Some new technologies can be tuned to our personal characteristics, like the voice recognition on smartphones trained to recognize how we speak. But that isnt possible with todays virtual reality headsets. They cant account for differences in vision, which can make watching VR less enjoyable or even cause headaches or nausea.

Stanford researchers are trying to personalize virtual reality headsets to take eyesight into account. (Image credit: iStock/AleksandarNakic)

Now researchers at Stanfords Computational Imaging Lab, working with a Dartmouth College scientist, are developing VR headsets that can adapt how they display images to account for factors like eyesight and age that affect how we actually see.

Every person needs a different optical mode to get the best possible experience in VR, said Gordon Wetzstein, assistant professor of electrical engineering and senior author of research published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Though the work is still in its prototype stage, the research shows how VR headsets could one day offer the sort of personalization that users have come to expect from other technologies.

We hope our research findings will guide these developments in the industry, Wetzstein said.

The problem that the researchers set out to solve is that the display screens on VR headsets dont let our eyes focus naturally. In real life, once our eyes focus on a point everything else blurs into the background. VR makes focusing more difficult because the display is fixed at a certain point relative to our eyes. This eyestrain can cause discomfort or headaches.

Over a 30- to 40-minute period, your eyes may start hurting, you might have a headache, said Nitish Padmanaban, a PhD student in electrical engineering at Stanford and member of the research team. You might not know exactly why something is wrong but youll feel it. We think thats going to be a negative thing for people as they start to have longer and better VR content.

Importantly, the effects of visual conflicts in VR may affect younger and older people differently. For example, people over the age of 45 commonly experience presbyopia a difficulty focusing on objects close up. Younger people dont generally have presbyopia but they may have vision issues that require them to wear glasses. In either case, current VR headsets dont take these vision difficulties into account.

One insight in our paper is to consider age as a factor, rather than focusing only on young users, and to show that the best solution for older users is likely different than for younger users, said Emily Cooper, a research assistant professor in Dartmouths Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences.

The researchers are testing hardware and software fixes designed to change the focal plane of a VR display. They call this technology adaptive focus display.

The group tested two different hardware options. One relies on focus-tunable liquid lenses. Twisting a dial squeezes the liquid lenses inside the headset to change the screen display even though the lens itself remains in place. The other option involves mechanically moving the display screen back or forth, like adjusting a pair of binoculars. The system also incorporates eye-tracking technology to determine where on the screen the user is looking.

In conjunction with the eye-tracking technology, software ascertains where the person is trying to look and controls the hardware to deliver the most comfortable visual display. The software can account for whether a person is nearsighted or farsighted but cannot yet correct for another vision issue called astigmatism. With these displays, VR users would not need glasses or contacts to have a good visual experience.

Its important because people who are nearsighted, farsighted or presbyopic these three groups alone they account for more than 50 percent of the U.S. population, said Robert Konrad, one of the researchers and a PhD candidate in electrical engineering at Stanford. The point is that we can essentially try to tune this in to every individual person to give each person the best experience.

The researchers tested prototypes of these personalized VR displays at last years SIGGRAPH conference. Tal Stramer, a Stanford graduate student in computer science, was involved in this phase. The team tested their adaptive focus display on 173 participants aged 21 to 64 and found that the technology provided improved viewing experiences across a wide range of vision characteristics.

This research was supported in part by the National Science Foundation, a Terman Faculty Fellowship and grants from Okawa Research, Intel Corporation and Samsung.

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Personalized virtual reality displays match eyesight | Stanford News - Stanford University News

Prepared for the weather

National University of Singapore

By Timothy Revell

Virtual reality devices can already fool your eyes and ears. Soon your other senses will be fooled too, with the creation of a device that can bring the weather in your virtual world to life.

Nimesha Ranasinghe at the National University of Singapore is working towards the ultimate VR experience. Last year, his team showed how electrodes can be used to add sweet tastes into virtual reality. His new accessory, called Ambiotherm, adds atmosphere into the mix as well.

Ambiotherm has two components that combine with a normal VR headset. The first is a wind module that contains two fans that clip on to the bottom of a headset.

This means that we can simulate the wind blowing in your face, for example, as you ski down a mountain, says Ranasinghe.

The second is a temperature module that attaches to the back of the neck. So when walking through a virtual desert, we can simulate the harsh sun beating down on you, he says.

The accessories dont just affect the area they are pointing at, though. In previous experiments, Ranasinghe and his team found that if heat is gradually applied to the neck it feels like the whole body is experiencing a different temperature. Similarly, wind passing the throat can give the impression of standing somewhere windy.

Visuals and sounds are the easiest part of the real world to replace. Its much more difficult to simulate other senses, so its really interesting what theyve done, says Adalberto Simeone at the University of Portsmouth, UK.

Other attempts to emulate environmental conditions in VR experiences normally involve a room with fans and heat lamps dotted around, says Simeone, so making it compact is a big achievement.

By making VR more realistic it could increase the possible uses. Researchers have already shown that VR can reduce pain, reduce fear of death, and even help people who are paralysed regain some feeling in their legs.

Were studying how human emotion can be augmented using multisensory VR. The next step is to start including smells and vibrations, says Ranasinghe. Ambiotherm will be presented at the Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems in Colorado in May.

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Virtual reality weather add-ons let you feel the sun and wind - New Scientist

Deshaun Watson shredded the vaunted Alabama defense when it mattered most in the fourth quarter of the national title game to give Clemson its first championship in three decades. Of all the eye-popping stats that the Tigers superstar QB produced, the most jaw-dropping is this: in the fourth quarter when faced with the blitz, Watson went 6-of-7 with two touchdown passes.

People talk about being in the zone, and Watsons cool response to pressure epitomized it. And its probably because hed seen it all before many times.

Clemson is one of the college football programs that has been on the front end of the virtual reality movement in sports. The Tigersstaff estimates that Watson devoted about 40 percent of his time in virtual reality immersed in blitz pick-up situations. Obviously, Watsons own talent and vision was a key factor in his ability to burn the Bama blitz, but his coach also gives credit to VR for helping the Tigers take their program to the next level.

I didnt know what to expect early on from (the VR), but its been great for us, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney told FOX Sports last month. Weve learned how to maximize theefficiency of it. Deshaun might go through yesterdays blitz script. (Linebacker) Ben Boulware can go in and practice without having to practice. Sometimes a guy who is hurt can still get mental reps. Theres just so many uses for it. Its been a great teaching tool.

Two years ago FOX Sports delved into the subject of virtual reality coming into the world of football. Stanford has been the first program to go all-in, but now there are 13 FBS programs and six NFL teams using the technology via STRIVR Labs (the company that started at Stanford). Clemson actually spends even more time using it than Stanford does, according to STRIVR data.

Temple was another program whose usage of VR actually surpassed Stanfords in 2016. The Owls might be the best example of its impact as it related to their first league title in 50 years. They blew out Navy 34-10 and held a Middie triple option attack that had been averaging 61 points per game the previous three games to 51 points below that after Temple linebackers and DBs did over 500 VR reps in the week leading up to the AAC title game. In addition, Temple QB Phillip Walker hadnt been able to do much in practice that week because he was in a walking boot and instead got his reps in the VR headset. Walker completed nine of his first 11 passes for 112 yards and two touchdowns against Navy and went on to win the Most Outstanding Player award for the AAC Title Game.

Im a huge, huge believer in virtual reality, former Temple coach Matt Rhule, now at Baylor, told FOX Sports. We had it for the last two years and won 10 games in each of those years.

I think the eyes are one of those untrained aspects of football. Everybody talks about speed and how fast a guy is but its also about recognizing plays and structure, and I think instincts can be learned and taught, so that intangible thing becomes tangible.

At Clemson, Watson is moving on to the NFL, but VR will remain a big factor for the Tiger QBs. One of the quarterbacks vying to replace Watson is Zerrick Cooper, who red-shirted in 2016 and didnt get any reps in practice on the field but he did in the VR lab.

He was able to sit in my meetings for 30 minutes and the other 30 minutes, Id send him to the VR room, which is right next to my room, and he would go thru all of the concepts, cross it off on the playbook and hes in the game, said Tiger QB coach Brandon Streeter. Hes in 7-on-7. Hes really doing it almost. Hes done very well.

Cooper would put the VR headset on to go through many of the same things Watson and the Tigers other QBs experienced the previous day at practice. I was able to get game-like reps, he said. I could be in the play, look around, see what the defense is giving me. Look at a blitz period. You get to see the front and the coverage and how the safety rotates.

Swinney said VR hasnt just helped develop his team on the field, Clemsons also used the technology to boosts the Tigers recruiting.

We can capture what its like to run down the hill. We can put you on the field and experience Death Valley live. You can experience that locker room celebration live. Maybe you cant come visit. But now we can bring it to you.

Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports | Kim Klement

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Virtual reality has a growing impact on college football - FOXSports.com

Mashable

This company is opening a virtual reality multiplex this fall Mashable Los Angeles is set to become home to a very futuristic theater experience this fall, as "new location-based virtual reality venture" Dreamscape Immersive launches a VR multiplex in the city in September. Using technology based on medical imaging and ... Dreamscape Immersive Wants to Bring Virtual Reality Multiplex to Los AngelesNasdaq Game-Changing Location Based Virtual Reality Venture Dreamscape Immersive to Launch September 2017Yahoo Finance Spielberg Looks to Grow Virtual Reality Business With Retail Experiencebrandchannel.com all 6 news articles »

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This company is opening a virtual reality multiplex this fall - Mashable

Behind the scenes of "Dreaming of Italy," the VR presentation filmed in Milan, Italy for New York Fashion Week.Courtesy: Samsung, FTL Moda

Fashion and tech are two industries that have danced around each other the last few years, but beyond the vague hybrid buzz term "fashion tech," they've have had trouble finding a true love connection.

Tech appears to be more willing or at least more ambitious with some laudable strides with wearable technology as far as fitness trackers go . Fashion, however, has always seemed more reluctant. Sure, Google Glass made the runway at a Diane von Furstenberg show a few years back, but look how well that went .

Samsungmaybe not the first brand that comes to mind when thinking about high fashionhas had a low-key, but consistent presence at New York Fashion Week the last several seasons, usually as a sponsor with press lounges at the tents offering free extra battery juice (and sometimes some green juice) to smartphone-addicted journalists.

Apple ( aapl ) , the Korean tech giant's most formidable foe worldwide, has made more of a vocal, flashy effort to court the fashion world , especially with the then-long anticipated unveiling of its Apple Watch in 2015. The iPhone maker made headlines alone for inviting more members of the New York-based fashion press than usual to what became the invite-only event of the spring season in San Francisco, followed by fte for the Instagram-set at self-described "brick-and-click" boutique Colette on Paris's chicest street: Rue Saint-Honor.

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Yet sales for Apple Watch , and wearable tech overall , are still mixed. Thus, as far as appearances go, Samsung's slow burn in fashion might finally be heating up.

It is Samsung ( ssnlf ) that is elevating its stature at New York Fashion Week this month, upgrading its fashion cred by toting in the most buzzed-about platform in tech these days: virtual reality.

"We think theres a great opportunity for virtual reality in the fashion industry whether its a private fashion event like this one or taking that same experience to the everyday consumer," says Minson Chen, a product manager for alliances and business development at Samsung Electronics America. "Using virtual reality also allows retailers and fashion professionals to collect data though [the Internet of things]. Designers really want to use information from the consumers and with VR we can capture this data, bring it back to the brand and ultimately help drive business."

The electronics maker has teamed with FTL Moda, a fashion production firm that stages shows for New York Fashion Week, to produce what the two are touting as the first all-digital fashion presentation. Inspired by the theme titled "Dreaming of Italy," the footage was shot in digital and 360-digital in Milan, Italy's fashion capital, earlier this month.

Neha Singh, founder and CEO of Obsess VR, the startup behind the virtual reality software being used for show as well as building a VR shopping platform for fashion, says virtual reality will elevate the fashion industry to a level that's not possible with other digital mediums today.

"With VR, we can create experiences that let anyone feel like they are sitting in the front row of a fashion show, or walk around and shop in a store anywhere in the world from your own couch," Singh says.

Thus, instead of sitting alongside each other in cramped folding chairs dotting the sides of a traditional catwalk, attendees will be able to don Samsung's Gear VR headset for an up-close, 360-degree view of the latest collections and corresponding details about each look. The event will include a museum-style backstage with digital video panels lining the walls as well as "Digital Mannequins" and mirror display technology showcasing the actual designer collections.

"The mirror display is really going be at the center of changing the retail experience for both the retailer and the customer," says Ron Gazzola, vice president of marketing for visual display at Samsung. "The idea of developing digital display science for the fashion industry came about when we looked at the retail space. We knew developing a mirror display for fashion would be all about how to incorporate that experience."

Among the labels featured in the spring 2017 lineup are the 110-year old accessories maker Invicta, Israeli bridal designer Limor Ben Yosef, German streetwear couturier Sonja Tafelmeier, and budding eco-friendly Indian brand Premal Badiani.

The virtual presentation will be hosted at an invite-only event (with the requisite fashion week after-party) on Tuesday at the Samsung 837 all-purpose gallery and flagship store in Manhattan's Meatpacking Districta once-gritty neighborhood now home to luxe aspirational brands such as Tory Burch and Helmut Lang as well as a few lingering actual meatpacking plants.

There is also an Apple Store across the street.

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Samsung Goes for a New Look in Virtual Reality at New York Fashion Week - Fortune

Today is Sunday. Speaking of Sundays, the most famous work by the French post-impressionist, Georges Seurat is titledA Sunday on La Grande Jatte.I am the king of segues.

Completed in 1884, this oil on canvas work is best known to the art world as a prime example of the post-industrial frieze and amasterclass in fine brushwork. Most of us, however, know it because of this guy:

The world of high-art was introduced to an entire generation of young people in the 1986 film Ferris Buellers Day Off. A film about one vice principles noble quest to do his job despite the selfish actions of a charismatic truant.

Seurats masterpiece is being used once again to bring culture to the masses. This time, however,were swapping the emotionally confused adolescent for the immersive powerof virtual reality.

VR artist George Peaslee recreatedA Sunday on La Grande Jatte usingGoogles 3D creation platformTilt Brush. In Tilt Brush, users can draw, sculpt, colorusing special hand controllers and a VR headset. You can see the results below along with other notable VR art projects. Feel free tointeract with these creations as well usingthe 3D image hosting capabilities of Sketchab.

VRart is on the rise and, as you can see from the works above, artists are beginning to find their own styles, forge their own voices and bring emotion to theirdigital masterpieces. We cant wait to see what they do next.

Tagged with: art, masterpiece, painting, recreation, sunday on la grande, tilt brush

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See This Famous Masterpiece Recreated in Virtual Reality - UploadVR

An immersive virtual reality room that helps children with autism overcome their phobias is now being offered on the NHS.

In 2014, scientists at Newcastle University found that virtual reality can help youngsters with autism spectrum disorder overcome their serious fears.

Now, the first NHS patients have been referred for treatment in what is known as the Newcastle Blue Room.

Two years ago, the Newcastle University team reported in the academic journal PLOS ONE how eight out of nine children treated in the Blue Room were able to tackle the situation they feared and some were found to have completely overcome their phobias, even a year later.

The treatment is now available on the NHS, funded by the Childrens Clinical Commissioning Group, and each child referred will receive four sessions at a specialised facility in Consett, County Durham.

Dr Jeremy Parr, clinical senior lecturer specialising in paediatric neurodisability at Newcastle Universitys Institute of Neuroscience, said: Situation-specific anxieties, fears and phobias can completely stop a child with autism taking part in normal family or school life and there are very few treatment options for them.

Currently the main treatment is cognitive behaviour therapy but that often doesnt work for a child with autism as it relies on their imagination.

People with autism can find imagining a scene difficult so by providing it physically in front of the childs eyes we can sit alongside them and help them learn how to manage their fears.

Our previous small scale study of this immersive treatment for children is incredibly promising and work is continuing on a much larger study.

To see children able to face a situation that they previously found so distressing, such as going into a shop after just four sessions in the treatment room is amazing. It makes a huge difference to their lives.

The Newcastle University team collaborated with Third Eye Technologies in their Immersive Blue Room to create personalised situations. Accompanied by a psychologist, the child was surrounded with audio visual images representing the real world in the 360-degree seamless screened room with no point of external reference.

This means they do not have to wear a headset or goggles which children with autism can find distressing.

They move around the scene using iPad controls, interacting and navigating through the scenario as they wish allowing them to fully control the environment.

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Scenarios tested already include getting on a busy bus, crossing a bridge, going shopping or talking to an avatar shop assistant.

Supported by a psychologist, they are given breathing and relaxation exercises in the controllable and safe virtual environment to help them to learn to cope with that situation.

They are observed by their parents via a video-link which enables them to watch the techniques used to help their child.

To examine the long-term effectiveness of the treatment, a larger-scale clinical study is being carried out with the results due 2017.

The treatment is being offered through the NHS England Commissioned Northumberland Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust Complex Neurodevelopmental Disorders Service.

Its remit includes research to develop new treatments and interventions and evaluate their use in the NHS.

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See the Newcastle virtual reality room helping children with autism overcome their phobias - ChronicleLive

Outside of trade shows, there is limited consumer interest in VR, according to Windsor. Among several reasons for the pushback on VR devices, foremost among is cost, he said. VR headsets can run several hundreds of dollars, they also require an expensive personal computer to function.

The devices tend to be large, clunky and uncomfortable to wear," Windsor wrote, and "in many cases they also make the user feel foolish when wearing one.

VR in cuts the user off from almost all sensory inputs from his immediate environment severely limiting the situations in which the user would feel comfortable using one, Windsor said. Several VR devices also require an HDMI cable, which prevents the user from moving freely and increases the risk of a fall.

Windsor pointed out that many users describe feelings of nausea associated with VRs imperfect replication of the real world compared to what the brain is expecting.

In some stores entire days have gone by without a single demo being given, Windsor said of Oculus. Best Buy will continue to range the Oculus Rift but the real estate given up will be re-used for products that produce better sales per square foot.

While VR may have a limited future with consumers, Windsor believes that augmented reality (AR) holds massive appeal for enterprise customers. Unlike virtual reality, which is total immersion in a computer generated world, AR is the blending of virtual reality and the real world, allowing users to add virtual overlays to glasses conjuring about something like the visuals in the sci-fi movies Minority Report or Iron Man.

Augmented reality has uses in areas like e-commerce, browsing, streaming, advertising, consumer apps, games and theme park rides. Companies to watch in the space include ODG, Microsoft HoloLens, Meta, Atheer Labs and Magic Leap, according to Windsors report.

The AR user experience is still miles from where it needs to be but critically it does offer productivity improvements that have led to many companies trialling it particularly for employees in the field, Windsor wrote. Hence AR in the enterprise should see both unit shipment growth as well as good growth in revenues from software and services in 2017.

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Why this analyst is warning investors to steer clear of virtual reality in 2017 - L.A. Biz

Forbes

'JAEPO 2017' Shows That Japanese Arcade Gaming Is Beginning To Incorporate Virtual Reality Forbes One of the more interesting developments in the arcade gaming scene in Japan is how publishers have started to experiment with virtual reality, or VR, for new games. The latest JAEPO in Tokyo has shown that this experimentation phase is over, as arcade ... and more »

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'JAEPO 2017' Shows That Japanese Arcade Gaming Is Beginning To Incorporate Virtual Reality - Forbes

Wichita Eagle

Wichita-created virtual reality could take jurors into crime scenes ... Wichita Eagle A former KBI agent and scientists at Wichita State worked together to create a way to make large-scale virtual re-creations of crime scenes that people, including ... and more »

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Wichita-created virtual reality could take jurors into crime scenes ... - Wichita Eagle

Opening night red carpet gala

When: 8 p.m. March 2

Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St.

Cost: $50, free for passholders

Pre-party: 5:30-7:30 p.m.at Hotel Boulderado and Rembrandt Yard

Screening: "Their Finest" (2016, United Kingdom, 116 minutes), a rousing romantic comedy following a female screenwriter during World War II, starring Gemma Arterton, Sam Clatlin and Bill Nighy.

Closing night

When: 7:30 p.m. March 5

Where: Boulder Theater, 2032 14th St.

Cost: $30, free for passholders

Screening: "Chasing Coral" (2017, Boulder 93 minutes), fresh from winning an audience award at Sundance, BIFF's closing night film follows a team of divers, photographers and scientists on an ocean adventure to discover why coral reefs are vanishing around the world. Directed by Boulder's Jeff Orlowski; produced by Longmont's Larissa Rhodes

More information at biff1.com

A truck delivering the Boulder International Film Festival's programs may have severed the power to the festival's office on Friday, but co-founder and director Kathy Beeck's excitement in sharing the 2017 lineup and details for the March festival far outweighed her tinge of concern.

New this year, BIFF will expand its boundaries beyond the real world with its Virtual Reality Pavilion.

"It is going to be pretty cool," Beeck said. "We'll have eight virtual reality films screening at Galvanize, and we'll have a whole variety of different headsets from very high tech to cardboard ones."

Boulder technical school and co-working space Galvanize, 1023 Walnut St., will be one venue the festival will utilize for its programming. Over the long weekend, films will be screened at various spots in Boulder and Longmont.

The Virtual Reality Pavilion will be free and open to the public March 3 and 4, and will have Google's Nicholas Whitaker on hand to moderate a few of the talks, Beeck said.

"Swing by, put on a headset and learn about the future of storytelling," Beeck said.

BIFF will screen 58 films, three of which are Sundance Film Festival award-winning films and four are nominated for Academy Awards. And 23 of these films were directed by females, Beeck said. The popular shorts programs, which Beeck said are always the first to sell out, expanded to include four different programs this year.

"We are so excited about this year's program," said BIFF executive director Robin Beeck, Kathy's sister, in a news release. "This is a stellar lineup with award-winning films from the world's greatest directors and from fresh, new filmmakers just hitting the scene. We're thrilled to be able to present a feast of the best films today."

Robin and Kathy Beeck, the two sisters who run and founded the Boulder International Film Festival. (Courtesy photo)

Kathy Beeck said there will be eight Colorado films screened and she realized during the interview that all eight of those local filmmakers are from Boulder.

"That just tells us something about how much is happening in film in Boulder," Kathy Beeck said. "We are so proud of the major filmmakers in this town."

Among Boulder highlights is the closing night film "Chasing Coral," a documentary produced by a local company that just won the Audience Award for best U.S. documentary at Sundance.

Boulder filmmaker Jeff Orlowski and Longmont producer Larissa Rhodes, the team behind "Chasing Coral," also produced "Chasing Ice," the 2012 Emmy award-winning documentary on climate change.

"Chasing Coral" explores the danger the world's coral reefs face amid global warming. A local team of filmmakers (with many University of Colorado graduates, Rhodes said in an interview last month) from Boulder's Exposure Labs created the documentary.

Kathy Beeck said festival-goers can also see "Chasing Coral, the Virtual Reality Experience" premiere at Galvanize.

Other highlights:

"Maurizio Cattelan: Be Right Back," (4:30 p.m. March 3) produced by Boulderite Maura Axelrod, about contemporary pop artist Maurizio Cattelan, which Kathy Beeck said is "a fabulous movie, really well done."

"Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World" (7 p.m. March 3), is a film about the role of Native Americans and indigenous influence in popular music history. "It goes back into history in the film, and it's so stunning to realize that Jimi Hendrix and Robbie Robertson (The Band) have Native American heritage," Beeck said. "Tony Bennett is in the film talking about his early influences."

Cinechef 2017 (5-7 p.m. March 3) at Rembrandt Yard Art Gallery and Event Center, 1301 Spruce St., is in its third year as a part of BIFF and will feature eight of the best chefs in town, Kathy Beeck said. "It's a foodie event that highlights the spectacular food scene in Boulder while we highlight Boulder filmmakers," she said. "I'm loving this event."

The festival runs March 2 through 5 and tickets are on sale at biff1.com.

Christy Fantz: 303-473-1107, fantz@dailycamera.com or twitter.com/fantzypants

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Boulder International Film Festival diving into virtual reality with 2017 slate - Boulder Daily Camera

Sun-News Reports , . 10:29 p.m. MT Feb. 10, 2017

Dona Ana Community College virtual reality faculty and students unpack virtual reality equipment from VR First(Photo: Stephen Osborne)

LAS CRUCES This spring DACC students will take a space flight and learn aerospace fundamentals in a Virtual Reality environment.

Doa Ana Community College and Aerospace innovators Virgin Galactic have announced an exciting collaborative education and outreach research project. The core idea will be to work and learn together, exploring the newest technologies and possible uses of VR in research, education, business, and career technical education.

Our students and instructors are pleased and honored to work with Virgin Galactic on this exciting initiative, said Matt Byrnes, DACC Creative Media Technology Director. Thanks to Dr. Kevin Boberg, Vice President of Economic Development for the New Mexico State University Arrowhead Business and Research Park and Wayne Savage of Arrowhead Center for helping this collaboration take place.

The program will start with a VR simulation that explains core concepts of aerospace fundamentals and gives students, particularly at the Las Cruces Public Schools Challenger Center, an immersive virtual spaceflight experience.

Many people are familiar with the term virtual reality but are unsure about the uses of this technology, Byrnes said. Gaming is an obvious virtual reality application, but there are many different uses, some you might expect and others not so much.

Irrespective of the use, virtual reality produces a set of data which could then be used to develop new models, training methods, communication and interaction, said Mark Butler of Virgin Galactic. In many ways the possibilities are endless.

In September, 2016 DACC became one of only 24 VR First partner institutions worldwide, sponsored by the German game engine development firm Crytek and was awarded several thousand dollars of the newest hardware and software giving DACC students access to the latest VR development tools.

According to Byrnes, This kind of collaboration between the private and public sectors and between technology companies and the creative media arts is central to efforts to develop the larger Creative Campus efforts at Arrowhead Park and build a larger toolset to positively impact not only Aerospace but Healthcare, Agricultural Technology and other industries growing in our community.

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DACC & Virgin Galactic team up to explore virtual reality - Las Cruces Sun-News

Hospital inpatients could soon be given a different type of prescription to manage their acute and chronic pain a healthy dose of virtual reality (VR).

Speaking at the Pacific Design and Manufacturing show, Dr. Vartan Tashjian, an internist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles, and Josh Sackman, president and co-founder of AppliedVR, a Los Angeles-based VR company, talked about their research into the patient care benefits of VR. Their recent work points to the potential of using VR as a viable alternative to drug-based treatments.

A hospital room is not for comfort. They're for suffering, and patients are trapped there, Tashjian told the audience. We thought what a wonderful thing it would be to bring VR to the bedside to take our patients to fantastic destinations.

Tashjian provided some anecdotal evidence in the form of a video of a sickle cell anemia patient, hospitalized for over 100 days, seeming to forget all about his condition when exposed to a VR experience (roaming a photorealistic nature environment). I've been practicing medicine for a couple of years and there's not much that I can do that provides relief to patient that rapidly and that profoundly, Tashjian said of the video.

But Cedars-Sinai and AppliedVRhave also done research to back up these claims. In a study outlined by Tashjian, a group of patients exposed to VR showed a larger reduction in pain, and were more likely to experience a reduction in pain than a control group that was exposed to television for the same amount of time.

The researchers asked patients to report their pain on a scale of one to 10 (10 being the highest). They were then asked to put on a Samsung Gear VR headset and explore a 360-degree animated nature environment for six minutes. The control group watched a natural channel on TV for six minutes.

At the end of the study 40% of the TV group reported a reduction in pain after the experience. By contrast 65% of the VR group reported pain reduction. People watching TV had a reduction in pain, but when you compare that to VR there's no competition, Tashjian said. VR has a very unique style of decreasing someone's pain.

The VR treatment also scored a low number-needed-to-treat (or NNT) of four. The NNT measures the of the impact of a drug or therapy by estimating the number of patients that need to be treated in order for one person to be impacted. For drugs like morphine the NNT is more like 50, Tashjian said.

He added that the experience doesn't have to be limited to computer-generated environments either. Thanks to devices like the Samsung Gear 360 camera, patients can also have real environments streamed to them in VR and even speak remotely with people.

He also cautioned that VR is not a one-size-fits-all solution. VR is not for everyone. Why? Because a lot of people come into the hospital that have headaches, nasea, vomiting, seizures, trauma

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Virtual Reality Could Be Your Next Prescription - DesignNews

Updated 20 minutes ago

While most teachers spent the day in the classroom, social studies teacher Doug Kirchner spent Friday traveling the world.

As Kirchner pulled up on the controls, he zoomed past the Christ the Redeemer statue towering above Rio de Janeiro. Moments before, he hovered over the streets of Florence and Rome.

It's kind of jarring at first, said Kirchner as he gazed at the landscape, his face obscured by a virtual reality headset. But it didn't take long for him to come up with ways he could use the virtual reality experience in his classes.

It would be cool if you had kids try and find landmarks, he said, still immersed in a virtual world.

Kirchner, who teaches in the Upper St. Clair School District, was among 24 social studies teachers from across Allegheny County who attended Friday's training event at the Allegheny Intermediate Unit in Homestead. The sessions introduced teachers to a range of virtual reality tools, from the low-end Google Cardboard to the high-end HTC Vive, that could be suitable for classroom use.

It was the first training session of its kind hosted by the intermediate unit. But Tyler Samstag, director of instructional innovation, said it was only the beginning. Future sessions will help teachers think critically about how to plan lessons around virtual reality activities and ensure the exercises have real educational value.

According to Samstag, the overarching goal of the training session was to push educators to consider how they could present material in a radically new fashion and engage students in new learning experiences. For example, students can travel anywhere in the world or even back in time without leaving the classroom.

But Samstag, whose background is in humanities and special education, pointed out that virtual reality tools also have the potential to support students with special needs. The multisensory nature of virtual reality, a fully immersive visual and aural experience, could help to engage students at a range of points on the autism spectrum by giving them a safe space to explore and experiment with different activities, he said.

Educators like Eric Weimerskirch, a sixth-grade teacher in the Elizabeth Forward School District, are excited to use virtual reality to introduce students to different cultures and religions.

This is a great tool for breaking stereotypes, Weimerskirch said.

Virtual reality exercises would allow students, who Weimerskirch said may not have the chance to leave their small towns, to visit new places and learn about people who are different from them.

You're very much on your own, but you can collaborate with the greater world, Linda Muller, continuing professional education specialist at the intermediate unit, said of the virtual reality experience.

Despite the excitement of being able to expose students to new places and experiences or to be able to meet each student's unique learning needs in new ways, Muller acknowledged many challenges remain to making virtual reality work in the classroom.

The biggest hurdle schools will face is acquiring the technology, she said. While Google Cardboard headsets cost around $8-$15 per device, each user also needs a smart phone equipped with applications to run virtual reality videos. High-end devices could cost several hundred dollars and must be used with a compatible computer. In addition, all of this requires internet access. Internet speed and safety restrictions could be obstacles in some districts.

Challenges aside, many teachers at Friday's training session were confident that their students would be on board with virtual reality activities. The next step, for teachers, is making sure that students are prepared to learn something along the way.

I think they would really get into it, said Angie Kennon, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Elizabeth Forward.

Kennon said that she felt like Godzilla as she explored Manhattan from above using a high-end HTC Vive device.

But before students put the headsets on and explore new cities, Kennon said, they must be equipped with the knowledge to get something out of the experience. She suggested giving students assignments that would allow them to explore a place or event through more traditional research first.

In addition to considering the practical challenges, some teachers, like Molly Chester, a high school social studies teacher in Avonworth School District, took a more philosophical approach to thinking about the role of technology in the classroom. She thinks that educators must also be prepared to talk to students about how tools like virtual reality could have both a positive and negative impact on relationships in the physical world.

How is it going to impact our real-world experience? Chester said.

Jamie Martines is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach her at 724-850-2867 or jmartines@tribweb.com.

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Allegheny County teachers see how to open world to classrooms with virtual reality - Tribune-Review

Thomas Becnel Staff Writer @thomasbecnel

SARASOTA Charlotte Suhler moved inside a human heart, craning her neck for a better look at the virtual reality of throbbing valves and pulsing muscles.

That was wild, she said, smoothing her hair after taking off a headset. Not scary fascinating to see whats inside you.

Ron Fowler took a virtual tour of an operating room that felt like a glimpse of the future.

It felt like I was almost in it, you know what I mean?" he said. "I was almost there. I can see how close they are.

Stacy Prouty took a swing at a tennis ball without leaving the Roskamp Exhibition Hall at the Ringling College of Art and Design.

Oh wow, she said. Im not a video gamer, but theres a very emotional reaction. It was exhilarating.

On Thursday evening, Ringling College and the Gulf Coast Community Foundation presented a technology showcase called "Seeing the Future in Virtual Reality. A few hundred guests got their first look at what everyone kept calling VR.

They struggled to describe an experience that feels less like cinema and more like role playing.

Theres no amount of explaining it to someone, said Jim McCampbell, head of the Ringling computer animation program. They have to see it.

'Blow people's minds'

Guest speakers for the showcase included Scott Ross and Brett Leonard, entertainment executives who lead a new media company in California called Virtuosity VR.

Were the Hollywood guys, Ross joked.

He was serious, though, about the idea of change coming sooner rather than later in all facets of modern life. There are applications for virtual reality in every field science and medicine, business and commerce, education and entertainment.

I guarantee this will be the future, Ross said. Its a totally new and immersive medium that will change the world. We see opportunities that will blow peoples minds.

Local speakers included Jeff Hazelton, chief technology officer for the Sharecare Reality Lab in Sarasota. He talked about using virtual reality to explore the body in medical programs such as the Dr. Oz television program.

Were reaching a lot of people, he said. There are huge opportunities in virtual reality, and its happening right here in Sarasota."

Rust Bucket ride

Teddy Mundy offered people an airship ride through a virtual experience called Rust Bucket.

His senior project puts people at the controls of an airship they must pilot through a swamp. The best part is watching newcomers enter a virtual world for the first time.

Its really fun just seeing how people react and move, Mundy said. Until they take off the headset thats one of my favorite things and theyre like, Whoa!

Dale Strohl was one of the Ringling guests who took a Rust Bucket ride. He wasnt disappointed.

You could actually pilot the ship, he marveled. At first, I thought Id have problems with the controls, but I didnt. It felt like I was there.

Strohl cant wait to see what Hollywood will do with this dramatic new medium.

Its already a thing, he said. But its going to be a helluva thing.

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Ringling showcase offers glimpse of virtual reality in Sarasota - Sarasota Herald-Tribune

Google's Chrome browser logo

Google says it's now time to marry two computing realms: the web and virtual reality.

Its latest version of the Chrome browser includes a technology called WebVR, which lets programmers create websites that present the computer-generated 3D worlds of virtual reality. If you're into VR, you might appreciate the promise WebVR holds for expanding what you can do with a device like a Google Daydream View or a Facebook Oculus Rift VR headset.

That's because, in principle at least, WebVR makes it easier for developers to create a single VR experience that'll work across many VR headsets instead of having to create a separate version for each device. It's an extension of how a single website can span your laptop, Android phone or iPad tablet.

WebVR makes it "as easy to step inside Air Force One as it is to access your favorite web page," Megan Lindsay, a product manager on Google's Chrome team, said in a blog post.

WebVR without anything to look at isn't any fun, so here are some sites Google promoted for the technology: Bear 71, an interactive nature documentary; Matterport, a library of more than 300,000 celebrity homes and other sites; Within, a collection of VR movies; WebVR Lab, a collection of interactive VR worlds, and Sketchfab, an assortment of VR scenes.

Google developed WebVR along with Firefox maker Mozilla, Facebook's Oculus team, and other partners. It's early days though. Microsoft is working on WebVR support for its new Edge browser and HoloLens eyewear, but support is still spotty among makers of VR headsets like HTC's Vive and Samsung's Gear VR.

So far, Mozilla has enabled WebVR only in its nightly and developer versions of Firefox aimed at web programmers and the adventurous. But it plans to add WebVR in the mainstream version of its browser this summer, including support for Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

Chrome supports Google's Daydream View headset, which like Gear VR uses a phone to track head motion and display imagery for each eye. But it'll be months before WebVR and Chrome work with the company's cruder Google Cardboard cousin.

Virtual reality 101: CNET tells you everything you need to know about what VR is and how it'll affect your life.

CNET Magazine: Check out a sampling of the stories you'll find in CNET's newsstand edition.

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Google wants to use Chrome to suck you into virtual reality - CNET

Forbes

The Future Of Virtual Reality: Mobile VR Platforms In A Battle Forbes While everyone obsesses over whether Sony , Oculus or HTC HTCCY +% sold more virtual reality (VR) headsets last year, Google GOOGL -0.01% and Facebook FB -0.34% have been waging a silent platform war. This war of platforms ultimately comes down ... and more »

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The Future Of Virtual Reality: Mobile VR Platforms In A Battle - Forbes

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Even when shes not posing as a fertility goddess in front of half the flowers in Manhattan, being Beyonc is probably pretty fun. She works hard, for sure, but shes also obscenely rich and world famous. So we probably shouldnt be too surprised that Queen Bey was less than impressed by the Magic Leap, the VR headset thats being hailed as the second coming of augmented reality. According to an article in Business Insider, the company is relying on celebrity endorsements to build buzz for the product, regularly clearing out its Florida offices so VIPs can give the new technology a whirl. But it doesnt always work out as planned:

Some who saw the device, like Steven Spielberg, were pitched to make content for it. But others, like Beyoncwho received a personalized mermaid Magic Leap demo, which the team created on short notice, and was bored by itwere more of a reflection of Abovitzs desire to connect with celebrities than anything directly related to the companys business, former employees said.

Maybe Beyonc found the Magic Leap boring because shes already a mermaid in real life. Or maybe shes simply more of a Sega Genesis fan. Beyonc appreciates the classics.

[via New York Magazine]

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Virtual reality is boring compared to Beyonc's actual reality - A.V. Club (blog)

Updated February 10, 2017 09:09:49

The technological world may be on the cusp of a revolution, the extent of which is predicted to mimic the take-up of the smartphone in the late 2000s, but some experts have urged caution as its addictive qualities and long-term effects remain unknown.

Virtual Reality, or VR, has finally become commercially accessible a full-immersion kit with motion controllers is less than $1,000 putting hardware and software tools in the hands of gamers and independent game developers for the first time.

But it is the appeal of this technology across the broader population rather than just the gaming community that has people like Microsoft multimedia and interaction researcher Mar Gonzalez Franco excited.

"We [the general public] will buy VR devices in shopping malls the way we buy smartphones today," she said.

"I think it will be adopted pretty fast."

Applications outside gaming will include social media, virtual lives, movies, news, virtual conference hook-ups, live music experiences and, of course, pornography.

Late last year, Ms Gonzalez Franco reportedly predicted future VR units would be akin to experiencing powerful hallucinations once they started including other senses, such as touch.

This reporter recently had his first experience with a game called First Contact, and could not help but notice a mild sensation of deflation with the real world on exit a sensation that lasted about an hour.

In the narcotics world this sensation is called the come down and can lead to repeat usage and, on occasion, addiction or dependency.

Federation University Australia clinical psychology senior lecturer Vasileios Stavropoulos said research on addictive internet behaviour was largely inconsistent until 2015 when the American Psychiatric Association introduced the concept of internet gaming disorder.

Dr Stavropoulos said newly diagnosed cases "appear to have been increasing worldwide" and with the advance of VR technology that "definitely" had addictive potential, "we should be cautious".

"We're not only talking about virtual reality, we're also talking about virtual personality," he said.

"Scientifically, it's what we call the compensatory internet use hypothesis, which basically suggests that those who are not fulfilled here in this world, tend to escape in another world where they might feel more fulfilled."

He said it was the fact people could experience themselves differently online, build their ideal selves through an avatar and emotionally connect with a virtual world that might offer a better reality than reality, that would attract addiction.

Ms Gonzalez Franco said that "unlike drugs or alcohol, VR doesn't alter our higher cognitive functions".

She said it would allow people to "relate to distant life perspectives", such as experiencing a different socioeconomic status in a virtual Second Life-like world, or a different racial status or gender the fodder of several science fiction films.

"VR experiences will be more meaningful than any other previous medium of experiencing content," Ms Gonzalez Franco said.

A virtual world launched in 2003 called Second Life allowed users to create virtual representations of themselves that interacted with other users, participating in group activities, trade and building an economy it even had its own currency interchangeable with real-world currency.

University of South Australia School of Information Technology and Mathematical Sciences Professor Bruce Thomas said it was this social aspect, rather than gaming, that primarily drove Facebook to buy VR developer Oculus Rift.

He said VR would give rise to positive applications, such as allowing isolated people like the elderly to participate in communal dining with others online.

"And wouldn't it be great if you could share a meal with your family in some place you holidayed 30 years ago," Professor Thomas said.

He said online gambling would cause more harm than VR and said the same people who were addicted to online gaming would be addicted to VR.

"I don't think there's anything inherent about VR that makes it more addictive," he said.

"People are already spending a lot of time in front of a computer."

Professor Thomas said there had been no studies on the long-term effects of using VR, but he had some concern about the conflict it created with eye vergence-accommodation.

The human eye has two mechanisms, vergence movement the simultaneous movement of both eyes in opposite directions, and accommodation the lenses of an eye changing shape to focus on things at distance and up close.

Stereoscopic VR creates a conflict for this mechanism, because everything is focused at a certain distance despite a stereo image going into both eyes to give a depth cue.

"In the late 90s we [UniSA] had a monocular display one of the first head-mount displays," Professor Thomas said.

"Somebody [who tried VR] played for a Norwood baseball team. We made sure he didn't drive right away, like they told us to, but when he went to practise that night, he just couldn't hit a baseball all night.

"It wasn't a permanent effect and it's not proving anything, but there's something going on."

Ms Gonzalez Franco pointed to the side effects that some people experienced from VR as being a detractor from its addictive qualities.

She said that unlike those addicted to TV and other mediums, VR was self-experiential and people "will get physically tired, in the same way that going for a walk gets you tired".

"And I think this is something very good about VR, so people will reduce their exposures and spend more time in reality," she said.

This factor is certainly true of other users of VR, who told the ABC that after about an hour of immersion it was common to feel tired from exertion.

Topics: computers-and-technology, internet-technology, science-and-technology, health, adelaide-5000, sa, australia

First posted February 10, 2017 06:54:46

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Virtual Reality addiction threat prompts cautious approach as VR nears 'smartphone-like' take-off - ABC Online

A Melbourne-based virtual reality company has secured nearly $1million in seed funding from investors.

Lithodomos which means stonemason in Ancient Greek develops virtual reality content that re-creates ancient architecture, allowing people to see what archaeological sites once looked like.

The idea for the company was born out of PhD research by its founders, Simon Young and Dr M.Hamdi Kan,at the University of Melbourne.

"As part of my research I was implementing 3D visualisation software packages. Then a couple of years ago I got hold of a virtual reality headset," Young says.

"I spent a few weeks working out how that all worked and imported one of my models,and 'hey presto' there I was, standing in an ancient city."

Young saysthe technology could have applications in tourism and education, and Lithodomos has been working with potential clients to find out how it can best be utilised. "We spent the last six months talking to tourism operators, museum directors and site excavation directors in Europe to get an idea of what they would like to see in virtual reality."

Lithodomos'first commercial project will be working with Spain's University of Cordoba and the Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness to re-create part of the Roman settlement of Mellaria in the Guadiato Valley, in the country's north.

With both founders coming from an academic background, historical accuracy is what sets Lithodomos apart from its competition, Young says.

"We take archaeological plans that have been collected and published over the last century and use those models to create accurate, to-scale virtual reality environments.

"We take great pains to ensure that what our audience is viewing is rigorously researched in every detail;it's carefully thought out so that you can feel confident that what you're seeing is real."

The $900,000 in seed funding represents a rapid rise for a company that started upin September last year.

The funding was secured through a pitch to an investor cohort after working with start-up incubator Mktplace Ventures.

I was quite reticent at the beginning, I'd heard about these incubators, 'they take your idea and they steal your money', but the reality is that I couldn't have done it on my own.

"They are private investors, and I can say that most of it is Australian money," Young says.

Despite Lithomodos's early success, smaller tech companies like itface a challenge in moving past the seed-funding stage, says Melbourne Innovation Centre chief executive David WIlliamson.

"There's always been an issue for small tech firms getting beyond that seed-funding stage. Venture capital sort of kicks in around $10 million;they're not really looking at any deals smaller than that."

Most seed funding for Australian tech companies is coming from angelinvestors or business accelerator programs, but this situation mightmake it more difficult for companies to move beyond the seed stage, Williamson says.

"The growth of that market is significant, but I think that this is only going to further exacerbate the problem that we'll have a huge number of these start-ups where pre-revenue, they may raise 20 to 50 thousand [dollars] and then they're going to have a lot of trouble beyond that."

He says the business culture of accelerators gives them an edge over universities.

"Incubators and accelerators that are run as self-sustaining enterprises have their own entrepreneurial agenda, so generally the culture that permeates these spaces is significantly more dynamic.

"Universities and larger research facilities are significantly larger bureaucracies, so they can't move in a lean fashion and get things done quickly.So that's the advantage that [accelerators] have."

Amid calls for Australian universities to get better at commercialising research, both Young and Williamson say accelerator programs and private investment areareas young academics should be looking towards.

"Universities have a tendency to instil in their students 'commercialise your PhD', which is fine if you're an aerospace engineer. But if you're a humanities student it's a little bit tricky;how do you sell history?," Young says.

"I was quite reticent at the beginning.I'd heard about these incubators, 'they take your idea and they steal your money', but the reality is that I couldn't have done it on my own."

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Archaeology turns to virtual reality with Lithodomos start-up - The Sydney Morning Herald