Daily Archives: February 25, 2017

IMAX forecasts profits in the field of virtual reality. Image source: IMAX.

IMAX Corporation (NYSE:IMAX)is the acknowledged industry leader in the premium large theater format and has built its reputation on the continuous innovation of its digital movie camera and high-performance laser projection system. With that expertise, it should come as no surprise that, whenAlphabet's (NASDAQ:GOOGL) (NASDAQ:GOOG) Google decided to enter the field of virtual reality, it partnered with IMAX to develop the best "cinema-grade virtual reality (VR) camera." IMAX is providing a crew of engineers and technicians that will collaborate with Google to develop a high-resolution camera from scratch to address the unique challenges presented by virtual reality. It will leverage Google's Jump platform, which stitches together 360 degree video into a seamless panoramic view, providing an immersive experience.

IMAX then announced a virtual reality location-based initiative, in a joint venture with the game developer Starbreeze AB. This agreement would integrate the company's StarVR headset, which provides an industry-leading 210-degree view, and its library of virtual reality games and entertainment with content produced on the IMAX Google VR camera. Going further, IMAX is looking to leverage its existing relationships with Hollywood studios and directors to create new movie-based content.

Google's Jump 360 degree camera rig. Image source: Google.

Several notable Hollywood heavyweights are already onboard.Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (NYSE:LGF-A)will lend the lead character from its John Wick movies to the effort. Peter Levin, President of Interactive Ventures and Games for Lionsgate had this to say:

We are big believers in location-based entertainment VR and this is a great opportunity to expand the reach of our VR portfolio.

Michael Bay, best known as the director of Hasbro's (NASDAQ:HAS) highly successful Transformersfranchise said:

I've always been a big believer in IMAX, which has been a great longtime partner...As a filmmaker, IMAX's location-based VR offering presents an exciting opportunity to transport audiences even further into the worlds we create. We are in advanced discussions with IMAX now on some fun VR concepts and I look forward to test-driving their new technology.

John Wick joins IMAX VR team. Image source: IMAX.

IMAX envisions a communal virtual reality experience that friends would enjoy together, which would be available at multiplexes and shopping malls, as well as popular tourist destinations. Late last year, the company announced that it, and a number of its partners, had completed the first round of funding -- which amounted to $50 million -- to create 25 pieces of content over the next three years.

This technology may be in the early stages, but it is ramping up fast. A reportby Goldman Sachs estimates that virtual reality -- and its kissing cousin augmented reality -- could become an $80 billion industry by 2025. Investing now in this revolutionary technology could pay significant dividends in years to come. IMAX feels it is a natural fit with its existing business. On its most recent conference call, IMAX said:

The core requirements of launching a location-based VR experience line up nicely with our company's core skill sets. We have studio and film maker relationships on the content side; capture mechanisms for new content; relationships with exhibitors and real estate developers for potential VR sites; and a brand that is synonymous with immersive experiences.

IMAX has tied the disparate parts of the virtual reality experience together in a nice neat package. With its own cutting-edge filming and projecting technology, Google's Jump, Starbreeze headsets and games, and buy-in from Hollywood heavyweights brandishing premium content. Investors looking to invest in the nascent area of virtual reality should grab some popcorn. The movies about to start.

Suzanne Frey, an executive at Alphabet, is a member of The Motley Fool's board of directors. Danny Vena owns shares of Alphabet (A shares), Hasbro, IMAX, Lions Gate Entertainment Class A, and Lions Gate Entertainment Class B. Danny Vena has the following options: long January 2018 $640 calls on Alphabet (C shares), short January 2018 $650 calls on Alphabet (C shares), and long January 2018 $15 calls on Lions Gate Entertainment Class A. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Alphabet (A shares), Alphabet (C shares), Hasbro, IMAX, Lions Gate Entertainment Class A, and Lions Gate Entertainment Class B. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

See original here:

What Google and IMAX Are Cooking Up in Virtual Reality - Motley Fool

Deakin virtual reality experts are using technology to help medical students become better doctors and nurses by creating "real" medical scenarios. They were demonstrating the latest technology at the Geelong Pivot Summit. Video: Elle Richards

Ed Hassall has learnt to use his VR headset in short bursts to avoid eye strain and dizziness. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

OPTOMETRISTS have issued a warning that virtual reality could be damaging peoples eyes as a new study shows that Australians are on the cusp of a VR revolution.

Bupa Optical senior optometrist Karen Makin said there was early evidence linking VR headsets to eye problems but there needed to be more research into long-term use.

Theres not been a lot of research done in the field and thats the concern because it is unknown, he said.

Virtual reality is wonderful technology and will play a big role in our future, but the reality is that we just dont know yet what the impact it will have on peoples eyes in the long run.

The problem with VR headsets, which have been linked to eye strain and dry eye problems, relates to what eye specialists call the convergence-accommodation reflex.

In the real world, our eyes converge and focus on the same point. In the virtual world the eyes focus on the screen which remains a set distance from the eye but the convergence of objects changes as they move around the virtual space.

Sony PlayStation VR will kick off virtual reality boom, experts say

Googles Daydream virtual reality could literally change the game

Optometrists have called for more research into the effects of long-term use of VR headsets. Picture: Jake NowakowskiSource:News Corp Australia

If youre looking at a computer screen, or a smartphone, or a tablet or a book, the eyes are converged so that theyre meeting at that distance wherever youre holding it from you and the focus of your eyes is focused at that distance at well, so theyre in synch, Ms Makin said.

But with the virtual reality, the screen is only a short distance.

Makers of virtual reality headsets, including Google, Samsung and Sony, recommend that people only use them for short periods of time, taking a 15-minute break every half an hour and that they are not suitable for children under 12.

Ed Hassall, 39, of Ivanhoe, who has been using a Samsung Gear VR headset for nine months, said he experienced the problems of eye strain and dizziness the first time he dived into virtual reality.

I remember with my first session, I probably went a bit long and used it for about 40 or 45 minutes. I felt really dizzy and a little bit sick, he said.

Mr Hassall said the immersive experience of VR made it easy to forget about taking regular rests but he tried to restrict his sessions to the recommended time of under 30 minutes to eliminate the eye strain problems and travel sickness feelings that can be linked to VR use.

The Telsyte Australian Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality Study 2017 this week shows that 200,000 Australians bought a VR headset in the last year. By 2021, the report predicts a quarter of Australian homes will have a VR headset.

Ms Mankin said vision problems linked to VR headsets were likely to become more common as the technology became mainstream and the content became more immersive.

Potentially you just get sucked in and before you know two hours is gone and youve stared at this thing for all of this time, Ms Makin said.

She said people using VR should come back to the real world every 30 minutes to rest their eyes.

In that break I wouldnt suggest you hop on your smartphone or tablet, she said. Go for a walk out your backyard and do something different.

Excerpt from:

Health warning as immersive virtual reality craze linked to vision problems - NEWS.com.au

The possibilities are virtually limitless with technology. In recent years, virtual reality has become more popular in the technology community. VR is a computer-generated system that lets the viewer experience videos, clips and photographs in a different way. A headset is used to cover your eyes completely and separate the viewer from the space they are a part of to gain a new virtual space through headset, according to cnet.com

Technology assists us in many ways throughout our daily lives. From our smartphones to the cars we drive, we have come a long way with technological advancements. VR takes us another step further in those advancements, using the technology for purposes of entertainment all the way to tourism and exploration.

The School of Communication at Western Michigan University uses VR in a multitude of educational ways that is sure to enhance students learning experience.

Some of our students work with the Bronco School of Nursing to run nursing students through various simulations so they would be able to experience what it might be like working with a patient who has autism or to experience what it would feel like to perform various surgeries and medical procedures, Professor of Communication Dr. Chad Edwards said.

VR can be useful in practically any field of study. People are constantly coming up with new ways to effectively use this device in educational settings.

In our basic course here at Western, COM 1000, we have a lab section that is using virtual reality to help students reduce communication apprehension. They are practicing giving their speeches in VR, Edwards said.

You can get VR in several forms, some are more expensive than others. The most affordable way to experience VR is with your smartphone. There are several versions of headsets that can give you the VR experience as well, including Samsung VR and Oculus Rift.

VR gives people the ability to feel like they are anywhere in the world, right in the comfort of their couch.

One could experience a trip to Mars, or a trip to Egypt and see the pyramids, it can also be used in journalism to help bring people closer to the story. VR lets you try things that might be otherwise dangerous, expensive, or even impossible, Edwards said.

VR also offers an assortment of short films that people can view. The Communication and Social Robotics Lab at Western has a number of short films in VR. Guests from around the community sometimes come into the lab and try out the device. The lab uses two kinds of VR headsets: Oculus Rift and HTC Vive.

The Communication and Social Robotics Lab have walk-in hours for students who want to try out this device. You can also email Edwards in the School of Communication to find out more about VR and how you can experience this incredible device.

View original post here:

Virtual Reality helps WMU students reduce apprehension with communication - Western Herald

UNM students, staff and faculty can now explore the world without even leaving campus. Centennial Science and Engineering Library launched two new tech spaces and one of them contains an entirely immersive virtual reality experience.

Its a presentation, communication and collaboration space here at Centennial Library, where weve focused on bringing a wide variety of new technologies into a space where our students and faculty can experiment with new ways of communicating their work, Said Karl Benedict, director of research data services.

Part of that work will include writing, coding and experimenting with new forms of virtual reality. The workshop space is equipped with sensors, speakers and microphones; and the participant wears goggles that completely cover their field of vision.

The virtual reality capability that we have here does provide us the opportunity to take our users anywhere in the world, while standing right in the basement of the Centennial Science and Engineering Library, Benedict said.

Karl Benedict checks the virtual reality system using a demo "lab" app

Right now, the system is run on a variety of demonstration applications among other things, you can walk through downtown London using Google Earth, protect your space ship from attacking robots in an immersive video game or play virtual fetch with a futuristic robot dog. But those demonstration apps will be phased out as faculty, staff and students suggest new ones and create their own bigger and better programs to bring into the lab.

This is a cutting-edge facility that is very important for Centennial, but is also really important for the whole university, said Richard Clement, dean of the College of University Libraries and Learning Sciences. Were now providing students, staff and faculty a space that enables them to come together in a collaborative way, with resources rarely available for public use.

The hope is that technology like the virtual reality lab will attract future lobos interested in software and video game development. Already some faculty

The goggles worn during the simulation completely cut out light from the room.

members at UNM are integrating video game development to teach principles of communication, analysis and engagement in the classroom. The library is also considering facilitating development contests in the future, which would involve students bringing their innovation into the lab and going head-to-head in a competition.

We have another expectation too, Benedict added. That as users come into this space, we will learn more about what their particular needs are so we can continue to evolve what we have available as tools and platforms for being able to do the research and collaboration were trying to enable here.

In addition to the immersive virtual reality simulator, Centennial opened a second tech space that gives visitors access to Mac and PC operating systems equipped with a much wider range of functions than the standard university computer. These Analysis Workstations have specialized analytic and software development applications as well as the full Adobe Creative Cloud suite.

The virtual reality system and other tech gadgets were funded through a combination of sources including the librarys foundation endowment and general obligation bond funds. But Benedict says this is just the starting point of a bigger vision, including being able to provide a space for more extensive content collaboration and research; which will hopefully pique the interest of donors and financial sponsors in the future.

The analysis workstations can be reserved at the Centennial Science and Engineering Library, and the virtual reality and workshop room can be reserved online just like other study spaces within University Libraries. Simply visit library.unm.edu and click on Reserve a Room.

Read the rest here:

Virtual reality at UNM opens new doors of collaboration and research - UNM Newsroom