those exercises, and collect hard data on things like range of motion. VIrtual reality enhances that capability even further. VRPhysio is a Boston-based company that offers immersive, interactive virtual reality environments that trick patients into doing physical therapy exercises without even knowing it. For instance, one game puts virtual swords in the patients hands and asks them to slice through a line of targets that appear on the screen. To accomplish that goal, the patient will necessarily test out the range of motion in their shoulders. Another gives patients an always-on water cannon that shoots in the direction their head is pointed, then instructs them to fill a moving barrel -- all the while taking their neck through a full range of movement. On the backend, a physical therapist can see data collected through the device and can change the parameters of the game on the fly in order to guide the patient to the most beneficial exercise. Another company, MindMaze, is using VR for stroke recovery. For stroke victims who have lost the use of the left hand but retain the use of the right, for instance, the computer will project a virtual reality depiction of the nonfunctional left hand, which is controlled by the patient's movement of the working right hand. This can trick the brain into kickstarting the functionality of the other hand. That functionality doesnt use the mask, but another MindMaze product, called Mask, does. Mask is a thin sensor that can be worn with a VR headset. It can detect the user's facial expressions and map them onto an in-game avatar. "If you go into, say, the autism spectrum or other aspects of social interactions, you can imagine a scenario where a patient is controlling something and youre able to emote," CEO Tej Tadi told MobiHealthNews. "Its helpful in a therapeutic context, but also as a true clinical monitor for other kinds of deficits, not necessarily stroke. The Mask is designed to capture emotions either for therapeutic effect or just for consumer gameplay. It just works on both metrics.

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15 health and wellness use cases for virtual reality - MobiHealthNews

Virtual reality has been a topic of conversation for years, but it's been far from a big business. The HTC Vive has popped up, Facebook's (NASDAQ:FB) Oculus is now available, and Sony's (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation VR are some of the industry leaders, but they're far from household staples.

Where VR may gain some traction in coming years is in VR arcades or theaters. Here are four U.S. publicly traded companies that could play big roles in building the VR business of the future.

Image Source: Getty Images.

HTC and Facebook's Oculus platform are the two clear leaders in VR today. Oculus also works with Samsung Gear VR, so it's a broader hardware platform than other competitors. The Oculus site is also one of the most complete platforms for developers, with a store that connects users with content.

For now, Facebook is pushing into the VR space largely hoping to get users to use the technology at home. Most VR arcades today are using HTC or other platforms, not Oculus. VR arcades are popular in Asia and are growing in the U.S., though, so if Facebook can adapt its model to move beyond sales to home users, bringing in business customers like arcades, this could be THE leading VR platform.

Sony's PlayStation VR headset is one of the best in the industry and plugs right into a PlayStation 4. That makes it easy to use and accessible to millions of customers. But it could also limit Sony's long-term potential in VR.

Like Facebook, Sony is going to have to figure out more than how to make great VR content. It'll have to figure out what the business model is going to be behind that content. But being a leading console maker and having leading VR technology is a good place to start from when building a VR business model.

Two surprisingly aggressive VR companies are IMAX (NYSE:IMAX) and AMC Theaters (NYSE:AMC). The two have launched an IMAX VR Center in New York City within an AMC multiplex. IMAX is developing its own VR content and has a flagship location in Los Angeles where it's testing the VR concept on its own.

The two companies are offering a place to watch VR content, although that could change into more game content depending on what's successful. As a content and technology company, IMAX is a key player to watch in VR. It could bring some very interesting content to the industry, and if it can develop an experience that works well in the theater setting it can leverage partnerships with companies like AMC to grow in VR. Right now, IMAX and AMC are just feeling out what works in the industry, but don't be surprised if this becomes a big business for them in the future.

Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Facebook and IMAX. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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4 Stocks That Will Shape the Virtual Reality Business - Motley Fool

Googles virtual reality push involves making some changes to the way people view videos in full 360 degrees.

The search giant ( goog ) said this week that it created a new video file format called VR180 that it hopes makes will make watching 360 degree videos a better experience than with current technology.

Instead of displaying video in full 360 degrees, the new file format only allows for videos to be seen with a VR headset in 180 degrees. By trimming the field of view in half, the video files dont have to be as large as they currently are.

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Additionally, by not focusing on the full 360 degrees, developers can create more compelling and graphically intense visuals that are displayed directly in front of a persons field of vision.

The tradeoff is that when a person wearing a VR headset like the Google Cardboard or Sony Playstation VR turns their head to see whats behind them while viewing a 360 video, they will only see a black screen that fills the space.

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Google said it is working with companies like Lenovo, LG, and YI to build cameras that are designed to work with the 360 video files. Some of these cameras will be available in winter, but Google did not say which ones and how much they would cost.

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Google Debuts a New Virtual Reality Video File Format - Fortune

Holidaymakers will now be able to try before they buy on a virtual reality tour at their travel agent.

Instead of flicking through brochures, Thomas Cook customers can put on a headset and experience their luxury hotel or cruise ship.

The goggles will also allow travellers to take a reality walk on foreign beaches or go sight-seeing without leaving the store.

Customers can choose from 40 videos which will bring to life different parts of their trip, from the plane journey to the resort itself.

Thomas Cook has tried out the headsets at eight branches and plans to introduce them at 17 more by 2019.

Figures from the Association of British Travel Agents show three-quarters of four holidays are now booked online. But Thomas Cook believes new technology may attract us back to stores.

A spokesman said: Customers like it. The Royal Caribbeans cruise ship video led to 45 per cent increase in bookings.

Rival firm Tui, which owns Thomson and First Choice, is also trialling reality headsets with videos and interactive touch screens and plans to ditch its own brochures by 2020.

But Thomas Cook says it has no plans to scrap brochures yet.

Fancy abseiling down Table Mountain or taking a helicopter ride across the New York skyline?

I experienced both when I tried the virtual reality tours at Thomas Cooks branch at Westfield shopping centre in Stratford, East London.

The videos, which last from two and a half to five minutes, are surprisingly realistic.

Thomas Cook manager Zak Bihmoutine showed me how to use a headset.

One moment I was listening to a jazz band in Central Park, the next I was admiring the view from Empire State Building.

Even better was my virtual reality trip to South Africa where I inched my way down Table Mountain then hang-glided across the beach at Cape Town.

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Virtual reality tours through headsets at travel agents could spell the end of holiday brochures - Mirror.co.uk

In Brief Intel has signed up as a sponsor of the Olympic games through 2024. The company is expected to bring its VR, AI, drone, and wireless technologies to enhance viewer experience and hopefully attract a younger demographic.

Computing giant Intel has announced a multi-year deal, stretching through the 2024 Olympic games, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to bring the companys new technologies to enhance the upcoming events. According to Advertising Age, Intel is hoping to bring virtual reality, 360-degree video, artificial intelligence, and drones, to enhance the Olympic Games.

The partnership aims to attract the interest of a younger demographic to help quell the loss of overall viewership. The president of the IOC, Thomas Bach said There are many young people that are living a digital life. So we have to go where they are in the digital world, in their virtual reality.

Intel has, as of late, been experimenting with sports as a way of showcasing their new technologies. They recently made a deal with Major League Baseball to broadcast live games and deliver highlights using their True VR technology.Intel tech will also play an integral role in boosting the spectacle of the games. We can likely expect an evolution of what we saw during Lady Gagas Super Bowl halftime performance. During the games, we can also expect to see unprecedented views of the action as drone technology will be able to give us access like never before.

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Intel Announces Deal to Bring Virtual Reality Tech to the Olympics - Futurism

Virtual reality has yet to become a mainstream hit, but many companies, investors, and developers still have high hopes.

The potential for VR to become a huge hit, VR mergers and acquisition is too big for these boosters to pass up. Augmented reality and VR mergers and acquisition advisory firm Digi-Capital predicts that VR will become a $25 billion market by 2021.

For instance, despite recent setbacks for the Oculus Rift Headset that include smaller-than-expected sales and management issues , Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is still pledging to spend billions of dollars on VR.

It's been a rough stretch for virtual reality over the past year, but there are some developments that show there are still signs of life, according to a survey of 600 VR developers released Thursday by the Virtual Reality Developers Conference.

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But challenges still persist like dealing with headsets that cause people to feel sick that the industry must overcome before the tech becomes a massive success. Heres a roundup of the survey's most interesting findings:

According to the survey, developers cite the uncomfortable feeling of motion sickness as a prominent issue thats impacting consumer adoption. People can often feel sick when wearing a VR headset because what they see in the virtual world doesnt sync up to their physical movements, in addition to problems with latency and frame-rate issues. The resulting incongruity can produce feelings similar to sea-sickness.

One coder that was surveyed said that nobody has developed a one-size-fits-all technique to alleviate motion sickness that VR app makers can use. As another developer bluntly put it, A lot of those [VR] experiences make people sick.

Video games still dominate when it comes to virtual reality, with 78% of survey respondents saying that they're dedicating time to developing games and related VR entertainment apps. The rest of the respondents said they're building VR business apps used for corporate training, marketing content like vacation apps, and industrial design.

Some developers said that the current focus on VR video games is misplaced, because businesses appear more interested in using the tech than mainstream consumers. One developer said that the overwhelming concentration on games and entertainment, gives the impression of [VR] being a toy instead of the world-changing technology that it really is.

Developers appear to be more optimistic about the future of augmented reality, in which digital imagery is overlaid onto the physical world, than virtual reality. The survey said that 77% of respondents believe AR apps will be more popular than VR apps in the long-term.

One developer said ARs advantage over VR is that it does not pose such a high risk of vertigo, motion sickness, or the other potential side effects of VR since people arent totally immersed in virtual world.

Our entire society would have to change to incorporate VR in daily life beyond situationally-specific contexts, said another respondent. "But augmented reality means that you can incorporate it virtually anywhere."

Several big tech companies like Apple ( aapl ) , Google ( goog ) , and Facebook ( fb ) have all debuted AR coding tools this year as a way to spur more developers to build compelling AR apps.

Among some of the survey respondents favorite VR and AR apps released this year include a version of Google Earth for virtual reality headsets that lets fly past awe-inspiring sights, including Yosemite National Park and Italys Florence cathedral.

A VR version of Google Street view also seemed to be a favorite, with one developer saying, Put someone in [VR] Street View of their childhood home and just let them walk around and talk.

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Several coders also mentioned last summers blockbuster game Pokmon Go as important in getting mainstream consumers interested in AR and VR technologies. It really made it easy for people to understand AR, said one developer.

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Virtual Reality Needs to Fix Stomach-Churning Experiences - Fortune

Where might virtual reality lead us?

David Ramos/Getty Images

By Pat Kane

Plonk a set of smart glasses or a virtual-reality helmet before the philosopher Plato, and after his fastidious recoil there would be a moment of self-righteousness: I told you so.

Platos Allegory of the Cave has its inhabitants chained up and gazing at a stony wall. Over it flicker shadows that they take for reality. As we plug in, turn on and zone out with our current repertoire of virtuality-generating devices, we will find it worth musing over the challenge that Plato poses: do wisdom-lovers break those chains, as he suggests, and leave the cave to seek reality? Or do they stay put, finally face down the old misery-guts super-rationalist, and assert that this new layer of simulated experience is as natural to humans as play or art?

Simulation already draws on mythology. The much-heralded Magic Leap platform which sees reality augmented as you look upon it, rather than entirely simulated like in a video game sends household robot-gods scurrying around under tables and schools of whales undulating across the ceiling. Other human beings can be mapped in your augmented eyesight and rendered as cultural icons, creatures, objects, or aliens. An entirely new popular-culture storm is gathering here; last years Pokmon Go phenomenon was the merest flurry.

Still, its good to keep Platos admonitions about delusion and illusion in mind. We have come through a decade in which general enthusiasm for a gameful world (as theorist Jane McGonigal might put it) held out the hope of new forms of education and work. A generation of managers asked: look at all the free labour people do in World of Warcraft, Minecraft and No Mans Sky. Cant we gamify our endeavour or enterprise to elicit a similar kind of commitment? Not just for profit, but for social good, for mental health?

This agenda has progressed somewhat into the mainstream. In the current series of House of Cards, Frank Underwoods presidential challenger the damaged military hero Will Conway uses a war-gaming VR headset as therapy for his post-traumatic stress disorder.

Yet the serious games movement (which has an upcoming conference in July at George Mason University in Manassas, Virginia) can rarely overcome the oldest truth about any human engagement with games, play or mimicry that being able to freely chose to play the game, beyond utility or coercion, is the very point of it.

This freedom to play is not just a rabbit hole into which ones attention disappears. The link between freedom and play could perhaps be preserved in a serious game if the political stakes were high enough. Some regard virtual-world creation as a tool, as yet barely wielded, for reordering society. In his recent book Postcapitalism, Paul Mason wonders why we have no models that capture economic complexity, in the way computers are used to simulate weather, population, epidemics or traffic flows.

Masons simulations would be agent-based and unpredictable: you create a million digital people with digital resources and needs, set them loose in a synthetic world, and are informed and illuminated by what emerges.

The assumption is that economics needs to be much better at anticipating major surprises and crises that arise from messily motivated rather than rationally maximising human beings. Synthetic worlds, with their increasingly daunting simulation power, can set those hares running.

So virtuality could indeed rehearse you for the complexity of the real world, not just act as an escape from it. The optimism of the current wave of AI pioneers, such as Googles DeepMind, is that their learning machines can be the great assistants of not grim replacements for human ambition, vision and will.

Our modern Plato should put on his techno-specs and walk out of the cave. He would still see a real world worth grasping and shaping, but one informed by the simulations and augmentations dancing before his eyes. Will we need new philosophies and philosophers to cope with our permanently virtual condition? Well, one might argue thats all theyve ever done.

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Escape to the future with virtual reality - New Scientist

Jonathan Arnold believes that choosing quality over quantity doesnt have to break the bank.

In fact, he said it makes great business sense.

Arnold, principal at Arnold Development Group, is working to transform modern real estate development with a more sustainable future.

At its heart, sustainable development means doing more with less, Arnold said. You can have a market rate return but also have sustainable and social benefits that are meaningful to people who are searching for purpose and wish to contribute to society with their investments.

Arnold Development which is one of two certified B-corps in Kansas City is currently building a huge passive house in the River Market, which is slated to be completed in the spring of 2018.

With 16-inch concrete walls and triple-paned windows, the Second and Delaware project will reduce energy consumption by 70 to 90 percent, Arnold said.

With many months left of construction to go and 15 percent of units taken, Arnold has faith that many in the community will vote with their dollar and lease at Second and Delaware.

Were not asking people to pay more to go green, Arnold said. For a competitive price, people can rent at Second and Delaware and know that their carbon footprint will shrink.

With a walkable location, low monthly utility costs, large windows, a pool, rooftop garden and other amenities many people will have to see it before they believe it, Arnold said.And now, they can, thanks to a high-tech offering.

Last month, Arnold Development opened a Second and Delaware leasing office a block away from the construction site in which prospective renters can visualize their future home via an interactive virtual reality experience.

The tech allows people to visualize a 360 panorama view of both the studio and one bedroom apartments. But its the two bedroom tour that takes the cake, Arnold said. Virtual tours of the two bedroom apartments enableusers to wander around every corner of the space.

Arnold said theres nothing else like this in Kansas City.

This gives someone the ability to really kick the tires and understand the space, Arnold said. (The tech) can sense your height so you can walk to the shower and see how tall the showerhead is. You can go on the balcony, to the bedroom and this more closely resembles what walking through an already built unitwould be.

The VR experience was built by real estate marketing and consulting firm Arnold Imaging, a sister company to Arnold Development of which Arnold is also principal. Second and Delaware marks the fourth VR development project the firm has worked on. Previous clients include Dinerstein Companies, a national student housing developer.

In addition to the VR, the new leasing office features a replica of the kitchen that will come in every unit, complete with quartz counter tops. The leasing office also features a ceiling to scale at 10 feet and 6 inches and an example of the 16-inch thick walls.

I think that our brains perceive so much through tactile experiences, Arnold said. The more we can marry immersive VR with real world experiences, the real and the virtual, the more powerful it is.Erin Walker, leasing consultant at Second and Delaware, said that offering VR facilitates the leasing process.

As soon as they see the VR, they lease, Walker said. Its truly one of a kind and to be able to give a tour of the building before its even built is amazing.

Arnold said that the faster developers can lease units, the faster they will see a return on their investment. With the emergence of technologies such as VR, developments will begin to be rewarded for investing in quality, he said.

If youre leasing off of just a floor plan, you cant really see the difference between two properties, Arnold said. (With VR,) you can see the ceilings and the countertops and the lights. Developers that are doing the right thing and want to do well for their tenants will be rewarded. Those who are cutting corners (during construction) will be forced out of the market.

In the year ahead, Arnold Development will be focusing on completing the Second and Delaware project, Arnold said. But it wont be long before the firm is ready to scale the sustainable housing model.

The firm is currently in the process of raising a $55 million fund. The Sustainable Development Fund is an equity fund which would allow Arnold to build similar models in walkable neighborhoods in Kansas City and along the east coast. Initially, Arnold said that hes planning to build 1,500 units, with about half being built in Kansas City.

Were in discussions with multiple people who are very interested, right now is kind of the courting stage of getting to know each other, Arnold said. These are long-term relationships and this is a 15-year commitment. You want to make sure that you walk before you run with partners who will be with you for so long.Click here to read more about Second and Delaware apartments and its technology. For photos of the VR, check out the gallery below.

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Sustainable River Market development project booking tenants with virtual reality tours - Startland News

But in gaming, virtual reality is flourishing. Worldwide revenue for the augmented-reality and virtual-reality market is projected to grow to more than $162 billion in 2020, from $5.2 billion in 2016, driven largely by gaming consoles and mobile virtual-reality headsets and experiences, according to IDC, a research firm.

The appetite of gamers for virtual reality was on display last week at the Electronic Entertainment Expo , or E3, the video game industrys annual trade show in Los Angeles. Game publishers such as Bethesda and Sony announced that several popular video games would be available as virtual-reality experiences this year, including the Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, Fallout and Doom.

At E3, independent game developers also showcased half a dozen virtual-reality titles, such as Virtual Virtual Reality, an absurdist black comedy from the studio Tender Claws that plays with ideas of tourism, travel and authority; and SnowVR, a dreamlike game made by two Tehran-born artists who were unable to attend E3 because of travel restrictions.

The appeal of virtual reality in gaming has long been clear. Pete Hines, vice president of public relations and marketing at Bethesda Softworks, which makes the Elder Scrolls and Fallout franchises, said first-person shooter games and open-world role-playing games were best suited to the virtual-reality experience because they provided players with a great sense of immersion.

Youre not looking at a screen on which something is displayed; all you see is the screen youre in it, Mr. Hines said.

What has changed now is that many of the early games with virtual reality are shifting to a more experimental phase. Some of the first titles with virtual reality were more like showcases for V.R. technology, but were moving past that phase, said Richard Marks, head of Sonys PlayStation Magic Lab, part of the companys research and development group.

Now developers are trying out new technologies and ways to apply virtual reality, like artificial intelligence, voice recognition and co-presence, essentially a multiplayer experience in virtual reality that allows two or more players to play together, he said.

One recent example of this is Sonys multiplayer shooter game Starblood Arena, which combines traditional multiplayer gaming with the immersion of virtual reality. The game lets players match up in an online arena and engage in combat in a range of modes, from a free-for-all death match to team-based play, where players can join forces to defend a particular objective.

Virtual reality still faces hurdles in gaming. The industry is still working out how to deal with the nausea that some people feel after they put on an immersive virtual-reality headset, for example.

There are lots of fundamental issues V.R. hasnt worked out, such as nausea or how our body actually moves and reacts, said Mattie Brice, an associate director at IndieCade, an international festival highlighting the work of innovative independent game developers. V.R. has to figure out whats unique about it besides being immersive, a consumer product buzzword for every advancement since games went 3-D.

Other game developers said there was not yet enough demand for virtual reality from consumers to allow more video game studios to focus solely on virtual-reality content.

What needs to happen is for the early visionaries to stay the course, the investors to continue subsidizing the first wave of content until the economics are in place, and the platforms to continue maturing their hardware to bring in more consumers, said Ray Davis, chief executive and a founder of Drifter Entertainment, a Seattle start-up that is working on a virtual-reality multiplayer sci-fi shooter game called Gunheart. All we need right now is a healthy dose of patience.

Still, the video game industrys continued effort in pushing virtual realitys boundaries is leading other industries particularly other parts of the entertainment business to take notice.

Baobab Studios, a California-based virtual-reality animation studio, aims to combine elements of animation and video games to create interactive stories. The studios coming project, Rainbow Crow, an animated virtual-reality series based on a Native American folk tale and developed in partnership with John Legend, who also stars in it, allows players to interact with the storybooklike environment.

For example, in one scene, players can use virtual-reality controllers to paint the surrounding environment, turning it from fall to winter. Waving ones arms up and down causes it to snow.

It took many years for gaming to advance, just like it took decades for film to figure out its language of cuts, pans and zooms, said Maureen Fan, chief executive and a founder of Baobab Studios. Games are often about being someone else or escaping to another reality. Therefore, V.R. intersects directly with gaming. We are at the very beginning of creating this industry.

Follow Laura Parker on Twitter @lauraannaparker.

A version of this article appears in print on June 22, 2017, on Page B8 of the New York edition with the headline: Gamers Keep Virtual Reality Dreams Alive.

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Virtual Reality Is a Disappointment? Not in the World of Video Gamers - New York Times

BETHESDA, Md., June 22, 2017 A group of about 23 middle school-aged military children observed cutting-edge military medical science during a June 3-4 workshop held at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences here.

During the workshop the students donned high-tech virtual and augmented reality simulators and tested out revolutionary modular prosthetic limbs and interacted with experts in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering and math.

The workshop was recently launched by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory through a grant from the Office of Naval Research and is referred to as CONVEY -- Connecting STEM Outreach Now Using VIE Education for Youth.

VIE, or Virtual Integrative Environment, was developed by APL as a training platform to help amputees adapt to using advanced brain-controlled prosthetic devices. Led by prosthetic experts from the university and the John Hopkins laboratory, CONVEY was established for children of military service members to help them gain a deeper understanding of the healing process of an amputee, while learning about science, technology, engineering, and math topics.

Science, Technology, Engineering, Math Careers

The workshop was also designed to motivate the children to pursue STEM careers.

Working in pairs, the students played interactive games that taught them about STEM topics, including physiology, human anatomy, the brain, the nervous system and the muscular system. Wearing the Hololens and Oculus Rift -- virtual and augmented reality headsets -- they were able to see a virtual brain in front of themselves, and examine each of its lobes and functions.

They tried on Myo armbands devices that allowed them to control the APLs Modular Prosthetic Limb as well as virtual prosthetic limbs to better understand a new and developing technology helping amputees gain independence. The students also explored electronics by using circuits, along with lights, motors, and buzzers, bringing them to life by connecting LEDs or battery packs that ran currents through modeling clay.

The workshop culminated in a lively and entertaining virtual-reality competition, which also helped the students to evaluate what they had learned.

Lucille Kistner, one of the students who participated in the workshop, said she was excited about using the virtual and augmented reality equipment because it allowed her to feel what its like to have a bionic arm or prosthetic arm.

Kistner explained how the Myo band allowed her to maneuver a virtual arm while playing pingpong, and as the virtual arm responded to her muscle movements, she could hit the ball back and forth.

Its all related to your brain, so thats cool, she said.

Kistner said shes interested in a career in the field of science, and that shes inspired by how new technology will help make a difference for so many people.

It Was Really Fun

It was really fun, added Noah Hutchinson, another student who participated in the workshop. He enjoyed wearing the Myo armband, too, experiencing for himself how the device responds to muscle movements. He said he was also inspired by how this technology will help amputees do more independently, and therefore have a better future.

Dr. Paul Pasquina, professor and chair of USUs Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation and chief of Rehabilitation Medicine at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, helped organize the workshop.

Having been a leader in the field of prosthetics and amputee care for nearly two decades, Pasquina said he sees great promise in the STEM workshop.

While there have been significant advances in medical, surgical and rehabilitative care over the past decade, the challenges that our patients and families continue to face are constant reminders that more work is needed, he said. It is our hope that the CONVEY workshop will inspire future generations of scientists from a broad field of disciplines to help solve some of these challenges and contribute to an improved quality of life, not only for our men and women in uniform, but for society as a whole.

Enhancing Learning

Dwight Carr, APL STEM program manager, added that CONVEY is also designed to use the virtual training platform to enhance each childs understanding of how STEM concepts are being used to help individuals gain independence, mobility, and human interaction with loved ones.

Its an engaging and interactive way to expand the use of the technology, while helping both the service members and their families, Carr said.

Dr. Peter Squire, program officer in ONRs Human Performance Training and Education office, added its important to be thinking, now, about the capabilities that will be needed in the future, while building the workforce of the future.

This is a good opportunity to understand how science impacts prosthetics, to better understand the way they use science, and to think about what things you can do today that may impact folks tomorrow, Squire said.

Link:

Military Children Use Virtual Reality Simulators at STEM Workshop ... - Department of Defense

Intel says it will bring virtual reality, drones and 360-degree to future Olympics, after signing a deal to become a worldwide Olympic partner through 2024. The company says it will bring its technical prowess to the upcoming Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

Intel "will accelerate the adoption of technology for the future of sports on the world's largest athletic stage," CEO Brian Krzanich said in a statement about the company's plan.

The International Olympic Committee and Intel announced the new sponsorship deal Wednesday. If the plans live up to high expectations, Intel's participation could change the way we watch the Olympics.

Some highlights:

In a sign that the recent trend of letting Olympics viewers to choose their own content will continue, Intel and the IOC say they will give fans "the power to choose what they want to see" and how they experience it.

The technological changes aren't the only thing that will be different about the Pyeongchang Games. In March, NBC said that it would end its longtime practice of broadcasting time-delayed coverage of events.

Read more:

Intel Signs On As An Olympic Sponsor, Promising Virtual Reality And 360-Degree Video - NPR

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NBC 7's Danielle Radin stopped by San Diego Startup Week and talked to a company taking virtual reality to a new level. (Published Wednesday, June 21, 2017)

The co-founder of San Diego Startup Week, Austin Neudecker,said he believes San Diego could become a new leader in the world of virtual reality.

We have tremendous engineers coming out of some of the best research institutions and companies here inSan Diego," Neudecker said in an interview with NBC 7 on Wednesday.

One San Diego-based company in particular -- Ossic -- is paving the way.

The startup has created new types of headphones that take virtual reality sound fromtwo-dimensional, likeyou would hear from a television orvideo game,to 3-D sound.

3-D sound is kind of like how you hear in real life," said Sally Kellaway, creative director of Ossic. "When youre listening to anything in real life, you get 360 degrees: you can listen to anything at any time.

Kellaway said they do this by customizing the headsets to each person'shead and ears.

Ossic currently has a program thatdisplays musical orbs floating through the air. When you touch them with your controller in virtual reality, you can move them around, hearing the music from all sides.

To learn more about San Diego Startup Week, click here.

Published at 6:37 AM PDT on Jun 22, 2017 | Updated at 10:01 AM PDT on Jun 22, 2017

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Could San Diego Be The New Hub for Virtual Reality? | NBC ... - NBC Southern California

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Spider-Man Homecoming hits theaters in early July, and to mark the upcoming release, Sony is launching a tie-in experience for virtual reality headsets. It's coming a week ahead of the film's release date, and it's free.

Sony announced the experience with a short trailer which shows a bit of what you can expect. It looks like a series of mini-games that'll have you shooting webs, eliminating enemies, and, most importantly, swinging through the city. You can check out the video above.

Spider-Man Homecoming VR arrives on June 30, a week before the film's July 7 release. Although the game was produced by Sony Pictures Virtual Reality, it's not limited to PlayStation VR. It'll be available for all major VR systems, including the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive. If you don't own a VR headset, you can still try it out at certain Cinemark theaters in the United States.

In other news, the film appears to be set for a strong opening weekend, and we recently broke down its third trailer. The PS4-exclusive Spider-Man game in development at Insomniac recently got its first gameplay reveal. You can check it out here, and you can also watch our interview with the game's creative director here. It's coming sometime in 2018.

The rest is here:

Free Spider-Man: Homecoming Virtual Reality "Experience" Coming Next Week - GameSpot

June 21, 2017 by Wendy Powell, The Conversation Credit: chombosan/Shutterstock

Virtual reality is much more than just a new form of entertainment, it is increasingly being used in a wide range of medical applications, from treatments to training. Here are a few of them.

1. Pain management

There is good scientific evidence that virtual reality (VR) can help relieve pain. The parts of the brain that are linked to pain the somatosensory cortex and the insula are less active when a patient is immersed in virtual reality. In some instances, it can even help people tolerate medical procedures that are usually very painful.

Other studies have shown that amputees can benefit from VR therapy. Amputees often feel severe pain in their missing limb, which can be hard to treat with conventional methods, and often doesn't respond well to strong painkillers like codeine and morphine. However, a technique called "virtual mirror therapy", which involves putting on a VR headset and controlling a virtual version of the absent limb seems to help some patients cope better with this "phantom pain".

2. Physical therapy

VR can be used to track body movements, allowing patients to use the movements of their therapy exercises as interactions in a VR game. For example, they may need to lift an arm above their head in order to catch a virtual ball.

It's more fun doing exercises in virtual reality than it is in a gym, so people are more motivated to exercise. It can help in other ways too. For example, we found that for patients who are anxious about walking, we can control their virtual environment so that it looks as though they are moving much slower than they actually are. When we do this, they naturally speed up their walking, but they don't realise they are doing it and so it isn't associated with pain or anxiety.

Studying how people perceive and interact with VR systems helps us design better rehabilitation applications.

3. Fears and phobias

If you have an irrational fear of something, you might think the last thing you need is to see it in virtual reality, however, this is one of most established forms of medical VR treatment. Phobias are often treated with something called graded-exposure therapy, where patients are slowly introduced to their fear by a therapist. Virtual reality is perfect for this as it can be adjusted precisely for the needs of each patient, and can be done in the doctor's office or even at home. This is being used to treat phobias such as fear of heights and fear of spiders, but also to help people recover from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

4. Cognitive rehabilitation

Patients with brain injury from trauma or illness, such as stroke, often struggle with the everyday tasks that we take for granted, such as shopping or making plans for the weekend. Recreating these tasks within virtual environments and allowing patients to practise them at increasing levels of complexity can speed up recovery and help patients regain a higher level of cognitive function.

Doctors can also use these same virtual environments as an assessment tool, observing patients carrying out a variety of real-world complex tasks and identifying areas of memory loss, reduced attention or difficulty with decision-making.

5. Training doctors and nurses

Virtual reality is, of course, not just for patients. It also offers benefits to healthcare professionals. Training doctors and nurses to carry out routine procedures is time consuming, and training generally needs to be delivered by a busy and expensive professional. But virtual reality is increasingly being used to learn anatomy, practise operations and teach infection control.

Being immersed in a realistic simulation of a procedure and practising the steps and techniques is far better training than watching a video, or even standing in a crowded room watching an expert. With low-cost VR equipment, controllable, repeatable scenarios and instant feedback, we have a powerful new teaching tool that reaches well beyond the classroom.

Explore further: Virtual reality eases phantom limb pain

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Virtual reality can relieve the sensation of phantom limb pain. A new test devised by researchers at Aalborg University shows that VR technology can trick the amputee's brain into thinking that it is still in control of a ...

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Five ways virtual reality is improving healthcare - Phys.Org

YouTube recently introduced heatmaps for virtual reality (VR) videos with over 1,000 views. The Google-owned video site said the heatmaps will give you specific insight into how your viewers are engaging with videos created in VR.

With heatmaps, youll be able to see exactly what parts of your video are catching a viewers attention and how long theyre looking at a specific part of the video, wrote Frank Rodriguez, a Product Manager at YouTube, in a post announcing the new tool on the YouTube Creators Blog.

Small businesses looking to share new and unique experiences with their audience can take advantage of the emerging VR technology and start creating immersive videos in VR their audience will appreciate.

Check out this video on how to make a simple VR/360-degree video from your smartphone for YouTube:

For those businesses that want to go all in on VR and hone their skills, YouTube says its helpful to know how your viewers interact with these videos. The video-sharing site used its new heatmaps tool to conduct some early research on what makes an engaging VR video.

Apparently, people spend 75 percent of their time looking straight ahead (within the front 90 degrees) of a VR video. So when creating videos in VR, spend significant time on whats in front of the viewer.

While a lot of time is spent focusing on whats in front, people view more of the full 360-degree space with almost 20 percent of views actually being behind them. The more engaging the full scene is, the more likely viewers will want to explore the full 360-degree view, said Rodriguez. So dont forget to use markers and animations to draw attention to different parts of the scene.

The context in which people are viewing VR videos matters too, added Rodriguez. Some might be watching on a mobile and portable Cardboard, while others are watching on a desktop computer. Make sure to give your viewers a few seconds before jumping into the action.

Its worth mentioning it is still early days in VR. Only five percent of people in North America own a virtual reality headset overall. But VR adoption is growing albeit slowly. Small businesses are already utilizing the technology to hold VR conferencing and also immerse customers in VR business events.

YouTube said its also launching its first ever VR intensive program at YouTube Space LA called the VR Creator Lab. Applications opened Friday, June 16, 2017.

Image: YouTube

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YouTube Introduces Heatmaps for Virtual Reality Videos - Small Business Trends

Finnish startup Varjo Technologies is focused on developing VR and augmented reality solutions for professionals that match the human eye.

The company, which was announced on Monday, says its human eye resolution headset -- nicknamed "20/20" after 20/20 vision -- will be 70 times sharper than what's already on the market. That's 70 megapixels, compared to 1.2 megapixels for the Oculus Rift or HTC Vive. It's the difference between reading a poster on the wall of a room in virtual reality versus not being able to make out words.

Varjo aims to get a test version of the device into the hands of professionals by the end of the year. A consumer roll out is expected for 2018.

Related: This virtual reality startup is now worth $1 billion

According to Varjo CEO and founder Urho Konttori, a former product manager at Nokia and Microsoft, the technology can be used for training and simulations across many industries, from industrial design to medicine, aviation and real estate.

"For the first time, you actually see things as they will be or are," said Konttori.

For example, an architect could bring existing software programs to the virtual world to test changes, like new textures.

"Virtual workspaces are completely unusable with today's devices due to resolution and focus, and the next-generation devices from the dominant players aren't slated to be meaningfully better," Prashant Fonseka, investor at early-stage venture capital firm CrunchFund, told CNN Tech. "Varjo brings enough resolution and clarity [to VR] that you could actually throw away monitors and spend time in a virtual environment."

The 20/20 headset could also offer professionals more privacy. It can serve up screens from your laptop and desktop devices, without the concern someone peering over your shoulder or spying on open browsers.

I recently tried a Varjo prototype -- a retrofitted Oculus Rift with a clear rectangular display in the center of the device's screen. Anything viewed through the opening was incredibly life-like, even crisper than my naked eye. Everything outside the rectangle resembled a typical VR resolution experience: Not as clear. This was to highlight the difference between what's available now and Varjo's technology.

Related: The New York Times wants you to read the comments

Virtual reality experts believe it could take up to 20 years to "achieve resolutions that can match the human eye." But Konttori believes his company is well ahead of that curve.

Varjo holds three core VR patents, including one for tech that replicates how the human eye focuses inside a headset.

CNNMoney (New York) First published June 19, 2017: 2:56 PM ET

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VR gets closer to reality - CNNMoney

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A charity helping those with terminal illnesses granted a Plymouth patient their wish to swim in the Great Barrier Reef through virtual reality.

Matthew Hill, who was recently admitted to the St Luke's Hospice specialist unit in Turnchapel after previously being cared for at his home, had told nurses that it was always his dream to dive into the reef and swim amongst the coral and fish.

Those who were caring for the 37-year-old who has bowel cancer, passed on the message about his wishes which was when St Luke's kicked into action to see what they could do to make it a reality.

The hospice put in some phonecalls and contacted TruVision, a Plymouth based virtual reality company who work with the construction industry, to see if they could re-create the reef scene and bring it to Matthew.

Eager to get on board, the company agreed and were happy to offer their equipment and access the software to make the experience of a lifetime possible for Matthew.

Head of the specialist unit at St Luke's, Nicola Pereira said: "Matthew has really captured the hearts of us all at St Luke's and it was a pleasure to make his dream become a reality.

"Matthew was admitted to our specialist unit at Turnchapel last week for pain relief with bowel cancer.

"What is remarkable is that he also has spinal compression which means he is unable to sit upright in bed, so the technology has really made something which some people would have thought impossible, actually possible.

"Matthew will be returning home later this week with a smile on his face and will continue to receive specialist care from our home nurses".

The headset and technology allowed Matthew to be immersed in the virtual water of the Great Barrier Reef where he could swim and look around at moving fish, whales and coral.

A St Luke's spokesperson has said how the hospice, who help people with terminal illnesses, may look at putting together a grant to get funding for a virtual reality headset which could help to fulfil some of the bucket list items many of their staff so often hear about from their patients.

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St Luke's patient gets dreams fulfilled with virtual reality Great Barrier Reef swim - Plymouth Herald

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NBC 7's Danielle Radin stopped by San Diego Startup Week and talked to a company taking virtual reality to a new level. (Published 2 hours ago)

The co-founder of San Diego Startup Week, Austin Neudecker,said Wednesday he believes San Diego could become a new leader in the world of virtual reality.

We have a tremendous engineers coming out of some of the best research institutions and companies here inSan Diego," said Neudecker.

One company, Ossic, ispaving the way, withnew types of headphones that take virtual reality sound fromtwo-dimensional, likeyou would hear from a television orvideo game,to 3-D sound.

3-D sound is kind of like how you hear in real life," said Sally Kellaway, creative director of Ossic. "When youre listening to anything in real life, you get 360 degrees: you can listen to anything at any time.

Kellaway said they do this by customizing the headsets to each person'shead and ears.

Ossic currently has a program thatdisplays musical orbs floating through the air. When you touch them with your controller in virtual reality, you can move them around, hearing the music from all sides.

Published 2 hours ago

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Could San Diego Be The New Hub Of Virtual Reality? - NBC 7 San Diego

While there was no lightning on Thursday, thunder erupted inside the Belasco Theater as Imagine Dragons took the stage for an intimate concert with L.A. fans.

The show was first in a four-part virtual reality concert series hosted by Citi, Live Nation and NextVR, and was recorded in VR for fans to enjoy at home.

As the lights dimmed to glimmers of blues, violets and pinks, drummer Daniel Platzman, guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee appeared. After several booming drum beats, lead singer Dan Reynolds finally appeared to perform the first song of the night, Thunder.

Heavy drum beats, electrifying guitar melodies and roaring applause filled the venue as the indie rock band played popular songs throughout its discography. Following Gold, Reynolds took a quick break from the music to share an appreciation story about Sermon, whose birthday was on the same night.

He was born to be a musician, Reynolds said before resuming with a lively performance of the bands all-time hit Its Time.

With fan favorites such as Its Time, Amsterdam, and Hear Me, fans throughout the venue chanted and sang along to every chorus with Imagine Dragons.

A spectrum of colors filled the stage for each song, seemingly resonating with Imagine Dragons concept for its upcoming album Evolve. While the band didnt perform its newest song Walking the Wire which was released the same day it did play two other songs from the highly anticipated project: Whatever It Takes and Believer.

Slowing down the pace of the night halfway through the set, Reynolds sang part of Bleeding Out as an interlude before leading fans to an emotional rendition of Demons.

The band continued to fluctuate between electrifying and emotional songs, keeping fans engaged while also giving them small breaks in between Platzmans thunderous drumbeats and Reynolds habit of belting out every final chorus.

In the final four songs of the night, Imagine Dragons kept fans on their toes by tricking them into thinking the show was over. Perhaps an intentional move to surprise and excite the audience, the trick caused some members in the audience to exit the venue prematurely before the set even ended.

Reynolds thanked fans for their commitment and loyalty over the past eight years and spoke about the bands upcoming album.

[Going back home] gave me perspective to look back on everything thats happened, Reynolds said. Im overwhelmed with appreciation.

Fans cheered and sang along to the upbeat tune I Bet My Life before the entire band left the stage for a couple minutes. Then, Platzman returned to deliver a deafening, yet impressive solo as a prelude to On Top of the World.

What could have been a positive ending to the show ended up becoming the build-up to a dramatic, jolting finish to Imagine Dragons concert. Multi-colored lights flashed across the stage as the band passionately carried through a captivating performance of Believer, the lead single off Evolve.

After a moment of darkness, the show finally came to an end with what was arguably the best performance of the night. A stream of green lights permeated across the stage as Imagine Dragons delivered an extra rock-and-roll rendition of Radioactive. The band rocked the night away with a two-minute instrumental segment that pulsated throughout the venue even after the lights dimmed.

While the show only lasted about 90 minutes, Imagine Dragons filled the time with a well-balanced setlist that captivated fans and casual listeners. Reynolds, McKee, Sermon and Platzman all had their own shining moments something often rare among bands with only one leading vocalist. Moments like Reynolds banging on Platzmans cymbals or Sermon and Platzman strumming melodies together made the bands chemistry come to life on stage.

Though it would have perhaps been a more strategic move to preview some of their upcoming songs, Imagine Dragons nonetheless owned the night with passionate deliveries and great fan interaction.

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Imagine Dragons bring hits to life in Virtual Reality concert - Daily Trojan Online

Our new reality may be a virtual one. In the past few years, the technology behind virtual and augmented reality has exploded, prompting innovations in fields from gaming to real estate, theater to fine art, with companies as diverse as Samsung, Chairish, and Wayfair incorporating it in various ways. In the latest juxtaposition of VR and design, Brooklyn creative space A/D/O today announced that New Reality Co. will serve as its second artist-in-residence.

Norman restaurant in A/D/O.

Photo: Matthew Carbone

A/D/O, the Mini-backed collaborative creative space that opened last winter to much fanfare, has become a hotbed for design innovation, hosting panels and exhibitions celebrating envelope-pushing design and fostering communal creativity in its nARCHITECTS-designed space on Greenpoint's Norman Avenue (which includes a shop and a Claus Meyer and Fredrik Berselius restaurant). The appointment of New Reality Co. to succeed inaugural artist-in-residence Stephen Burks marks a look to the future.

Milica Zec (L) and Winslow Turner Porter of New Reality Co.

Photo: Maarten de Boer

Helmed by Winslow Porter and Milica Zec, New Reality Co. is a New Yorkbased creative studio that uses mixed and augmented reality to explore perception. Its vision fits neatly with the theme of A/D/O's second season, Common Sense. During their tenure in Greenpoint, Porter and Zec will be creating Breathe, a multisensory, experiential story written by Luke Davies, screenwriter behind this year's Oscar-nominated Lion. The project is the final in a trilogy whose first two parts, Giant and Tree, landed New Reality Co. on Adweeks Creative 100 list.

"Our goal is to inspire positive change through interdisciplinary and multisensory artistry," said Zec in a statement. "This residency will provide us with a vibrant and communal workspace, a home for Giant and Tree, and a network of artists and potential collaborators who understand and appreciate shared human experience." New Reality Co. plans to unveil Breathe in September of this year. We're waiting with bated breath.

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How Virtual Reality Is Redefining Storytelling at A/D/O - Architectural Digest