Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Garden State Plaza has a 'bold vision' to build residences and greenspace on its property where parking lots currently sit. Tariq Zehawi and Danielle Parhizkaran, North Jersey Record

Virtual reality is coming to Bergen County's largest mall.

The VOID, a provider ofvirtual reality entertainment,is opening its first New Jersey outpost at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus next year,mall officials announced Tuesday. The move comes on the heels of a new partnership between the virtual reality company and the mall's parent company, which plans to open dozens of locations nationwide.

The VOID uses state-of-the-art virtual reality technology, physical stages and multi-sensory effects, like touch and smell, to create fully immersive worlds for guests to explore, the company said. Some of thoseexperiencescatapultguests into the worlds of popular filmslike "Avengers," "Star Wars" and "Ghostbusters,"according to the company's website.

The VOID, a provider of virtual reality experiences, is opening its first NJ location at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus. The location is expected to open sometime in summer 2020.(Photo: Courtesy of The VOID)

An award-winning experience like The VOID that bringsfirst-to-market entertainment experiences to New Jersey is what Garden State Plaza represents,"Jay Daly, the mall's general manager, said in a statement. We are excited that our global partnership with The VOID makes it possible to bring this unique entertainment experience to our guests, as well as will complement our unique retail, dining and entertainment offering to the community."

The virtual reality space is expected to open in summer 2020, although it is unclear where in the mallor how large it will be.A mall spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

For Garden State Plaza, which is preparing for a major transformation, this is the latest in a string of announcements of innovations at the 62-year-old mall.

The VOID, a provider of virtual reality experiences, is opening its first NJ location at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus. The location is expected to open sometime in summer 2020.(Photo: Courtesy of The VOID)

The mallrecently unveiled a redevelopment project that will, among other things, turn a parking lot on the property into a brand-new downtown, equipped with a mixed-use, luxury residential complex and a sprawling green space.

And next month, the mall will become home to one of the first experiential Toys R Us stores in the country,as the once-defunct, New Jersey-based retailer continues to rise from the ashes.

The VOID would allow the Plaza to remain ahead of the game in retail, as malls nationwide are searching for creative ways to attract shoppersby providing distinctiveexperiences.

The mall's parent company,Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield, earlier this year announced that it had struck a deal with The VOID to bring dozens of locations to its malls nationwide.

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As part of that partnership, theUtah-based virtual realitycompany isexpected to open more than 25 VOID locations at URW flagship centers across the United States and Europe through 2022. Besides the Paramus location, the companies haveplans for sites in Paris, London, Amsterdam, Chicago, Copenhagen, San Jose, Stockholm and Vienna. The VOID also recently opened two pop-up sites at Westfield World Trade Center in New York City and Westfield San Francisco Center.

The VOID has at least 11 existing locations across the United States, according to its website,including at Triple Five's Mall of America in Minneapolis.The Canadian developer is expected to open its newest project, American Dream Meadowlands in East Rutherford, later this month. A VOID spokesperson said the company does not currently have plans to open at American Dream.

Melanie Anzidei is the retail reporter for NorthJersey.com. To get unlimited access to the latest newsaboutstore openingsandclosings in North Jerseys biggest malls, shopping centers and downtowns,please subscribe or activate your digital account today.

Email:anzidei@northjersey.comTwitter:@melanieanzidei

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Virtual reality coming to Westfield Garden State Plaza as The VOID will open first NJ post - NorthJersey.com

Technology is taking over our world. There is a tangible impact that technology is applying to most all aspects of our lives. Education, is no different. And while a few naysayers might point out the pitfalls of technology in education, if used in moderation, the benefits, to my mind, far outweigh the negatives.

We have witnessed Smart Classes and the effect of the Internet on education already. Now the paradigm is evolving to include Virtual Reality. However, before we move on to the ways in which Virtual Reality is shaping education, let us first get a basic understanding of what Virtual Reality is. Using Computers and Technology to create a stimulated environment is the most commonly accepted definition. Typically, VR is experienced hands-on, by wearing a VR Headset that puts the user front and center of the action - quite unlike viewing something on a screen. In the VR world, the experience is palpable, tangible almost, and it is extremely immersive. It is like being at the Zoo, rather than watching a video, of the Zoo.So what are some of the ways in which VR is beginning to make its presence felt in the realm of education?

Taking teaching into virtual world - Virtual reality in education

Perhaps the greatest contribution of VR in education comes from augmenting the learning experience. And this holds true across subjects and academic disciplines. Until now, learners have been reading and learning, watching and learning. There is a 'distance' between the learner and the lesson. Unless learners physically visit a time & space (which isn't always possible due to distance, inaccessibility, time, money constraints), there is a disconnect between what is being learnt and the student. There is a limitation on how, and how much, the student can truly 'experience' what is being taught. With VR, this has begun to change, and change dramatically.

Taking teaching into virtual world - Virtual reality in education

Imagine a scenario where a group of students is studying Indian History, Mahatma Gandhi's famous speech, for instance. It is one thing to listen to the speech and read its transcript, and it would be an altogether more alluring experience if those students where to be physically present at the time and place of the speech, the latter created using computer technology and lived through Virtual Reality! This kind of 'environment-generation' and placing learners in that world is already taking place, and every stream of academics can take advantage of it. Imagine being able to be in space and look down at Earth!

The travel through time and space through Virtual Reality can also be used as a great tool to acquaint, orient, and sensitize learners with the problems that plague our world and our society. A VR environment and that hands-on experience can, for example, serve as a reminder of the brutal impact of Global Warming, by journeying learners to the melting Polar ice caps. Similarly, by taking learners to marginalized communities in less-fortunate countries can help them develop not just awareness but also a genuine sense of empathy and thankfulness for their own privileged circumstances, a value sorely lacking in many children these days. Many issues can be brought to life this way, and the impact of a VR experience is lasting and profound.

The limit of experiential learning has been capped at simulated 3D environments. However, with virtual reality, there is really no limit. Imagine a child trying to learn about shapes, of cubes and rhombuses. One the one hand, they can watch videos or see diagrams of these hitherto unknown objects, sometimes leading to confusion in interpreting them correctly; on the other hand, with VR, they can be literally placed within the object, leaving them to touch, feel, experience, and permanently grasp it, from a completely different and altogether more realistic perspective. Such, is the power of VR in education, to bring concepts to life in a never-before seen way.

Taking teaching into virtual world - Virtual reality in education

Because VR has the ability to create or recreate most any imaginable environment, a lot of confusion and apprehensions, incorrect perceptions with regard to certain professional sectors & industries can be addressed effectively. Say a learner is considering working in Films because it seems very glamorous. That learner may not have the opportunity to experience a film-set first hand. He or she can, now, with VR. And perhaps even change their mind when they see that the reality is quite contrary to their ill-informed perception!

Finally, the biggest benefit of virtual reality technology in my view is that it has the immense potential of putting fun back into education and learning. Students these days are tired and under pressure. They have just too much to do, achieve, accomplish and prove. With VR experiences, not only will they learn better, they will have a lot more fun doing it, a facet of education that seems to have reduced, tragically, dramatically.

Technology needs to be used responsibly. If as educators and care givers we can strike the right balance between technology and traditional learning, technology will enable us to greatly enhance the learning experience. VR is leading this revolutionary charge.

Authored by Kartik Bajoria - Writer.Educator.Moderator

Read more: The importance of soft skills: Organizations are increasing realizing the need to assess human skills in recruits

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Taking teaching into virtual world - Virtual reality in education - India Today

A person could watch Roger Ross Williams Traveling While Black on The New York Times website, where it was first posted in January.

But if you havent seen it through a virtual reality headset, as viewers can at Salt Lake Citys Broadway Centre Cinemas starting this week, you basically havent seen it, Williams said.

The beauty of VR, especially with a subject like this, is that you cant escape it, Williams said in a phone interview last week. You are trapped in that reality, in that world. You cant eat popcorn or candy, or glance at your cellphone or your watch. You have no choice but to experience what you are experiencing in every way.

Traveling While Black will be presented as a VR exhibit in the lobby of the Broadway, starting Tuesday, Oct. 8, and running through Dec. 31. Admission is free.

The documentary, which premiered in the New Frontier section of this years Sundance Film Festival, is a series of conversations about the struggles African Americans have faced over the decades.

The interviews start with people who dealt with restrictions traveling through segregated areas of the country in the 1950s and 1960s. The last interview with Samaria Rice, whose 12-year-old son Tamir was killed in 2014 by police in Cleveland shows the pain of racism isnt confined to the past.

Its amazing. Ive cried in my headset every time so far, said Barb Guy, marketing director for the Salt Lake Film Society, the nonprofit that runs Broadway and Tower theaters.

The interviews take place in Bens Chili Bowl, a landmark diner in Washington, D.C., known as a safe haven for black travelers. People seeing Traveling While Black at the Broadway, as they did at Sundance, sit in a black-box set resembling a diners interior providing the sensation of sitting in the booth or at the counter, listening to people telling their stories.

Williams was approached by Bonnie Nelson Schwartz, who had written a play called Traveling While Black, nearly a decade ago. Williams wanted to explore what was then called transmedia and began experimenting with storytelling forms at the Sundance Institutes New Frontier Story Lab.

I didnt want to make a traditional documentary, Williams said. This is such a subject that calls out to the audience to participate in it, to be a part of it.

Williams has a long resum as a documentarian. His 2010 short Music by Prudence won him an Academy Award. His feature films God Loves Uganda (2013), about the evangelical movement in the African nation, and Life, Animated (2016), which follows an autistic man communicating with his family through Disney cartoons, both premiered at Sundance. His next feature The Apollo, about the legendary Harlem music venue airs on HBO in November.

Williams, working with grants from The New York Times and the MacArthur Foundation, struggled to find the right format for Traveling While Black. At one point, he planned to use animation; at another, he hired actors to reenact the conversations. He also went on VR dating, spending a year meeting production companies specializing in virtual reality.

Eventually, Williams met Flix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael, co-founders of the Montreal-based Flix & Paul Studios and was particularly impressed by their VR documentary The Peoples House, a 2016 tour of the White House with Barack and Michelle Obama.

They said, Think about a place that is iconic and important, and basing it there, Williams said. Bens Chili Bowl is this incredibly iconic place. Its a safe space for black people, and its part of a community. I know the stories in that place and community have something important to say.

The restaurant was one safe location listed in The Negro Motorist Green Book, a series of travel guides printed from 1936 to 1966. The Green Book told African American travelers which hotels were open to them, which restaurants would serve them, and which towns were safe to drive through at night. (The guide is mentioned, barely, in last years Best Picture Oscar winner, Green Book.)

Williams said he wanted his film to really express the experiences African Americans have had traveling in America in the 50s and 60s with the Green Book, and connect it to the present day, and what we still experience in America.

Working in VR has technical challenges, Williams said. For one thing, he had to sit in a video village outside of the diner, because if he was in the diner, he would show up in the camera arrays 360-degree view. Editing also is tricky, because theres no cutting away from an interview subject in the middle of a sentence.

You have to walk out of the room and let things happen, and hope they happen the way you want them to, he said.

The results can be worth it.

Its amazing to watch people experience it, Williams said. At Sundance and other venues this year, he said, people were just weeping, crying into their headsets. I saw this couple holding hands across the table as they were experiencing it. Its some very powerful stuff.

Continued here:

'Traveling While Black' virtual reality exhibit is coming to Utah - Salt Lake Tribune

The definition of virtual reality comes, naturally, from the definitions for both virtual and reality. The definition of virtual is near and reality is what we experience as human beings. So the term virtual reality basically means near-reality. This could, of course, mean anything but it usually refers to a specific type of reality emulation.

We know the world through our senses and perception systems. In school we all learned that we have five senses: taste, touch, smell, sight and hearing. These are however only our most obvious sense organs. The truth is that humans have many more senses than this, such as a sense of balance for example. These other sensory inputs, plus some special processing of sensory information by our brains ensures that we have a rich flow of information from the environment to our minds.

Everything that we know about our reality comes by way of our senses. In other words, our entire experience of reality is simply a combination of sensory information and our brains sense-making mechanisms for that information. It stands to reason then, that if you can present your senses with made-up information, your perception of reality would also change in response to it. You would be presented with a version of reality that isnt really there, but from your perspective it would be perceived as real. Something we would refer to as a virtual reality.

So, in summary, virtual reality entails presenting our senses with a computer generated virtual environment that we can explore in some fashion.

Answering what is virtual reality in technical terms is straight-forward. Virtual reality is the term used to describe a three-dimensional, computer generated environment which can be explored and interacted with by a person. That person becomes part of this virtual world or is immersed within this environment and whilst there, is able to manipulate objects or perform a series of actions.

Although we talk about a few historical early forms of virtual reality elsewhere on the site, today virtual reality is usually implemented using computer technology. There are a range of systems that are used for this purpose, such as headsets, omni-directional treadmills and special gloves. These are used to actually stimulate our senses together in order to create the illusion of reality.

This is more difficult than it sounds, since our senses and brains are evolved to provide us with a finely synchronised and mediated experience. If anything is even a little off we can usually tell. This is where youll hear terms such asimmersiveness and realism enter the conversation. These issues that divide convincing or enjoyable virtual reality experiences from jarring or unpleasant ones are partly technical and partly conceptual. Virtual reality technology needs to take our physiology into account. For example, the human visual field does not look like a video frame. We have (more or less) 180 degrees of vision and although you are not always consciously aware of your peripheral vision, if it were gone youd notice. Similarly when what your eyes and the vestibular system in your ears tell you are in conflict it can cause motion sickness. Which is what happens to some people on boats or when they read while in a car.

If an implementation of virtual reality manages to get the combination of hardware, software and sensory synchronicity just right it achieves something known as a sense of presence. Where the subject really feels like they are present in that environment.

This may seems like a lot of effort, and it is! What makes the development of virtual reality worthwhile? The potential entertainment value is clear. Immersive films and video games are good examples. The entertainment industry is after all a multi-billion dollar one and consumers are always keen on novelty. Virtual reality has many other, more serious, applications as well.

There are a wide variety of applications for virtual reality which include:

Virtual reality can lead to new and exciting discoveries in these areas which impact upon our day to day lives.

Wherever it is too dangerous, expensive or impractical to do something in reality, virtual reality is the answer. From trainee fighter pilots to medical applications trainee surgeons, virtual reality allows us to take virtual risks in order to gain real world experience. As the cost of virtual reality goes down and it becomes more mainstream you can expect more serious uses, such as education or productivity applications, to come to the fore. Virtual reality and its cousin augmented reality could substantively change the way we interface with our digital technologies. Continuing the trend of humanising our technology.

There are many different types of virtual reality systems but they all share the same characteristics such as the ability to allow the person to view three-dimensional images. These images appear life-sized to the person.

Plus they change as the person moves around their environment which corresponds with the change in their field of vision. The aim is for a seamless join between the persons head and eye movements and the appropriate response, e.g. change in perception. This ensures that the virtual environment is both realistic and enjoyable.

A virtual environment should provide the appropriate responses in real time- as the person explores their surroundings. The problems arise when there is a delay between the persons actions and system response or latency which then disrupts their experience. The person becomes aware that they are in an artificial environment and adjusts their behaviour accordingly which results in a stilted, mechanical form of interaction.

The aim is for a natural, free-flowing form of interaction which will result in a memorable experience.

Virtual reality is the creation of a virtual environment presented to our senses in such a way that we experience it as if we were really there. It uses a host of technologies to achieve this goal and is a technically complex feat that has to account for our perception and cognition. It has both entertainment and serious uses. The technology is becoming cheaper and more widespread. We can expect to see many more innovative uses for the technology in the future and perhaps a fundamental way in which we communicate and work thanks to the possibilities of virtual reality.

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What is Virtual Reality? - Virtual Reality Society

Today, Samsung showed off its flagship Note 8, the device has a big, beautiful screen, the S Pen and a battery thats a little bit smaller. The company also announced that theres a new $130 Gear VR on the way that youll have to buy if you want to try Samsungs brand of VR on the Note 8.

Whats new over past models? Not much.

Samsung has made several upgrades to the Gear VR headset since the device, which was built in conjunction with Oculus, was first introduced in 2015. The company added a little controller earlier this year and has continued shuffling buttons around, but for the most part these updates have just been focused on supporting the expanding sizes of new Samsung smartphones.

While headsets like the Daydream View from Google (Which Samsung launched S8 support for last month) are fairly future-proof when it comes to new devices thanks to NFC communication being used to perform the calibration, the flush physical connection through the phones bottom port on the Gear VR has required users to buy new headsets or connectors for bigger Samsung devices with different ports.

Googles Daydream View

Its not a big deal at all for those who are buying the headset for the first time but for those on a yearly upgrade cycle with the Galaxy or Note, its really annoying.

Youve seen the writing on the wall, the VR market is struggling as investors and founders deal with headset sales that arent meeting expectations. Its hard enough to get consumers to buy a headset once, Samsung expecting its die-hard customers to do it multiple times is a tall order.

Its obviously unwise to base the form factor of a major flagship device based on what can fit inside a mobile VR headset, but its also a little shortsighted for Samsung to have even forced that choice on itself. NFC would be great move if the platform could grow to support it. Something like a flush external cable may look a bit junky, but how sexy does a plastic headset you snap your phone into really have to be?

In January, the company announced that it had shipped 5 million headsets and a lot of those were giveaways. Samsung shipped free Gear VR headsets with pre-orders for both the Galaxy S7 and S8 line and had a number of deals over the past couple years attempting to brute force their way into the VR market through giveaways.

As its smartphone upgrades shovel its old Gear VR headsets into obsolescence, it seems that Samsung is pretty much wasting a lot of these previous efforts. The Gear VR is due for a real upgrade to bring in a number of VR features, but its hardware also needs to mature to the point where its not alienating those who upgrade their Samsung phone every year or two.

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Samsung's virtual reality strategy has an upgrade problem - TechCrunch

HTC, whose mobile handsets ruled the smartphone world of yesteryear, is working with an adviser to examine some pretty significant strategic options as it aims to find a path forward, Bloomberg reports.These steps include the possibilities of selling its Vive virtual reality arm or simply spinning it off into a separate venture.

Weve reached out to HTC for comment.

The report noted that a full sale of the Taiwanese tech firm was less likely given that its business which encompasses a wide scope of efforts didnt fit obviously with one acquirer. Nothing is final, and Bloombergs sources maintained that they may choose not to go through with any of these options.

HTCs core business has faced a major downturn in the past decade, with its stock falling 75 percent in the past five years and nearly 95 percent since its all-time high in April of 2011. The company is currently worth about $1.8 billion.

As the companys handset business has slowed in China and the US significantly, HTC has invested major resources into seeking to get ahead of the virtual reality industry and establish itself as a major presence. In addition to its hardware pursuits, HTC has launched a VR accelerator, an investment organization devoted to VR companies and a 3,500 square foot VR arcade in Taiwan called Viveland.

The companys flagship headset made in collaboration with the gaming company Valve still seems to be outselling Facebooks Oculus Rift handily according to analysts, but neither company has released unit sales figures. Earlier this week, HTC delivered the first significant price cut to the headset, taking the price down from $799 to $599.

HTC also manufactures Googles Pixel phone which was introduced last year, a device which was the first to showcase Googles Daydream virtual reality platform. HTC is set to release a standalone positionally-tracked headset in collaboration with Google based on the Daydream platform later this year as well.

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HTC might be looking to sell or spin off its Vive virtual reality business - TechCrunch

KFC is tapping virtual reality to improve its employees chicken frying skills.

The fast food chain said Thursday that its debuting an employee-training program in which chefs learn to cook a batch of the companys signature fried chicken inside a virtual kitchen.

The training program was designed to resemble a game in which participants complete the five steps required to make fried chicken in a style to KFCs liking. This includes inspecting, rinsing, breading, racking, and then pressure frying virtual chickens.

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KFC said that it takes about 25 minutes for employees to fry chicken, but the virtual reality program only takes 10 minutes to complete. A KFC spokesperson said in an email that, "The VR isnt meant to speed up the process, it is to teach cooks how to make the world-famous Original Recipe fried chicken."

The game was developed by the technology group of ad agency Wieden+Kennedy and is intended to be played on the Facebook-owned ( fb ) Oculus Rift virtual reality headset.

Its unclear just how big of a roll out KFC is planning for its VR training game, which could be a marketing stunt to generate publicity for KFC, considering that an advertising firm built the VR program. Food site Eater noted that KFC has recently tried other publicity stunts including a takeout box that also charges phones and a bucket for holding chicken that also functions as a Bluetooth photo printer.

A KFC spokesperson told Eater, The game is intended to supplement the existing Chicken Mastery program, not replace it.

This is intended to be a fun way to celebrate the work KFCs more than 19,000 cooks do every day in every restaurant across the U.S. in an engaging way, the spokesperson said.

Story updated on Thursday 3:50 PM PST to correct how the VR tech is being used.

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KFC Employees Can Fry Chicken in Virtual Reality - Fortune

Devotees of the late, great sci-fi seriesStar Trek: The Next Generationwill remember the holodeck, a space-age virtual reality arena that could replicate any kind of environment. While it could be used as a training platform, Enterprise officers most often used the holodeck as a recreational space, immersing themselves in nature.

In an inspired twist on the concept, researchers in Europe have developed a virtual reality environment for freely moving animals that appears to be effective at generating convincing illusions of the natural world for mice, fish, and fruit flies.

Alas for the animals, the VR system isn't designed for the animals recreational benefit. Instead, researchers hope to use the VR rig as a controlled setting for examining animal perceptions and behavior.

Dubbed FreemoVR, the system is actually pretty basic as far as virtual reality environments go. The setup is essentially a cylindrical space in which the floor and wraparound wall are made from flexible computer displays. Animals placed into the environment are monitored by overhead cameras and sensors that track their movement and behavior around the 3D space.

The principal benefit of the FreemoVR system is that, as the name implies, the device allows animals to move about freely within the environment. Using specially developed software, the researchers can adjust the visual imagery on the fly, as it were, and project elements based on the animals behavior and movements in real time.

RELATED:A Universal Language of Arousal Connects Humans and the Animal Kingdom

The most important thing is that the animal is actually moving and gets all the appropriate mechanosensory feedback, study co-author Andrew Straw, of the University of Freiburg in Germany, told Seeker in an email. This is really important for studies of navigation and spatial cognition, because if the animal doesnt believe it is moving, it will be difficult to study how the animal updates its mental map as it moves.

The newstudy,publishedthis week in the journalNature Methods, details a series of experiments that suggest that the lab animals find the virtual reality experience pretty convincing. The animals reacted to virtual images the same as they would to real-world objects and obstacles. The research team chose three animal species often employed in lab studies mice, fruit flies, and zebrafish to make the technique more useful to other scientists.

In one experiment, mice were placed atop an elevated platform with a projection screen lying beneath. The display created an illusion of depth, giving the impression that one end of the platform was higher than the other. The mice reacted to the illusory change of height by staying on the lower and safer end of the platform.

RELATED: The Color of Your Clothing Could Affect the Behavior of Animals

In another experiment, a tank filled with zebrafish was placed in the FreemoVR system while researchers projected a swarm of descending aliens from the oldSpace Invadersarcade game. The fish reacted to the incoming swarm as if it were real, and even engaged in mimicking behavior to join the swarm.

Tricking fish with old video games may seem like a strange use of the scientific method, but Straw says the experiments can tell us a lot about how animals see the world, which in turn can tell us about human perception especially in large groups.

Humans and mammals have a highly conserved overall brain architecture and many close parallels in the systems related to spatial cognition, Straw said. Thats the reason why many labs use these [animal] systems for models. This way, we can do things such as recording from hundreds or thousands simultaneously, which would not be possible in human experiments.

RELATED: The Trail of Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs Leads Back to the First Land Animals

Incidentally, the holodeck thing is no random pop culture reference. Straw, who has plainly stated that his teams aim was to create a holodeck for animals, grew up watchingStar Trek.

Star Trek: The Next Generationplayed in almost infinite reruns where I grew up, he said. Captain Jean-Luc Picard is basically my hero.

WATCH:The Incredible Tech Inside California's Most Famous Aquarium

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Scientists Built a Virtual Reality 'Holodeck' for Lab Animals - Seeker

MICROSOFT has created a wand that controls games while wearing its HoloLens headset.

The device will likely be used as a gun in shoot 'em up games as well as a wand to point and interact with objects that you perceive to be in front of you.

A patent filing, spotted by WalkingCat, reveals an accessory with buttons, a trigger, a finger guard and a light indicator that tells you when it's on.

There were scant details in the filings, but it's very likely the wand will sync to Microsoft's HoloLens "mixed reality" headset.

HoloLens is immersive, but it doesnt block out the real world.

Instead, it places holographic pictures into physical surroundings to see, place and interact as if the holograms are part of the physical world.

It's not hard to imagine Harry Potter-esquemagic games or more vicious shoot 'em up games being played with the futuristic controller.

Microsoft

Microsoft

Microsoft

Eagle-eyed tech fans might notice that they look strikingly similar to Sony's PlayStation virtual reality controller.

The tech rival has its own virtual reality headset, used primarily for gaming.

Microsoft's HoloLens is targeted at education and the workplace, rather than pure entertainment.

It might sound bonkers, but men are alreadystrapping on headsets to spice up romps with their wives, according to adult industry insiders.

Sony

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf9qkURqtbM%5D

Virtual reality pornography could be available in thousands of European hotels room within six months.

A virtual reality death simulator could help "cure societys fear of dying", too.

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Microsoft patents a WAND that syncs up to its virtual reality Oculus Rift headset and might help shoot game villains - The Sun

Imax Corp. IMAX, +3.67% said on Thursday it's expanding its virtual reality business, opening a new virtual reality center at a Cineplex theater TSX:CGX in Toronto, Canada. Along with the new VR center, Imax will add a new Imax auditorium at Cineplex theaters in Toronto and Regina. As U.S. box office trends have slowed, Imax has been investing heavily in virtual reality in hopes of driving traffic to movie theaters, and has been focused on expanding its international reach. Imax opened its flagship VR center in Los Angeles in January, followed by another location in New York City. The premium film exhibitor plans to launch eight more centers in North America, Western Europe and Asia this year. The plan is to use these as pilot locations to test consumer experience with the burgeoning technology, pricing and different content offerings. Imax said it plans to roll out the VR center concept globally at select multiplexes, shopping malls and tourist destinations. Shares of Imax have declined nearly 44% in the year to date, as cinema chains and film exhibitors have struggled to contend with weak box office results and concerns of shrinking theatrical windows and further digital disruption. The S&P 500 index SPX, -0.21% by comparison, is up more than 9% in the year.

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Imax continues virtual reality investment, opening new VR center in Toronto - MarketWatch