Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Last weeks Tokyo Content 2017 was an eye-popping demonstration of just how wide-ranging the definition of content has become in Japan. With its seven exhibitions and 1,650 exhibitors, the trade show featured the anime, manga and games that have become emblematic of Japanese content to the world at large.

But the cavernous exhibition halls were also abuzz with visitors examining and experiencing the latest advances in entertainment technology, particularly in augmented-reality and virtual-reality software and hardware.At the booth of Hado, which designs entertainment content for Fuji TV, TV Tokyo and other clients, visitors played Hado Shoot, a game in which players wearing VR headsets shot virtual light balls at each other and racked up points by scoring body hits.

Meanwhile, Marza Animation Planet, a CGI animation house affiliated with Sega, offered a VR exhibit inspired by the Resident Evil sci-fi/fantasy action series. Visitors tried to thread their way through a 3D battle in an underground corridor without getting blasted.

Courtesy of music producer Grandfunk Inc. and animation studio Koo-ki was Around the Sound, an immersive 360-degree VR environment that melded music and colored triangles, cubes and other shapes to entrancing effect.

In a keynote address, Naomi Tomita, head of robotics company Hapi-Robo St and chief information officer for the Huis Ten Bosch theme park, said that the ultimate goal for VR development was the merging of the virtual and the real as the technology advances. Calling himself an analog person, the 69-year-old executive noted that digital technology still had a way to go before it could duplicate what he described as the subtlety of analog.

Not surprisingly, he cited Huis Ten Bosch as an example of that merging. Among the theme parks current high-tech attractions are a robot-staffed hotel and a VR Center that offers such experiences as a virtual bungee jump and a marriage proposal from a handsome virtual guy inside a love simulation booth.

Tomita spoke about Shooting Star, a light show that will unfold nightly at the park fromJuly 22 to Aug. 5. The show features 300 illuminated drones, as well as 3D animation and music.

Its a first for Japan, Tomita said. This is our way of celebrating Huis Ten Boschs 25thanniversary.

But on both opening and closing nights, the show will be supplemented by a huge fireworks display: in other words, a merging of analog and digital entertainment.

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Beyond Anime and Manga, Tokyo Content Showcases Augmented and Virtual Reality - Variety

Anaheim has entered the virtual world.

The tourism and marketing arm of the city, Visit Anaheim, has introduced a virtual reality video giving people a first-person view of some of the citys landmarks and popular venues.

Were always looking for new ways to showcase our destination, said Jay Burress, chief executive and president of Visit Anaheim, which also promotesvisitors to Orange County. We thinkvirtual realityis a great way to do that.

The high-tech offering is just the latest the tourism bureau is doing to bring in more visitors and conventions to highlight the city. The tourism bureau, along with its partners from the Orange County Visitors Association, recentlyannouncedthe opening of a third office in Guangzhou, China. In 2013, offices opened in Shanghai and Beijing.

Last year, more than 100,000 visitors came to Orange County from China, Burress said.

And, more than 23 million people visited Anaheim last year, the group said. Since 2011, visitor numbers have increased 35 percent.

The city relies heavily on visitors staying in local hotels and shopping in the area to help pay for day-to-day operations such as providing police officers and firefighters, parks and road maintenance through its general fund. In the next 12 months, the citys general fund is expected to increase by 4 percent to $312 million.

The two-minute virtual reality video made by Costa Mesa-basedmarketing agency Idea Hall is available on YouTube. Filming began late last year and wrapped up after the NAMM convention. Visit Anaheim declined to disclose the cost.

When Visit Anaheim officials attend sales conventions, they bring two Samsung Oculus systems. Visitors don the virtual reality goggles which visually take them around the Anaheim Regional Transportation Center, the Anaheim Convention Center, the Packing House, Unsung Brewery and the Ranch restaurant. Visit Anaheim also gives away cardboard VR goggles.

This is just the first iteration of our use of virtual reality, Burress said. Disneyland is not the only thing in Anaheim. We want to highlight other parts of the city and this gives us a sophisticated and fun vehicle to do that.

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Tourism bureau promotes Anaheim with a virtual reality tour - OCRegister

It held its grand opening in conjunction with the beginning of Comic Con.

Joshua Aldredge , KUSA 9:48 PM. MDT July 01, 2017

Head Games VR has the honor of being the first virtual reality arcade in the Denver area. It held its grand opening Saturday night with a party in conjunction with Denver Comic Con.

The arcade has opened on Colfax Avenue near Kipling in Lakewood. Right now the arcade features three VR setups, but the owners have plans to expand on that in the future.

As for the idea? it came during a road trip.

"I was driving out to Las Vegas with my brother, Adam, and he and I were playing with the idea of escape rooms and then he mentioned they had VR in Sweden, where he's from," says Victoria Merchant, one of the owners of Head Games VR. "So we kinda turned to each other and said, 'let's do that. Let's do VR.'"

She says while they were driving theyneeded to come up with a name - and they made all sorts of lists for funny names.

"Head Games seemed perfect," Merchant says. "You're playing a video game on your head."

Nathan Hostetler, also of Head Games, says VR is fun for all ages.

"This is somewhere anyone of any age or background could come and try out VR and any kind of experience they want to - have a different experience every time," he says. "And they can see the potential that this entertainment has goinginto the future."

Merchant hopes to work with Colorado game developers to offer their new VR games to the public. She also wants to expand the business to include more headsets - and eventually more locations.

An hour of VR gaming will cost you $29 but up to five people can join you. You can reserve time online at this link.

2017 KUSA-TV

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No quarters needed: Virtual reality arcade opens in Denver area - 9NEWS.com

Two women and a man wrangle over fruits in Nairobi Berries, each one emptying the others core, while a poetic voice speaks over layered images of the Kenyan city. In The Other Dakar, a young girl receives a message and finds the hidden face of the Senegalese capital. In the Spirit Robot documentary, the Chale Wote Street Art Festival in Accra comes to life. And in Let This Be a Warning, a group of Africans is concerned about the arrival of an unbidden guest in their colony, raising a weighty question at the end of the film: If black worlds exist(ed), would you be welcome in them?

These short films, which were recently showcased at the German cultural center in Nairobi, share one trait: they are all virtual reality productions. They are stunning visual debuts from four African directors representing three countries, namely Ngendo Mukii (Kenya), Selly Raby Kane (Senegal), Jonathan Dotse (Ghana), and Jim Chuchu (Kenya), respectively.

Across the world, virtual reality (VR) has gained new currency in the entertainment, gaming, and even journalism industries, generating billions of dollars in revenue. The technology is also slowly making inroads into the mainstream film community, with directors embracing VR to make immersive experiences that draw more audiences.

The Virtual Arcade at this years Tribeca Film Festival is an exemplar of that, showcasing virtual films that tackled climate change, the struggle of a mother in Gaza following her childrens death, and the search for the kanju spiritcreativity born of struggleacross Africa. At the Cannes Film Festival, organizers for the first time this year included a virtual reality project by the Oscar-winning Mexican director Alejandro Irritu in the official selection.

In many African markets, music and movie sales are undermined by rampant piracy and artists work is often used without permission or payment. This means virtual reality presents filmmakers with the opportunity to market movies directly to those who already own equipment or who cant see the films unless they attend launches or special exhibits. These VR movies also push the boundaries of filmmaking in the continent, increasing its chances of breaking into the international market.

And in this quest to reinvent cinematic practices, African filmmakers are now saying that VR could give them an opportunity to both complement and push the traditional fold of African storytelling and dispel pervasive stereotypes about the continent. The nascent adoption of the technology in filmmaking globally, directors say, also creates a level playing field that gives them an equal chance of succeeding.

For the first time, technology has caught up with African storytelling, Jepchumba, a Kenyan digital artist, said during the screening of the films in Nairobi. The onus is on us now.

South Africa currently leads the efforts to use VR in the African continent, with the technology being applied in both filmmaking and advertising. The Cape Town-based non-profit Electric South also provides funding and training to creative teams producing virtual reality films across the continent, besides curating interactive exhibitions.

Yet despite the excitement surrounding the VR industry, challengessome traditional, some newpersist. For instance, directors have spoken about grappling with how to get access to equipment, and then navigating, setting up, and using the new technology. Fixed frame movies also allow directors control over the set, but the all-seeing angles of VR gear mean actors have to be left alone on the set. Chuchu, who directed Let This Be a Warning says it felt like being a theater director, rehearsing the scenes until the actors felt comfortable, and then leaving them to their own devices.

Virtual reality productions would also struggle to find a foothold in the continent owing to some of the same difficulties facing African cinema. These barriers include low funding, poor distribution networks, lack of screening technologies, piracy, and viewers disposed towards Hollywood blockbuster movies. Chuchu says that these hurdles might impede the growth of VR as a transformative tool in African storytelling.

But George Gachara, a managing partner at the creative fund Heva, says its only a matter of time before the technology gains traction among consumers. In Africa, VR is already flourishing in the gaming industry, is being used to sell property, and is being explored as a tool for education. Once these value chains are created, Gachara says the challenge will be about how much we can excel in adapting VR technology in the creative industry and beyond.

The question then will be: Are we innovating, dreaming, thinking, and pushing boundaries?

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Virtual reality is giving African filmmakers a new way to explore complex narratives - Quartz

Veterans bet big on virtual reality arcade in downtown Durham Triangle Business Journal The Triangle is weeks away from its first virtual reality arcade a bet that's years (and thousands of dollars) in the making for a pair of Durham veterans who became entrepreneurs. The arcade, to be called Augmentality Labs, all started when Alicia ...

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Veterans bet big on virtual reality arcade in downtown Durham - Triangle Business Journal

Sacramento Business Journal

Mill at Broadway turns to virtual reality for home sales Sacramento Business Journal For would-be buyers at the Mill at Broadway project in Sacramento, the process involves a headset and a short walk into a potential future. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a subscriber? Sign in. Subscribe to get the full story. Already a ... and more »

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Mill at Broadway turns to virtual reality for home sales - Sacramento Business Journal

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Saint Asoniaare digging a little deeper into their self-titled 2015 album, providing fans with a new visual to accompany their song Fairytale.

The video is shot in two distinct venues, weaving in a shadowy, black and white vision of the band performing on a bare stage with a virtual reality fantasy fight scene in the wilderness, featuring strong, superhero women engaged in battle.

Though the band was voted Best New Artist by Loudwires readers back in 2015and the video comes from their first album,the group is continuing work on its sophomore album, tentatively due before the end of this year. In February, the bands Adam Gontiertold a Michigan radio station that they were about halfway done, meaning the writing process is pretty much done. Right now, were just in the stages of demoing what we, as a band, believe are four or five of the best tracks that will be on the record, that we feel are the best tracks, that we are most happy with. And as well, were looking into producers and whether or not were actually going to hire a producer to produce this record.

Between myself, Mike Mushok and bassist Corey Lowery, weve all done some producing in our day, and at this point, a producer isnt one hundred percent necessary, Gontier told the station. So were kind of going through the motions of that and trying to decide what the next step is in the way of production and where were gonna go to record the record. But as for the songwriting, its pretty much done, and were having a really good time putting the finishing touches on the music weve got so far.

When asked how important it is for a rock band in 2017 to work with a producer, Gontier responded, Ive been really fortunate to work with some really great producers Howard Benson and Don Gilmore, and a whole bunch of different guys. I think as a young band, its very important, because as a young band, youre very influential and you definitely need that outside ear to help you move along and help you decide the direction of where you wanna go as a young band. In our case, just because weve done it so many times and weve made quite a few records between all of us, its one of those things that we feel pretty confident that when we finish a batch of songs, or we finish a record that between the three of us, if were happy with it, were almost positive that our fans, definitely our loyal fans as well as maybe some fans that might not have heard of us before are gonna enjoy it as well. Young bands tend to use producers, and I think for a band like us, its one of those things where we dont necessarily need one, but its always nice to have an extra set of ears around regardless.

At this point, there are no tour dates on the bands schedule as they continue to work on new music.

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Saint Asonia Take a Virtual Reality Trip With 'Fairytale' Video - Loudwire

If youve ever put on a VR headset, you probably know what it is to be transported to a digital world beyond imagination. Now, what if you knew that out-of-this-world realm was being brought to you by laser communications from the moon?

Yes, its happening. Astrobotic Technology, which flies hardware systems into space for clients, has joined forces with ATLAS Space Operations, which provides cloud-based space access solutions, to fast-forward our lunar future by zapping one gigabit of data from the moon to Earth per second. This isnt just a mission to take sci-fi from virtual to reality. Laser communications from our satellite mean increased payload capacity that will up the game of HD video, data-intensive experiments we couldnt have dreamed of otherwise, and the ultimate VR experience from the moon.

"Laser communications have been sought after by planetary missions for years, said Astrobotic CEO John Thornton. ATLAS and Astrobotic are now making this capability a reality."

Thornton is optimistic about lunar laser communications being the next generation of VR. Lunar communications were previously isolated, so this collaboration between Astrobotic and ATLAS means that instead of launching new communication methods for every new mission, the efforts of multiple missions can now be combined. ATLAS optical communications terminal ensures communications between the moon and Earth that wont break down into radio silence by providing Astrobotic customers with solutions that are immediately available.

Astrobotic has partnered with NASA through the space agencys Lunar CATALYST initiative, whose no-funds-exchanged Space Act Agreement (SAA) partnerships with the private sector spark advances in robotic landers that touch down on the moon. These can deliver serious payloads to the lunar surface when they team up with commercial launches. The company was also selected to participate in one of NASAs no-funds partnerships that would not only shoot for the moon in terms of payloads, but also explore lander advancements and scientific possibilities for upcoming NASA missions.

We will empower a thriving human space presence that explores the world beyond Earth orbit, states Astrobotics website. Current projects in development include the Astrobotic Virtual Orbital Imager (AVOI), which turns topographical data into a mind-blowing image of the landing scene, and mission planning software that will revolutionize lunar exploration.

Want to fly a piece of your Earthly existence to the moon? Astrobiotic is accepting contributions to its MoonBox project, which will carry your personal Moon Capsule to the moon on a Moon Pod and send back Instagram-worthy shots and videos.

(via Space.com)

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Virtual reality just went lunar - SYFY WIRE (blog)

Theres a new player on the virtual reality (VR) scene. Acute Art ismarketed directly to artists and will be available in the fall.To preview the platform, the studio invited artists Marina Abramovi, Olafur Eliasson, and Jeff Koonsto try out some new material. The making-of video discusses the potential of a viable commercial VR.

Over the decades, VR has moved from the edges to the mainstream, always greeted with skepticism and fears that its just another passing fad. But we now have consumer-grade specs like the Oculus Rift and controllers like the Touchfor games.Virtual reality in art has always been less sleek, more DIY, and with lots of stops and starts.

As Raymond Gozzi Jr. wrote about virtual realitys promise and threat back in 1995,it has caught peoples imaginations and inspired fantasies far out of proportion to what the technology can actually deliver, now or in the foreseeable future.

To the outside observer, there is only the strange spectacle of a person wearing a bulky helmet waving a gloved hand around and moving in weird, unpredictable ways. I am told that the graphics are rudimentary and the illusion is partial. There is a slight delay between your movement and the corresponding movement of the environment. The head-mounted display is bulky and heavy. And after a while, some users start to feel queasy and ill.

Gozzi feels the main potential of virtual reality is as a miniaturizing metaphor, a way to make a large and complex problem simple and digestiblethough theres a risk that making somethingtoo digestible can diminish its power and meaning.A great example is Abramovis interactive work for Acute Art, which focuses on the theme of climate change. If you choose environmentalism, Marina lives; if you choose consumption, she drowns from rising sea levels.

The virtual environment becomes an idealized stand-in for an imperfect reality.

Theres an obvious irony here; the virtual environment becomes an idealized stand-in for an imperfect (in this case, rapidly declining) reality. Any recreation of a natural landscape can be a distraction from, or a reminder of, its loss. This is encapsulated beautifully in the New Palmyra 3D scanning and printing project, where Syrian activist Bassel Khartabil created 3D models of heritage architecture under threat of destruction during war. (For his efforts, he was detained by the Syrian military in 2012 and has been missing since 2015.)

The more seamless a new VR platformthe farther away from bulky, heavy, and queasythe more it risks devaluing its source material. Why travel to visit an iceberg and see its crumbling firsthand when you can virtually interact with an immaterial glacier that will never melt?

While VR was certainly more challenging to use in the 1960-2000s, its very imperfect naturethe ad-hoc assemblages of various technologieswas often what made those projects special. In 1994, Dan OSullivan wrote in Choosing Tools for Virtual Environments, about work that was disjointed and full of seams, concluding that VR environments shouldnt strive to be perfect. A little bit of abstraction goes a long way. It commits the participants to use their own imaginations, involves them more fully in the process, and brings some of our IRL experiences into the virtual space:

Beyond producing perceptual illusions, interactive media can tap the imagination by making a partner of it. If the audience has an investment in the creation of an imaginary world, less technology is required to maintain the illusion. Less work maintaining the illusion means a greater ease of creativity. Creative work feeds back again to better capture the imagination.

From the previews, Acute Art doesnt seem quite photorealistic, and maybe thats for the best.

By: Raymond Gozzi, Jr.

ETC: A Review of General Semantics, Vol. 52, No. 4 (Winter 1995-96), pp. 456-460

Institute of General Semantics

By: Dan O'Sullivan

Leonardo, Vol. 27, No. 4 (1994), pp. 297-302

The MIT Press

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How Virtual Reality Could Change the Art World - JSTOR Daily

At the Mall of Americas arena-sized Smaaash amusement arcade, people wait in line to slip on headsets that resemble blacked-out ski goggles and spend a couple of minutes feeling transported. They experience the sensations of flying a jet in combat, rescuing a kitten about to fall from a skyscraper or looping in circles on a roller coaster.

Not far away, the malls Best Buy carries a range of consumer-level virtual reality equipment. Salespeople explain how VR works, how it feels and how you might make it a part of your home entertainment collection.

For years VR has been hyped as the next revolution in computing technology. Facebook, Google, Samsung and other technology giants are investing heavily in its future. But theres one big obstacle still in the way: It makes large portions of the population especially women and children sick.

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What's the future of virtual reality? Minnesota researchers may hold the answer - Minneapolis Star Tribune