Category Archives: Virtual Reality

RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) This First Friday, some Raleigh residents got to experience art in a whole new way.

Google Fiber showcased the Google Arts and Culture Virtual Reality map. People were invited to tour the virtual art galleries through Googles Daydream View, a virtual reality device that connects to your smart phone. People who tried it were amazed at the detail, saying you could literally see every brush stroke.

Well you never get a chance to get that close because you get rushed off, said John Cloud. If I tried to get that close to a Van Gogh in any other gallery youd find that thered be somebody coming up to you saying you need to back up please.

Its great to see the detail, said Tawney Schwarz. You can look down and see the flooring look all the way up and see the ceiling. You get a full experience. I just tried the Smithsonian tour and it actually has someone guiding you through it.

People are invited to try out the Daydream View at the Raleigh Fiber Space through June 17.

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Google brings virtual reality display to Raleigh - WNCN

VR and three-dimension technologies are shaping industries that stand to benefit from immersive and interactive custom-built environments

As the next best thing after teleportation, virtual reality manifests as a potent tool for acquainting physically distant individuals with new settings. Poised to disrupt the travel industry, real estate, employee training, surgery, military, and any business that stands to benefit from beaming people half way across the world, instantaneously and with zero personal or financial commitment, the advent of spatial interfaces will completely reimagine the ways we interact with our devices.

In support of the technologys tremendous capabilities, Texas A&M University has recently launched a new VR-enabled virtual tour powered by location-based software company concept3D Inc.s Xplorer Virtual Tour via its CampusBird platform. With the intent of making its campus more accessible for prospective students to visitspecifically east coasters and those unable to make the trip down to The Lone Star Statethe platform is a testament to VRs capabilities in creating experiences that are not only immersive but convince us to take action. PSFK got a chance to sit down with CEO of concept3D Inc. Gordon Boyes, alongside Texas A&M Senior Graphic Designer Michael Green to discuss how interactive maps and virtual tours will transform academic institutions, as well as convention centers, healthcare, resorts and hotels, retirement communities, commercial real estate and beyond.

Fundamentally what we do is we catalog content in a 3D world on our platform. We have a content management system that stores our [captures and renderings] in latitude, longitude and elevation. It could be as simple as an aerial view of a map, to fully three-dimensional environments with real-time data feeds opens Boyes in our discussion. Anything in the world u can imagine that belongs in a physical space we manage on our system and present it back in a way that drives user engagement and allows people to experience something in a familiar way, like a map, but in a much more immersive style. They can get to know an experience or an institution without ever stepping foot in it.

Boyes goes on to explain that while virtual reality enables a sense of embeddedness, the respective CampusBird and atlas3D platforms further support mobile and large monitor consumption in an effort to offer a truly democratized experience. Whether its high school seniors on their college search or current students looking into their study abroad options, the ability to explore a campus without having to travel to it empowers individuals to make a more informed decision.

At Texas A&M, I wanted to push this idea of 360 videos and images. We have a great visitor experience and we realized we didnt want to just limit it to people on campus physically. So we started thinking, how can we emulate this experience digitally? says Green. This technology allows access to something thats otherwise exclusive; imagine putting on a headset and going woah, this school has a nuclear reactor! It all really boils down to this: the more you can visualize yourself in a college campus, the more likely youll go to that college.

As an increasingly digital industry, education continues to reform with the introduction of technical advancements such as e-learning, apps, various web-based administration portals, the actual content being taught, and now, virtual tours. And while academics are concept3Ds primary audience, Boyes explains that the vertical isnt the only one to benefit from this tech.

Theres an enormous potential for this technology in event planningspecifically when you want to feel out high levels of detail in indoor spaces. Well actually use an engineers drawn out floor plan to ensure accuracy in our renderings. Or, if you want to see the exterior world, we can get stunning 3D views of places just by working with clients and using satellite images. Sure, theres other interactive map products out there, but the ability to represent any source in a beautiful and navigable way is what sets us apart adds Boyes.

On its website, concept3D promises to turn event coordination into an art form by getting granular with your strategy and planning every break, booth, concession and so forth for a custom tailored experience. Traffic heat maps further offer insights into where and why crowds gather, so event and urban planners alike can coordinate the best strategies to implement.

During our conversation, Boyes made the distinction between viewing a spreadsheet of repair data for the internal components of an airplane, versus actually being able to pick at pieces and dissect the information in a visual and interactive manner. The latter option illustrates Boyes take on concept3Ds workas Green pointed out, its one thing to hear about a nuclear reactor, and another thing to see it (especially when in the comfort of your own living room).

Already, concept3Ds platforms are deep-reaching: you know them as some of Disneys maps, Google, or perhaps various universities across the U.S. And while the company has left its mark on thousands of brands, theres no shortage of businesses that could benefit from using map technology to interpret behavior, build smarter infrastructures, develop wayfinding maps and build platforms of their own. The future for many niches outside of the campus touring will inevitably follow suit: a diverse collection of telepresence solutions will seep into our daily lives, enabling us to visit relatives, live out that nightmare of attending class in our underwear, find our next home or travel the world on the worlds smallest budget.

concept3D

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Virtual Reality Could Be The Next Frontier In College Campus Tours - PSFK (subscription)

NeuroSpeculative AfroFeminism is an art installation and virtual reality experience recently featured at the Tribeca Film Festival. The project, which seeks to put women of color in the virtual reality space, was created by Hyphen-Labs, a collective of women from diverse backgrounds.

We worked with character modelers, animators and developers to create an empowering experience that puts black women and their narratives at the center of the piece, says co-creator and artist Carmen Aguilar Y Wedge.

The installation is composed of two parts: prototypes of physical products of the future and an immersive VR experience. The invented products focus on security, protection and visibility of black womens bodiesfrom earrings that record harassment to an anti-surveillance scarf that blocks facial-recognition software.

By visiting a VR salon known as a neurocosmetology lab, visitors enter a world where black women discuss politics, arts and sciencea hair salon with a futuristic twist. One of the products featured is based on real technology known as transcranial stimulation, in which a cap is placed on your head to strengthen focus and thought. However, it needs to be close to the skull, so its built for people with little to no hair. Hyphen-Labs pioneered a brain-optimizing technique that uses extensions known as Octavia Electrodes, which are named after legendary sci-fi writer Octavia Butler.

If I were to make something and reimagine it in a way that fits into black rituals, how would we do this? asks project co-creator Ashley Baccus-Clark, who is a molecular biologist. Thinking back to the civil rights era and before that, the salon was a place of political activation, community building, creative endeavors, and we really wanted to mirror that but also think about why science and technology is leaving us out of that space.

For more information about NSAF, visit nsaf.space or follow Hyphen-Labs on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Video Producer // TheRoot

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Watch: Black Women Dive Headfirst Into the Future With Virtual Reality Project - The Root

Partner, Collective Growth; Managing Director, Strat Americas

Sitting in a plush, darkened studio lot theater last week in Hollywood at yet another forum heralding the dawn of the VR ecosystem, one cant help note how much interest is building in virtual reality, and how many more parties are coming to the VR dancehall.

Eighteen months ago, I was part of a private forum of fifty invitees to the same studio, all there to make our pitch in the new VR landscapeand presumably help shed some light forward for the studio, too. Only then we were in a smaller sound stage, albeit one with a famous pedigree. (Star Trek was shot there). There was a good group of potential VR content prospects, toothree different 3D Audio technologies, many individual film producers, a few writers, even folks who work in far-flung fields like theme parks. Major VR players like Oculus and Magic Leap sent their strategists, but they didnt dominate the day.

Last week, the group was much larger and more diverseattendees spanned Amazon Studios to real estate professionals, reporters, and venture capitalists. Lunch lines were a lot longer, and many traditional media veterans showed up, toofrom TV to Music, all there to get a sense of whats cooking in this new space. Even a studio chief and studio owner wandered through, eyeballing demo booths with apparent curiosity.

The events central theme was VR contentthat corner of the virtual, augmented, and mixed reality world where media content meets platforms and audiences. And it seems to be building with an intensity and focus that is undeniably bigger and more forceful than ever. VR is clearly not a content business yet, but that hasnt deterred Hollywood.

Even at this stage, a few things seem clear:

That day may be years off. But in the interim, a lot of parties are circling in wait for the day VR content becomes a business.

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The Virtual Reality Content Business That Isn't - Huffington post (press release) (blog)

Patients are given the chance to experience the world through virtual reality...just like an episode of hit TV series Black Mirror

DYING patientshave been handed virtual reality headsets so they can simulate being outdoorsin their final days.

A hospice is giving the terminally ill a chance to experience the world through a lens just like an episode of hit TV series Black Mirror.

After placing the headset on they feel as if they are strolling along abeach or through woods.

Its hoped it will offer those stuck in hospices the chanceto see places they have nice memories of.

It comes as a top Virtual Reality CEO warned thatthe technology will one day be so detailedthat humans willchoose to live in computer simulations.

Just like Charlie Brooker's Netflix hit, where patients also slip into a virtual reality world, patients at LOROS Hospice, Leicester, have been trying out the new technology.

John Lee has Motor Neurone Disease (MND) and was the first one to test out the futuristic headset at LOROS.

The-70-year-old said it was "just like" walking through a park in Leicester he used to visit, as he had a 360 degree view.

He added: "You soon relax, it's just like you're there, I loved it. I nearly waved at somebody, as they walked past. It's almost as good as the real thing.

"Since being diagnosed with MND, we can get out but I can't spend a lot of time out of the wheelchair, so being able to have these experiences through the glasses is really good."

John Knight, chief executive of LOROSsaid: "Research suggests that the brain accepts the virtual world within 20 seconds after which the experience becomes all absorbing.

"We recognise that some of our patients are often restricted to where they can go due to their illness, so we wanted to help give them the opportunity to still enjoy life wider than their restrictions allow, through virtual reality.

"To see the response from one of our patients, including John, was quite overwhelming. You could really see how much it meant to him to be able to experience walking through Bradgate Park, something he never thought he would be able to ever experience again after being diagnosed."

It is planning to commission a number of further films, such as walking on a beach, to create a library of valuable experiences for patients at other hospices to access and enjoy.

The virtual reality project was funded by the TS Shipman Trust, and LOROS want to make films for lots of other hospices and care homes.

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Virtual reality headsets given to terminally ill patients so they can enter computer simulations during their final days - The Sun

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Virtual reality technology that could help train nuclear scientists, pilots and surgeons has been unveiled at the University of Exeter.

Last week, representatives from big companies such as Babcock, EDF and BAE Systems attended a seminar at the University of Exeter to see first hand how these technological developments could revolutionise training in the medical, aviation, nuclear, academia and sport science sectors.

The seminar demonstrated how virtual reality can help improve performance in safety critical tasks

The seminar was held by University of Exeter scientist Dr Sam Vine, Exeter-based Cineon Productions and experts from the nuclear industry who have joined up to create a new training and technology organisation called Cineon Training.

The open day demonstrated how virtual reality can create high pressure scenarios from defusing a bomb, operating a nuclear reactor or more day-to-stresses like being interviewed.

Dr Vine said: "The technology and methods that we use allow us to simulate stressful, high-risk environments, using mobile head-mounted simulators.

"Our aim is to use technology, scientific theory and measurement techniques such as eye tracking to train people - in a safe environment - to perform more effectively, and provide feedback to trainers.

"We have been doing research into simulated training in surgical, military and aviation settings for the past 10 years.

"This work brings these techniques into the 21st Century using immersive head-worn technology.

"We have the capability to create computer-generated virtual replications of dangerous training environments that trainees can experience through their headsets.

"Combined with our understanding of the psychology of learning and performing under pressure, we believe this to be a highly effective way to learn and perfect skills."

The event brought a diverse range of companies from across the UK to Exeter.

This phase of the work is funded by a grant from the Economic and Social Research Council awarded to Dr Vine.

Kate Sprake, a nuclear safety expert, said: "Offering this training to the nuclear industry is timely, given the forthcoming nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.

"The development and long-term running of the plant will draw heavily upon the types of skills that we are training.

"As well as our existing work with the nuclear industry, we want to work more closely with experts in areas such as aviation, emergency medicine, mining and construction."

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How virtual reality can increase accuracy in risky jobs - Devon Live

When Lucy was raped in 2003, about a week before her 19th birthday during her freshman year at the University of Michigan, she didnt know exactly how to talk about it. Her roommates agreed that it was rude of the guy in questiona student-athlete who carried an incapacitated Lucy back to his dorm after a partyto not only have sex with her but to then leave his door open, talk to some friends, and eat a slice of pizza, all while Lucy, undressed from the waist down, regained consciousness on his bed.

But despite what Lucy knew was physical evidence to the contrary, the doctor at the student health center scribbled down that the encounter wasnt abuse.

Lucy grew up in Michigan. She knew what happened to girls who accused male athletes of sexual assault. Crushed by the shame she felt from the conclusion from her doctor and hoping to move on with her life, she made a conscious decision to never speak about her rape again. If I dont talk about it, its like it never happened.

Lucy is one of five sexual assault survivors (four female, one male) in Testimony, a virtual reality documentary by director and media artist Zohar Kfir that premiered at this years Tribeca Film Festival. The project is an inversion of what used to be Lucys mantra. If its true that not talking about something can make it seem like that something never happened, then the alternativenot just talking about it, but talking publicly, on film, for audiences everywhereis insisting that, in spite of everything, it did happen, and no one can undo what was done.

Testimony is a project I always wanted to create, Kfir said by phone. Im a survivor myself. I always wanted to do something with the testimony of sexual abuse survivors, but I was scared at the same time. Then I realized VR would be the best medium for that. Using VR is kind of a commitment for people to watch the contentbecause when you put the headset youre kind of blind [to the rest of the world]. You give your full attention to the content.

With VR, a viewer becomes more of a participant; youre completely immersed in the world of what youre watching. I wanted to confront people with those testimonies, Kfir said. Everybody talks about VR as a tool for empathy: the empathy machine. You wind up being close to those people, and not being afraid to keep on listening.

To find the people who would appear in the film, Kfir started with close friends who she knew had experienced sexual abuse. I first approached my friends thinking it would be the easiest thing, but I was surprised to find, they werent willing to speak up. (She allows that her closeness to them may have, in fact, been a deterrent, and I totally accept that.) Once the project got accepted into the Tribeca Film Festival, Kfir had her deadlineshe needed to finish in two months. Through a friend network and a Facebook message to about 200 people, she interviewed eight subjects and, from that pool, culled five for the piece.

I wanted five very strong testimonies that are quite diverse in nature, she said. The process of talking to people and interviewing them was quite intense and amazing, and its something I didnt expect. Im not a therapist, but being a survivor myself, I contain peoples journeystheres this strong sisterhood and brotherhood emerging. If Im a survivor, youre a survivor, we can share our stories. I dont think a non-survivor could have done this work.

The focus of the interviews is less on the abuse itself and more on the aftermath: post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), dealing with the legal system, and the grunt work of survival. The way rape culture is portrayed in the media [is] much more about the rape itself and [asking], what did they get in court?, Kfir said. But the people dont get much exposure of how bad it is to deal with PTSD, and the health manifestations, and the anxiety other people go through. We opened the stage for survivors to talk about that.

The survivors do mention the outline of the assaultsthe age at which they were raped, or a few details about the nature of the assaultbut Kfir kept those sections short. From my experience, a lot of survivors do not necessarily need to describe what happened. Recounting the details is not beneficial to anyone. And I didnt want this piece to become a hub for descriptions of what happened. I dont want people to listen to the graphic details of how violent it might have been. Its not pornographic in that way.

It was mostly about the process of hearing them. How do you go about your life with PTSD and overcome the trauma?

Kfir wanted to take the interactive elements of VRtypically used in gamingand incorporate the documentary aspect of her interviews. So when you put the headset on, each of the five survivors is floating around you in a 3D space, she explained, almost like planets in a mini-galaxy. Kfir asked each of the subjects five questions that were similar but not identical. They were more like guidelines, an open space for discussion. Each person has five nodes, connected with a thin line, so you can choose your own adventure: Follow one person through every answer that individual gave, or jump among the testimonies.

The design of the environment was quite challenging in that way, Kfir said. How do you design a platform for storytelling that deals with an emotional subject? I wanted to give viewers all the freedom to choose what they want to watch and make their own narrative with it, but also the ability to disengage very quickly if they feel uncomfortable watching something.

How do you opt out? If you look at one of the subjects, they will slowly come closer to you and start talking. Everything is animated in a floaty, meditative way, Kfir said. It offers a comfortable place for listening. If at any point youre ready to move on to another testimony, or you need a breather from whatever that survivor is describing, just look away. When you slightly turn your headif you move your gaze out of the perimeterthey go backwards, she said. I wanted to play with that metaphor, turning your head away.

The structure empower[s] the viewers to make their own decisions, Kfir said. Theyre becoming active viewers, so it might generate more empathy. Its not like a DVD that you watch from point A to B with a fixed conclusion. You can do a remix of experiences.

If you do stay with one survivor long enough, youll notice a change in their appearance: The images originally appear in black and white, they turn to color as you listen. Its a very slight effect I thought of as I was editing: People coming to life as youre listening to them, Kfir said.

The first five testimonies is simply the beginning of Kfirs project. She plans to launch a bigger web platform by early summer (its currently in the design and development stage) and expand the project to have hundreds if not thousands of testimonies, inviting people to share their stories with text, audio, or video we will travel and capture.

The scale will be determined largely by funding, but Kfirs vision is a massive one: I want it to be a global movement, to turn [Testimony] into a database of sexual abuse stories that you can tag, so you can see similarities around the world.

Kfirs last question for all the survivors was a hypothetical one: If you were to solve this for yourself, not through the legal system, she said, what would that solution look like?

One woman, Tanya, said she believed you should be able to report a sexual assault from home through a secure web form. It is obviously important to go to a hospital to get a rape kit, Kfir allowed. But there are problems with a rape kit. They expire. And two people in the piece went to court with DNA evidence and the court said its not enough. So why go through this excruciating experience in the first place? Thats something a lot of survivors are not aware of. They want to regain themselves through justice but they end up being more crushed than the assault itself.

Kfir hopes that, as the project spreads, shell hear more ideas from other people to offer a place for change, eventually. Its a struggle to do it, city by city, police station by police station. And in the meantime, if her project can move beyond VRwhich she acknowledges is a limiting, if exciting, medium, because people cant watch it at homemore survivors will be able to connect with it and contribute in their own ways. The survivor healing is realizing there are other people like you.

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Rape survivors' stories told through virtual reality in new documentary - ThinkProgress

Virtual reality has been in a perpetual state of being promising for years and years now. The hardware is good, but imagine how good it might be in a year, we say every year. This game is a great showcase of potential, but imagine what we'll see in a year.

It may be an undesirable state for the young medium, but in a lot of ways it mirrors how we felt about PC gaming back in the 90s. Each new game was exciting in itself, but also exciting for what it predicted. When we played Doom, we were imagining Quake. And when we played Quake, we were imagining, well, Quake 3, probably. And so while there are lots of good VR games out there now, we can't help but imagine what the VR games of tomorrow will be like. Here are a few of the games we're looking forward to most.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: Oculus Touch | Website: 4a-games.com.mt

Cover shooters are a common use of VR so far, but Arktika.1 is especially exciting because it comes from Metro developers 4A. The studio's signature apocalyptic grime gets a new sheen in Arktika, with a sleeker, more futuristic vision of the end times that looks like it will push the limits of even high-end PCs. 4A also makes some of our favorite videogame guns and animationsThe Bastard from Metro 2033 is a beautifully clunky weaponand we look forward to finally manipulating their creations ourselves with Touch controllers, though it's a bit of a shame Vive owners are left out, at least for the time being.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: HTC Vive | Website: skyworld-game.com

When we first tried the Rift and Vive, we gravitated toward games and experiences that put us in the middle of strange worlds, but a surprising development has been how well strategy games work in VR. Peering down on little worlds is just as novel as being in them. Skyworld is a turn-based strategy game which, for now, appeals largely on that basis: its colorful island map is a game board we wish we could have in the real world.

Release date: May 30 | Works with: Oculus Touch, HTC Vive | Website: Ubisoft

James got to play Star Trek: Bridge Crew just the other day, "yelling at his space friends" on a simulation of a Star Trek bridge as they attempted to complete missions, each operating ship systems from their own consoles. We've long fantasized about being conn officers on the Enterprise (remember this from 2011?), so we're naturally excited for Bridge Crew and the kinds of VR games it predictsones that remove the abstractions we're used to in videogames, letting us inhabit spaces and work collaboratively.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: Oculus Rift, HTC Vive | Website: arkparkvr.com

Studio Wildcard has teamed with Snail Games to translate the prehistoric fantasy of Ark: Survival Evolved into a Jurassic Park-like experience (where nothing goes terribly wrong, presumably). According to executive producer Sky Wu, players will go on excursions into the park, ride dinosaurs, and collect 'gene cubes' to materialize dinos in a personal petting zoo. Some of the first VR demos we saw took this obvious approach to the mediumhang out with big scary animals!so we fully expected to see the idea elaborated on quickly, but from the looks of it Ark Park might be the best of them yet.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: HTC Vive | Website: Steam

Panoptic is a local multiplayer game that works similarly to Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes, with one player, The Overseer, in VR, and the other using a regular PC screen. Except they're not trying to help each other. The Overseer peers into a dreary prison, shooting a blinding spotlight into an oppressed populace. The other player, on PC, tries to escape the Overseer's gaze, hiding out behind pillars and blending in with the NPCs. It scratches the surface of the multiplayer possibilities for VR in a novel way.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: Oculus Touch | Website: killingfloorincursion.com

The co-op wave Zed gore machines of Killing Floor and Killing Floor 2 might lose a little something in translation to VRnamely, running in circles a lotbut there's plenty to gain, as well. Like 4A, Tripwire's always made some of the best guns in games, and getting to handle them and toss them around in VR while horrible skin beasts close in looks like a pretty horrifying use of our time (in a good way).

Release date: TBD | Works with: HTC Vive (Touch support TBD) | Website: orbusvr.com

Sometimes referred to as 'the first VR MMO,' Orbus may not be as flashy as the other games on this list, preferring big, flat polygons, but it's a step toward the sci-fi dream of immersive VR worlds inhabited by thousands of other people. (Except if you die in the game, you don't die in real life, as is so often the case in fiction.) OrbusVR is in closed alpha at the moment, with a beta coming sometime this summer. You can keep up with it on the dev blog.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: HTC Vive | Website: Neat

Budget Cuts uses VR's current mobility limitations as a featureit's a stealth game designed with teleportation in mind, having players zip through vents and around corners to take out guards. Even last year, it was one of the most fully-formed VR games we saw at Valve's Developer Showcase. There's a free demo on Steam so you can try it for yourself, too.

Release date: 2017 | Works with: "Major VR platforms" | Website: Samurai Punk

As much a satire of America as it is of VR, videogames, and how often they make us solve things with guns, The American Dream has us doing everything with guns, be it driving to work or caring for our family. As one should. Samurai Punk is a clever studio, impressing us in 2014 with Screencheat, so we have high hopes. For more, Shaun got a chance to play it and talk to the devs last year.

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The most promising virtual reality games - PC Gamer

A group of legislators has formed a new "reality" caucus focused on the new realities of AR, VR and MR.

Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Bill Flores (R-Texas), Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) have teamed up to launch the Congressional Caucus on Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality Technologies.

"As these technologies continue to advance and grow, this Reality Caucus will work to foster information sharing between Congress and our nations world-leading technology industry," the legislators said in a joint statement. "These technologies have shown tremendous potential for innovation in the fields of entertainment, education and healthcare. As these technologies develop, questions will inevitably rise in privacy, intellectual property and other areas. This is an opportunity to educate our colleagues and others to ensure Congress is doing all it can to encourage rather than hinder these enterprising fields."

The creation of the caucus comes less than a week after NCTA: The Internet & Television Association, held a half-day conference for legislators and other policymakers shining a spotlight on those technologies and the broadband networks that make them possible.

An NCTA spokesperson confirmed that both Clarke and Lieu attended its Near Future conference spotlighting VR and AR, among other technologies.

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Representatives Launch Virtual Reality Caucus - Broadcasting & Cable

"The intense, action-packed nature of the Alien franchise makes it a perfect setting for virtual reality," said Ken Thewes, Chief Marketing Officer at Regal Entertainment Group. "Through our collaboration with Fox and AMD and Alienware, this innovative technology will add a whole new dynamic to the movie going experience for Alien: Covenant, and we are thrilled to offer this unique Virtual Reality experience for our Regal guests."

'AMD is proud to be working with our friends at Regal to bring this incredible Alien Covenant Virtual Reality Experience to cinema lobbies across the country' said Raymond Dumbeck, Director, AMD. 'VR is currently the most eagerly anticipated development in immersive computing. AMD is excited to deliver the foundational technology for such premium and stunning VR experiences, engaging a broad range of consumers in a visceral and exciting way as well as enabling them to experience this truly transformational technology.'

"Our goal at 20th Century Fox is to create incredible cinematic experiences," said Zachary Eller SVP Marketing Partnerships, 20th Century Fox. "Partnering with Regal, AMD & Alienware on touring the ALIEN In Utero VR experience allows us to make sure the cinematic experience starts even before the movie begins!"

"VR can add so much to the movie going experience and Alienware, along with AMD, is excited to add the performance and reliability that Regal and 20th Century Fox count on," said Chris Sutphen, director of marketing, Alienware. "The Alien franchise is right up our alley and the Alien Covenant In Utero VR experience is a great example of how VR can add something new and interesting for moviegoers at participating Regal Cinemas."

The traveling event will run in select Regal Cinemas from Thursday to Sunday beginning May 4 and concluding on June 4.The theaters will feature several Oculus Rift demo kiosks where viewers can immerse themselves in the powerful content before or after their movie. Each of the kiosks will be powered by Alienware Aurora PC's, which are designed for virtual reality and powered by Radeon RX 480 graphics cards. Regal invites all guests to enjoy this free experience. Regal Crown Club memberswill also have access to a priority fast-track line.The tour schedule includes:

City/State

Theatre Name

Date

Houston, TX

Edwards Houston Marq'E Stadium 23 & IMAX

05/04/17

Boston, MA

Regal Fenway Stadium 13 & RPX

05/04/17

Orange County, CA

Edwards Irvine Spectrum 21 IMAX & RPX

05/04/17

Atlanta, GA

Regal Atlantic Station 18 IMAX & RPX

05/11/17

New York, NY

Regal E-Walk Stadium 13 & RPX

05/11/17

Los Angeles, CA

Regal LA LIVE A BARCO Innovation Center

05/11/17

Knoxville, TN

Regal Pinnacle Stadium 18 IMAX & RPX

05/18/17

NY (Suburb), NY

Regal Commerce Center Stadium 18

05/18/17

San Francisco, CA

Regal Hacienda Crossings Stadium 20 & IMAX

05/18/17

Chicago, IL

Regal City North Stadium 14 IMAX & RPX

05/25/17

Philadelphia, PA

Regal Warrington Crossing Stadium 22 & IMAX

05/25/17

Portland, OR

Regal Bridgeport Village Stadium 18 & IMAX

05/25/17

Minneapolis, MN

Regal Brooklyn Center Stadium 20

06/01/17

Washington DC

Regal Majestic Stadium 20 & IMAX

06/01/17

Seattle, WA

Regal Thornton Place Stadium 14 & IMAX

06/01/17

About Alien: Covenant:Ridley Scott returns to the universe he created, with Alien: Covenant, a new chapter in his groundbreaking Alien franchise. The crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet on the far side of the galaxy, discovers what they think is an uncharted paradise, but is actually a dark, dangerous world. When they uncover a threat beyond their imagination, they must attempt a harrowing escape.

About FoxNext VR Studio:FoxNext VR Studio is part of FoxNext, a newly created division driving immersive, next generation entertainment experiences in the areas of virtual and augmented reality, interactive gaming, mobile, console/PC content, and location-based entertainment across Twentieth Century Fox Film and Fox Network Group.

About AMD:For more than 45 years, AMD has driven innovation in high-performance computing, graphics, and visualization technologies the building blocks for gaming, immersive platforms, and the datacenter. Hundreds of millions of consumers, leading Fortune 500 businesses, and cutting-edge scientific research facilities around the world rely on AMD technology daily to improve how they live, work, and play. AMD's global employees are focused on building great products that push the boundaries of what is possible. For more information about how AMD is enabling today and inspiring tomorrow, visit the AMD (NASDAQ: AMD) website, blog, Facebook and Twitter pages.

About Alienware Aurora:Designed for VR, while supporting dual graphics and liquid cooling technologies, the new Alienware Aurora was engineered to exceed today's virtual reality requirements. With convenient tool-less access, it offers easy upgradeability for the next wave of VR. With a "Ready for VR" Alienware PC, you can be the first to experience the future of gaming. Alienware provides a range of systems to bring you the most immersive VR experience imaginable.

About Twentieth Century Fox Film:One of the world's largest producers and distributors of motion pictures, Twentieth Century Fox Film produces, acquires and distributes motion pictures throughout the world. These motion pictures are produced or acquired by the following units of the studio: Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios.

About Regal Entertainment Group: Regal Entertainment Group (NYSE: RGC) operates one of the largest and most geographically diverse theatre circuits in the United States, consisting of 7,262 screens in 559 theatres in 43 states along with Guam, Saipan, American Samoa and the District of Columbia as of March 31, 2017. The Company operates theatres in 48 of the top 50 U.S. designated market areas. We believe that the size, reach and quality of the Company's theatre circuit not only provide its patrons with a convenient and enjoyable movie-going experience, but is also an exceptional platform to realize economies of scale in theatre operations.

Additional information is available on the Company's website at http://www.REGmovies.com.

Media Contact: Richard M. Grover Vice President of Marketing & Communications Regal Entertainment Group richard.grover@REGmovies.com 865-925-9539

To view the original version on PR Newswire, visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/experience-alien-covenant-firsthand-with-in-utero-virtual-reality-tour-exclusively-at-regal-300451470.html

SOURCE Regal Entertainment Group

http://www.REGmovies.com

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Experience Alien: Covenant Firsthand with In Utero Virtual Reality Tour Exclusively at Regal - PR Newswire (press release)