Category Archives: Virtual Reality

As SeaWorld parks phase out their real-life animal encounters, the entertainment giant is looking to virtual reality to boost guest satisfaction in a different way.

This summer, the Orlando theme park will debut a new virtual reality experience on its popular Kraken coaster, handing out VR goggles to give riders the experience of racing through a fully submersed underwater scene.

We see great potential for [virtual reality] use across the parks, SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby said in a call with investors on Feb. 28.

We're also looking to have a version of virtual reality for our animals where guests can see them live and other things you typically can't see as a human today except through virtual reality."

But as a new technology, virtual reality is unlikely to offer the full excitement of seeing a live animal in person-- or the thrill of being able to fully enjoy a traditional thrill ride like a roller coaster, say some theme park experts.

SEAWORLD ANNOUNCES DEATH OF TILIKUM, KILLER WHALE FEATURED IN DOCUMENTARY 'BLACKFISH'

"Parks should be careful not to be too liberal with their VR experiences, it should be used to enhance-- not replace-- traditional attractions," Ricky Brigante of Inside the Magic told Fox News.

While Brigante believes SeaWorld Orlando has some of the best rides in the business, he cautioned that experiences like the Turtle Trek-- a 3D theater experience about saving sea turtles-- lean too heavily on virtual reality and the in-your-face pro-conservation message takes away from the entertainment value. Plus, says the theme park insider, it's very hard to replicate the experience of meeting--and getting splashed by-- a real animal.

"Ipersonally get where animal activists are coming from but I've met many amazing trainers and caretakers [at SeaWorld] who put the animals' needs first always," says Brigante.

"When I think about going to SeaWorld, I want that visceral experience of seeing a real animal. VR technology just can't replicate that quite yet."

According to the Orlando Business Journal, SeaWorld's VR investment is part of the theme park giant's plan to revamp its offerings. SeaWorld will use advanced technology termed Deep See and will incorporate virtual reality headsets as a way to transport guests into areas of the world theyd never be able to visit otherwise.

"In general, VR headsets are an inexpensive way to create a new ride experience without having to make a major capital expenditure," explainedMartin Lewison, AssistantProfessor, Business ManagementFarmingdale State College in New York.

SeaWorld, which is looking to bring in new customers and win back detractors, may see VR as a relatively "low-risk" investment to upgrade additional rides.

Like Brigante, however, Lewison warns the virtual reality world has its limitations.

"On the negative side, however, the VR headsets do significantly slow down operations," says Lewison. "Goggles have to be cleaned and straps need to be secured...In addition, some guests ride rollercoasters so that they can feel the wind in their face and see the park around them. Ive heard some enthusiasts say that staring at game screens is something that one can do at home."

In January, SeaWorld San Diego announced plans to enhance its non-animal attractions with a roller coaster dubbed theElectric Eel. That ride, which will send riders back and forth at speeds of up to 60 miles per hour, will reach a height of 150 feet. It will also showcase a live eel exhibit in the waiting area.

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In addition to more rides, if SeaWorld is able to use the VR experience as something guests can only find within parks, however, Brigante sees great educational and entertainment potential.

"After handing out the goggles,SeaWorld could leverage the idea of getting all dressed up into scuba gear to give the audience that feeling of 'hey, were about to go on this deep sea dive, time to suit up.'"

The new attractions come as SeaWorld attempts to move on from its controversial orca-breeding program. Last May, the park partnered with marine biologist and wildlife artist Guy Harvey in an attempt to educate visitors on worldwide shark preservation attempts.

The parks new Mako coaster, named after the oceans fastest shark, served as the main point of that shark conservations education.

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Will virtual reality save SeaWorld? - Fox News

RBC Capital marketers released a research note Monday that sets up some challenges and a timeline for the mass adoption of augmented and virtual reality, based on a hosted conversation with author and reporter Reed Albergotti.

"We likely remain 3-5 years away from the mass market consumer being able to go into a Best Buy and pick up a VR/AR headset for easy use most users today remain early-adopters (and largely gamers)," RBC analyst Mark Mahaney wrote in a research note published Monday.

Google hopes mass adoption will come a lot sooner. At the Mobile World Congress, Amit Singh, VP of virtual reality at Google, announced that Google's VR platform Daydream will soon become available to hundreds of millions of smartphones, with Project Tango soon to follow.

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There are several challenges along the path to mass adoption. Mahaney notes that today VR and AR headsets require lots of computing power. VR remains immersive and can cause motion sickness if the device doesn't track exterior environments correctly. And setup remains somewhat extensive.

Google is not the only search company focusing on AI. The new wave of experiences built on augmented and visual search put more than $54 million in Blippar's coffers last year to further develop its search engine.

Gaming is only one reason to use AR and VR. Marketers may want to look at VR and AR to create content to create extensive how-to videos when fixing a car or a leaky faucet. Homeowners with plumbing problems can put on a headset and the brand can guide the consumer through fixing the problem, as in one example provided by Albergotti during RBC's conversation.

Some of the major and minor players that Albergotti keeps an eye on include Microsoft's HoloLens; Google's investment in Magic Leap; and Apple when it comes to AR and Osterhout Design Group, which primarily does work for the military. Others include Sony, Facebook, NVidia and HTC.

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Augmented, Virtual Reality Mass Adoption 3 To 5 Years Away - MediaPost Communications

Jillian Cabrera peered down and only a dark space far below greeted him. He glanced to the side and red canyon walls enveloped him. He stood on a wooden bridge, its panels tied together and spaced unevenly apart, that stretched across the canyon mouth as the wind whistled through the gaps. No railing protected him.

The only way to get off the bridge was to step off it.

Maggie Nhan watched Cabrera, who is afraid of heights, stand motionless in the middle of a basement lab in Shaffer Art Building. She glanced at the computer monitor, which displayed the red canyon walls and bridge. He was hooked up to the HTC Vive, playing the virtual reality game Waltz of the Wizard.

Cabrera, clutching the Vive remotes, laughed nervously. Im in a room, Cabrera said, rotating in place. All he needed to do was take one step to the side. Wow, this is hard. My hands are actually sweating.

Cabrera, a junior Syracuse University student, eventually took the step and was transported back to a wizards lab. He and Nhan, a sophomore, are computer art and animation majors who used the Vive to design their own virtual reality games last semester.

Its just one on-campus initiative teaching students how to utilize VR software, as several pockets of the SU community have embraced the technology. SU introduced its first virtual reality course in fall 2014 in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications later introduced its Virtual Reality Storytelling course in the spring of 2015. Theres also a joint course in the College of Engineering and Computer Science and the School of Architecture thats centered around virtual reality.

In addition to curriculum, SUs football team previously used VR software to train its quarterbacks in 2015 and will be integrating another program this spring, said Mike Morrison, assistant director of athletics communications. Other projects include commercialized ventures, like imr.sv, launched last August by Sam Lewis, a Martin J. Whitman School of Management student.

Virtual realitys current popularity began in 2010 with the development of the Oculus Rift prototype. The Rift and other VR systems allow users to interact in a virtual, computer-generated environment, where they no longer see their physical environments. VR differs from augmented reality, which overlays a physical space with digital elements, and 360 videos, which allow users to rotate in a video. These videos can be considered VR, but not all VR can be a 360 video.

Meyer Giordano, an instructor in VPA, taught CAR 230, Topics in Computer Gaming I, the course Cabrera and Nhan took. When Giordano first started teaching it in fall 2014, the software was so rudimentary that it was difficult to get the program running, he said. Now the technology has progressed to the point that he could show someone how to create a basic environment in five minutes.

As the technology has advanced, teaching the class has become a lot more straightforward on the technical side, but because theres more content now, theres a lot of other directions to explore, Giordano said.

Currently the cost of VR is restraining its expansion. Each high-capability system can cost more than $500. But Cabrera and Nhan said they are excited for the future of VR because it will appeal to a greater audience than typical video games. Instead of relying on controllers and buttons, users will be able to use their bodies.

The purpose of experimenting with VR is to have students push the technology to see what they can create, Giordano said. But as VR gets more commercialized, it loses the frontier aspect and he said he might find the technology less interesting. He could switch to teaching augmented reality, he said, which has not been very developed yet.

But Giordano said he is still attracted to the future of virtual reality, such as the idea that VR might limit consumer waste. Instead of buying physical clothes, he said, a user would buy clothes in the virtual world and just wear those.

The more time we as humans spend in VR, the less time were spending trashing this planet, he said.

School of Architecture/College of Engineering and Computer Science

On the second floor of Slocum Hall, 40 students sat clustered in the front of room 224. Their worktables lay abandoned, covered with paper and wooden objects, as sunlight streamed through the windows. Images of sensory experiences, geometric shapes and videos projected onto the wall.

Five students were presenting a virtual reality proposal, part of a joint architecture and engineering class taught by Amber Bartosh, an assistant professor of architecture, and Mark Povinelli, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science. The students are creating a Climate Disruptor Awareness Generator, which will be installed in April in E.S. Bird Library.

The Climate Disruptor Awareness Generator is meant to demonstrate to students the impact of climate change, with virtual reality and augmented reality adding an interactive component to the experience.

The VR/AR team is still in the early design stage for its contribution to the project, said Cliff Bourque, a graduate architecture student on the team. Right now, the group is focusing on the process of creating the elements, rather than the content.

Povinelli said that with the proper amount of real-world prototyping and testing, VR can add to the strength of the design process for engineers. Bartosh said she has been experimenting with VR to visualize things architects cant see easily, like energy and solar radiation.

Its very difficult in architecture to study anything at full-scale, Bartosh said. We do almost everything either through models or drawings, and even in a digital model, its difficult to get a scale or perspective.

Bartosh added later, Im always telling the students that right now VR is largely used for representation of simulation, but its not inconceivable to think of VR as a future material, the way that we think about physical materials.

S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications

A card swipe protects the entrance to the Alan Gerry Center for Media Innovation lab while the Department of Public Safety monitors it. The room, tucked in the back of Newhouse 2, is stocked with Oculus Rifts, HTC Vives, Google Cardboard, Samsung Gear VRs and 360 cameras.

So much new equipment comes into the lab that the glass case in the back is nicknamed the digital petting zoo, said Dan Pacheco, Peter A. Horovitz Chair in Journalism Innovation and spearhead of Newhouses VR courses.

But despite the high-tech equipment, students still sign out VR equipment with a pen and notebook.

The lab is where Asa Worthley, a junior Whitman student, came to work on his 360 video Pale Blue Dot in 360: VR Carl Sagan. The three-minute clip collages images of iconic people in a galaxy skyline, accompanied by a narration by Carl Sagan.

Worthley is a part of 5th Medium, the first virtual reality club at SU that works with The Daily Orange on 360 videos. Students of any major or discipline can join the club, giving students like him who arent in Newhouse support and access to the technology. The club has been working on projects like the Greek Peak Mountain Resort 360 video, where viewers can watch a ski lift and snowboard.

The innovation lab is also a space for students taking one of the two Newhouse virtual reality classes: Virtual Reality Storytelling or Introduction to 360 Video. Pacheco was first exposed to VR in 2012, when he met Nonny de la Pea, the godmother of virtual reality, he said.

Pacheco convinced her to come to SU to demonstrate it. After further exposure over the next few years, he asked his department head to create a VR storytelling class for spring 2015. Pacheco thought no one would sign up, but the class filled within a couple of days.

Now, about 160 students have taken either of the two classes. While mostly Newhouse students enroll, Pacheco said he leaves a few spots open for students from other colleges. The exposure students get is about the same at current media companies, he said.

When Ive taken students down to The New York Times, people at The New York Times are telling me, Yeah, your students are pretty much at the same level as where were at, Pacheco said.

Ken Harper, an associate professor of multimedia photography and design who taught the first 360 video course at Newhouse last semester, said the hardest part about teaching immersive technologies is that he is still learning himself. He said it isnt uncommon to pick up skills on the weekend and then teach them in class the next week.

Harper and Pacheco said they created a faculty group for professors across the university who teach VR.

For journalists, the most promising aspect of VR is its ability to enhance storytelling, educate like teaching students about the solar system and its accessibility for less privileged people, Harper said.

And while there is need for caution about VR, like the possibility for addiction or tricking people into false memories, Pacheco said that in his experience, people dont want to just check out of reality, but rather make reality better. Journalists need to start using immersive technology now, Pacheco and Harper said, because their content will define the ethical boundaries for the medium.

My role in this is to keep the humanity in it, Harper said. I think if we could convey information, and offer up new worlds for people who otherwise couldnt have them, if we could develop the storytelling techniques that further empathy, maybe we can make the world a little bit friendlier.

Sports Editor Tomer Langer contributed reporting to this story.

Published on March 5, 2017 at 10:18 pm

Contact Haley: hykim100@syr.edu

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At Syracuse University, more students are getting ahold of virtual reality - The Daily Orange

The first reaction most fans have when they put on a virtual reality headset is Oh, generally followed by an expletive, said David Cramer, chief operating officer of NextVR.

Its the hardest thing to describe and the easiest thing to show them when you strap the display on their face, added Cramer, a panelist at a forum on VR and augmented reality at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference in Boston.

But VR faces some challenges as it seeks to gain a foothold in the sports and entertainment industry. Panelists described the evolutionary path of VR as being in the first inning. And companies developing the technology have a long way to go before they achieve its potential.

To this point, the sports and entertainment industry has used VR for two distinct purposes: training simulations and enhanced fan experiences.

The VR firm STRIVR Labs, based in Stanford, Calif., has focused on using the technology to help improve athletes performance. The company started working with several NCAA football teams and one NFL team (the Dallas Cowboys) in 2015. The technology uses 360-degree cameras to give athletes a first-person vantage point of the experience on the field.

Derek Belch, founder and CEO of STRIVR Labs, says VR is most often used for training by football teams. The fluidity of other sports such as soccer and basketball makes it a challenge for VR to provide a useful experience for training at this point.

STRIVR is working with two Major League Baseball teams, three NBA teams and some MLS teams but the technology just isnt ready yet. Right now, American football really is the best use case.

The technology is beneficial for players to use as a last-minute visualization tool as they prepare for a game. It is also useful for backup players to get practice repetitions in VR that they may not get in a live practice, where starters get the vast majority of the reps.

The training use case for VR has experienced some success. Belch said athletes conducted more than 100,000 play views on the STRIVR platform over the last two years, and the company has posted a profit. Were making money, Belch said.

Delivering content to fans via VR has much greater market potential, but adoption of the technology is slow. The steps that have been taken offer a look at some of VRs potential.

San Francisco-based VR firm LiveLike has created virtual reality experiences for NCAA football games, including the Big 10 championship game, said Miheer Walavalkar, co-founder and chief business officer of LiveLike. The VR gives users the opportunity to interact with the environment and create their own experience.

After New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown in Super Bowl 51, Intel was able to give fans a VR view of the play from Bradys perspective, said James Carwana, general manager of Intel Sports Group.

Our goal is to give the fan the experience of sitting in the best seat in the house, said Cramer of NextVR, In some cases, its better.

For basketball games, the company sets up cameras at numerous spots around the arena, including courtside, at center court and on the basket stanchion. This provides views of the action that are unavailable from anywhere else.

Cramer added that NextVR is also working on VR experiences for music concerts.

The technology, however, still has some issues that are hampering adoption. Users demand more content, and in some ways the technology is stuck in a difficult loop: Fans are generally unwilling to invest in VR hardware unless they have a lot of content to experience, Walavalkar said, but content producers have been waiting for a stable market for their product to emerge.

Further, many VR devices are clunky and uncomfortable, and the resolution isnt up to some fans expectations, Cramer said. Headsets are likely to remain the primary VR hardware, but the devices will become more comfortable and powerful as the technology continues to evolve. He predicted that prices will fall and new features will be added to boost interest in VR.

Ultimately, the technology remains in its earliest stages, and it has significant progress to make before the industry achieves widespread adoption.

Its still a long way to go, Carwana said.

To learn more about how CDW can help your team make better use of its data, visitCDW.com/stadium.

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Sloan 2017: Virtual Reality in Sports Still Has a 'Long Way to Go,' Panel Says - BizTech Magazine

Virtual Reality

As virtual and augmented reality make their way into the mainstream market, a new spending analysis from International Data Corp (IDC) predicts worldwide revenues will double this year.

The research firms Worldwide Semiannual Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending Guide forecasts the AR/VR market to reach $13.9 billion in 2017 up 130.5 percent from the $6.1 billion spent in 2016. Furthermore, AR/VR spending is expected to accelerate over the next several years, achieving a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 198 percent over the 2015-2020 forecast period and reaching $143.3 billion in 2020.

Most of the spending during the forecast period is expected to come from the consumer market, with early adopters expected to spend $6.2 billion this year (up 130.5 percent from 2016). Worldwide spending on VR hardware, software, consulting services and other systems is forecast to surpass AR systems spending this year and next year, largely due to consumer update of games and paid content, according to a news release. However, AR will leapfrog VR spending in 2018, hitting stride in healthcare delivery, product design and management-related use cases.

"On the virtual reality side, producers are quickly moving beyond games to create new content mainstream audiences will embrace, said Tom Mainelli, IDCs Devices & AR/VR program president, in a news release. And on the augmented reality side of the fence we're seeing commercial entities begin to more seriously evaluate the technology and begin to test the waters of app development."

"We expect initial AR spending to lean on mobile workforce-based use cases, where AR headsets are a natural enhancement to existing mobility investments. And we will see education, research and design applications form a foundation of adoption in professional environments, said Marcus Torchia, IDC research director, in a news release.

Geographically, the United States is expected to spend $4.3 billion on AR/VR in 2017. The Asia/Pacific region (excluding Japan) will deliver $2.6 billion, followed by Western Europe with $2.5 billion. The consumer market will be the largest segment of AR/VR spending for all three regions.

To learn more, visit the IDC site.

About the Author

Sri Ravipati is Web producer for THE Journal and Campus Technology. She can be reached at sravipati@1105media.com.

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Augmented and Virtual Reality Spending to Double in 2017 - T.H.E. Journal

GDC 2017 is over. As I write this Im sitting on a train heading home feeling thefamiliar mixture of exhaustion, dehydration, and satisfaction that often accompanies the conclusion of a major trade show as a journalist. My brain feels a few sizes smaller than it did at the start of the week but the few neurons that are still firing are sending out one last happy thought: this was an incredible week for virtual reality. In fact, it was the industrys best week yet.

There are a few seven day periods that might vie for the title of VRs best week ever. CES 2016 and the week of the initial Oculus Kickstarter campaign are both strong contenders. None of them however, ended with the VR industry as healthy and exciting as it is now at the conclusion of GDC.

This week VR took huge steps toward becoming more palatable to a wider swathof consumers. Sony kicked off the week by revealing it sold nearly 1 million PSVR headsets, and Oculus introduced huge$100 price cuts to both its Oculus Rift and Oculus Touch hardware. Combine that with the falling price of an Oculus-ready PC and owning one of the most powerful VR headsets in history has gone from prohibitively expensive to tantalizing even for those outside the early adopter base.

HTC doesnt have any plans to drop the price of its market-leading Vive headset, but it is still doing its part to bring VR to more people. This week, HTC announced a payment plan that lets you take home a Vive for just $66 a month for 12 months. This may be even more appealing to the average consumer as it removes the need for a large, upfront expenditure.

Less expensivehardware isnt all that GDC gave the VR community this week. The Game Developers Conference lived up to its name, providing a showcase and launchpad for updates on dozens of exhilarating new titles.Arktika.1, From Other Suns, Sprint Vector and many more new experiences are all reasons to be excited as a VR gamer in 2017. Epic even used a portion of its keynote to officially launch thehighly anticipatedRobo Recallfor free on Oculus Home (with full mod support to boot).

Finally, and perhaps most exciting of all, the post-GDC PC VR landscapewill no longer be a two party system. Before they even launched, Oculus and Vive have defined, and in some ways divided, VR fans. At GDC, however, Microsoft and LG demonstrated new hardware for the very first time. LGs headset in particular is notable for using the exact same tracking system as the Vive. The days of the one true room scale VR headset are numbered.

Just by existing, the LG HMD is making the VR hardware catalog more diverse while also reminding us all that the year we just hadwas only a preview of an industrythat honestlycan, and probably will, change the world.

Whether youve been dreaming of this day for decades or are just joining us now, there has never been a better time to be part of the VR family. As it stands right now, this industry is more powerful, more appealing and more accessible than it has ever been before.

Nothingin this world existswithout controversy or detractors and thats ok. Today, however, VR feels like it is in a stronger place than ever. So soak it in, savor the moment and enjoy the feeling. We have yet to peak, but the view from right here is spectacular.

Tagged with: editorial, GDC

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GDC 2017 Was The Best Week Ever for Virtual Reality - UploadVR

Virtual reality is used in theme-park rides to give people the illusion of sitting in a fighter jet fending off aliens or in a helicopter fighting gargoyles.

But SeaWorld is thinking of emphasizing the reality part of the technology.

This summer, it will equip its Kraken roller coaster with VR goggles, sending riders through an underwater scene. But discussing 2016 earnings with analysts last week, SeaWorld executives revealed they are looking at virtual reality incorporating the companys live animals too.

We also have a version of virtual reality for our animals, where you actually see them live and things that you can't possibly see as a human today and experiences that you can't experience except through virtual reality, Chief Executive Officer Joel Manby told analysts. And so we're testing both the basically ride-based film product as well as with our live animals. Very excited about it, and it could take our (capital expenditures) down over time and we'll monitor it and learn from each execution.

Also during the earnings call, SeaWorld executives gave many details about what theyre doing to move the business in the right direction.

It was a lackluster year, with overall attendance decreasing by about 2.1 percent, or 471,000 visitors. Attendance at Florida theme parks decreased by approximately 547,000 people.

SeaWorld said Latin American visitors comprised 70 percent of the decline about 383,000 visitors.

This year, we are seeing the stabilization, if you will, of Latin America, Chief Financial Officer Peter Crage said. It's not getting worse. But on the other hand, we don't expect it to ramp up very quickly. So we are essentially neutral in our outlook for 2017, neutral that we'll lap on 2016, but without a significant recovery from Latin America.

The drop in Brazilian visitors led to 80 percent of the companys drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, Manby said. Brazil has been mired in a recession and political turmoil.

SeaWorld in San Diego has experienced some softness in attendance after its traditional killer whale shows ended in January. The new orca encounter featuring more natural behaviors will not open until May. Company executives are accelerating our marketing spend in the Los Angeles area to let our guests know that they can still experience orcas during the interim period, Crage said.

Manby said hes incredibly confident for the full year in California.

SeaWorld is trying hard to control expenses, and its costs of food, merchandise and other items decreased 3 percent.

Operating expenses for 2016 increased by 4 percent, largely due to wage and merit increases and an increase in equity compensation expense of $10.2 million.

SeaWorld is also changing the way it elects board members.

Beginning with the directors up for election in 2017, shareholders will elect them to a one-year term rather than to three-year terms.

Miss Adventure Falls opening at Disney

Miss Adventure Falls, a family raft ride at Walt Disney Worlds Typhoon Lagoon, will open March 12.

Disney announced the opening date today.

The ride will feature four-person rafts that twist and turn.

It will operate near the Crush 'n' Gusher. It will have a ride time of two minutes and be one of the longest at the Disney water parks.

The ride's back story describes that Captain Oceaneer is a treasure hunter stranded at Typhoon Lagoon after a storm. Visitors will float through the captain's past and see artifacts she collected on her treasure hunts.

Typhoon Lagoon is closed for refurbishment. It will reopen March 12 as well.

JetBlue has new partnership

JetBlue, one of the main air carriers at the Orlando International Airport, has inked a partnership with the Orlando City Soccer Club and the Orlando Pride. It is now the exclusive airline of the club, starting a three-year partnership with the teams.

"This is an exciting day for everyone involved," said Rob Parker, the club's vice president of corporate partnerships. "JetBlue is a company that aligns with our core values of community involvement and commitment to the city of Orlando."

Caitlin Dineen contributed; spedicini@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5240; Twitter @SandraPedicini

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SeaWorld might use animals in virtual reality - Orlando Sentinel

For business communications systems, there are many exciting developments on the way. Not only will new technologies change the game, so too will peoples work habits influence how we communicate. Technology has afforded us greater flexibility in communicating between both our customers and our coworkers, and with the continual rise of cloud computing, the need to work in a centralized location has become less and less important.

One of the biggest areas pegged for future growth and development is the emergence of virtual reality (VR), explored extensively at the 2016 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

Collaboration in a virtual space

Webcast, March 15th: How to Scale Upmarket with Enterprise Field Sales

Communication is one area businesses are likely to make use of virtual reality. Exhibiting at the congress, VR company Summit was just one enterprise demonstrating its augmented reality and VR tech for the workplace. Imagine conference calling where you can hand an augmented 3D image over to an investoror perhaps sharing a virtual room with a colleague half way across the world.

Professional training

Virtual reality also holds great potential for training staff. The M&M Global report on the Mobile World Congress highlights the pivotal role VR will play in professional training. Specifically, VR technology could offer a safe and effective environment for trainees in dangerous or highly technical industries.

Remote workspaces

Without the need to spend every day at the office, employees are likely to work a few days a week at home, checking in to attend a virtual meeting when needed. Flexible workplaces have already proven how successful they are for improving employee turnover and retention. Combined with VR, you may not see as much of your employees physically, but theyll definitely stick around for a long time.

In an increasingly virtual workspace, the need to communicate over multiple platforms and locations becomes more and more important.

For more insight into the evolution of organizational communications, download our FREE eBook: 3 Predictions for the Future of Business Communication.

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What Will Virtual Reality Mean for Businesses? - Business 2 Community

Eve Online creator CCP Games is 20 years old this year, but Icelands biggest game company is still reinventing itself. This week, the company announced its 12th virtual reality title, Sparc.

The game is a virtual sports title that is reminiscent of the disc-throwing scene in the film Tron. Its just one more sign of how CCP is all-in when it comes to virtual reality. I talked about the game withHilmar Veigar Ptursson, CEO of CCP Games, in an interview at the Game Developers Conference this week in San Francisco. Reykjavik, Iceland-based CCP has 359 employees, and its Atlanta, Ga.-based team made Sparc.

Meanwhile, the Eve Online science fiction universe is going strong in its 14th year, with more than 500,000 users and a new free-to-play business model for new recruits. That franchise has been extended into virtual reality, but with the sports title,Veigar Ptursson felt it was time to expand to a new intellectual property.

Sparc will debut in 2017 for the Oculus Rift, HTC Vive, and PlayStation VR. In the physical game, you will throw projectiles at your opponent and dodge incoming attacks by moving around in VR.Players will be able to join one-on-one matches with friends online or find opponents via matchmaking. Its just the latest in the companys obsession for the new medium of VR.

Heres an edited transcript of our interview.

Above: Hilmar Veigar Ptursson of CCP Games.

Image Credit: Dean Takahashi

GB: You have a new game coming, a disc-throwing game?

Hilmar Veigar Ptursson: Right. Its a virtual sport, is how we refer to it. Currently its discs and shields. Maybe later well add other elements, but thats how it works now. Were curious about this intersection of virtual and physical, moving around.

GB: Was it inspired something like Tron?

Ptursson: Its inspired by a lot of experimentation we did with the team in Atlanta. First we started dabbling with Microsoft Kinect, using your hands and body to move. They made a whole host of experiments throwing fireballs, playing instruments, throwing discs around. Later on the tracking controllers started to emerge. We were starting in 2013, before any of that had arrived. Then we saw, Okay, we have a viable platform.

That changed the experience a bit, though. Once you have equipment in your hands, it feels different. You want to make it more about the controllers and the triggers. This current incarnation is built around the feel of the controllers. It became about volleys and using the shield, different aspects of that. Its more equipment-focused. Its been a long journey of trying things and seeing what works. Then we added this IP on top, which is not reallyits like a sport. Sports arent really an IP. They just are. Its been a very organic process.

GB: It seems like the tech has gotten a lot more accurate over time.

Ptursson: The tracking is really good. There are always nuances to what you do, and the guys spend a lot of time making sure theyre playing to the strengths of the equipment.

GB: Is this for both Oculus and HTC?

Ptursson: Right. The idea is to launch across all platforms. Thats what we did with Valkyrie. Given then installed bases, its not good to subdivide a multiplayer game. Going across everything and allowing for cross play is the high-level plan.

GB: Is that easy to do, the cross-platform multiplayer?

Ptursson: Its probably not easy, but our teams make it look easy, I think. [laughs] Its possible, how about that? Its not impossible. We did it in Valkyrie, obviously. Weve gotten past the nuances of the different hardware. We know them pretty well by now. We know all the rules and preferences of all the platforms. We have a lot of organizational knowledge about these VR ecosystems built in. Its a competitive advantage now. Leveraging that is definitely something we try to bring to our games. Its important now in the early days of VR. You have to bring everyone along to get to critical mass.

GB: Was this funded by any particular partner? Whats the timing on it?

Ptursson: This one weve mostly done on our own. Itll be this year for sure. Q3, plus-minus a bit? Thats the slot were thinking about. A lot of it is parsing together all the platforms and the windows and so on. We havent nailed down a month yet, but were aiming for Q3.

GB: Is there a good reason to do it outside the EVE universe?

Ptursson: Weve talked about that a lot. It felt more likeits futuristic, but its not science fiction, really. Of course the EVE universe is massive and almost anything can exist in it. We could have presented this as the Galactic Speedball Championships or whatever. We had ideas like that. But it didnt feel right. This felt more futuristic modern than science fiction.

GB: How big a game is it, as far as different places to go, different arenas?

Ptursson: Right now its pretty basic. Were trying to stick to the point. Obviously well learn a lot from how people adapt to it, just like weve done with EVE and with Valkyrie. Valkyrie has had a lot of updates and tweaks and tuning based on the player base, the culture thats emerged. Were trying to do enough on that front without doing too much. You get so much valuable information, just seeing what happens after launch. We have a good, viable product set where we havent overengineered all the content based on our own imagination. Well see what emerges from this first entry.

Above: Sparc is a sports game that isnt set in the Eve universe.

Image Credit: CCP

GB: Is this your third generation of VR games?

Ptursson: Yeah, you could call it that. Theres no next-gen. Third gen! Theres a lot of learning in there. Weve done a lot of work in VR and the knowledge and experience accumulate. We hope to bring that to all of our future products. You see the transformation from Gunjack to Gunjack 2, Valkyrie at launch to Valkyrie today, and now we have Sparc. Hopefully that creates another stream that informs future games. Its all one happy family of mad scientists trying to figure out the impossible.

Weve also announced record results on the financial front record revenues and profit for last year, which were very happy about. We made $85 million on the top line.

GB: What helped accomplish that?

Ptursson: The backbone of that success is obviously EVE Onlines transformation last year. There were three prongs to that. You had guild trading at the beginning of the year. There were citadels, creating massive new things to build. Then you had open access in November. These massive changes the EVE team has done really jumpstarted growth. We were able to double daily active users by going to open access.

We also did several VR releases in 2016 Valkyrie across three platforms, Gunjack across three platforms, and then Gunjack 2 on Google Daydream. Gunjack had record sales, half a million units sold, which I can claim is a world record until someone corrects me. Valkyries done phenomenally well. All of this came together to create record results.

GB: How many people do you guys have right now?

Ptursson: Were 359.

GB: What do you think of some of the movement forward on the platform side? HTC had some announcements today, the new Vive Tracker. You can put that on props like a baseball bat or whatever. Do you think you might use that if it takes off?

Ptursson: Theres a lot of exploration, innovation, trying out things that we still have left to do. Were mainly focused on cross-platform development, working with whats common across the platforms. Obviously from Rift to Vive to PSVR theres a certain set of commonalities, which were aiming Valkyrie and Sparc toward.

On the mobile side theres some convergence of coding there. We have a new controller coming from Gear VR, similar to the Daydream controller. Thats another convergence. Then you have these experimental outliers like the Vive Tracker, or the force feedback glove from Valve. You have force feedback bodysuits and eye tracking and God knows what. The Vive Tracker should make mixed reality stuff even easier. You put one of those on a camera and now you can track a camera in the world. We put a Vive controller on the camera, which is a lot clunkier.

Right now weve set the platforms for Sparc, so were just go-go-go toward release. But once were done with thatof course, we pay attention to whats going on. Maybe well use this. Right now theres a lot to play with as far as just things that are common to the platforms.

GB: Do you expect a second generation of VR systems and headsets to come in at some point, like wireless headsets or stand-alone hardware?

Ptursson: Obviously there will be a new generation. Id hope people focused more on price rather than jumping to a second generation too soon. The price needs to come down. Its very expensive right now, and thats holding back the market. Right now some of the experiences are fantastic. It might be too soon to go to a next generation too quickly. I hope we have a step where we focus on gaining efficiencies.

If the next generation is too different from the current one, you start to potentially lose content. You need to make all new games for all new feature sets. I would personally, if I were setting the hardware agenda which I obviously dont see if theres more to do on the pricing front.

Above: Sparc is a virtual sport in VR.

Image Credit: CCP

GB: It looks like HTC is putting a big effort into arcades.

Ptursson: Thats another way to manage the pricing. People can go and try VR without making a serious investment of their own money. I hope arcades take off and people are excited to play there. Sparc would be a great arcade experience.

GB: Are you guys interested in the Switch at all?

Ptursson: Im curious about it. I havent been able to fully figure out what theyre doing. They claim to have VR support. They filed for a trademark a while back about slotting it into a headset. The controllers are tracked, although they only have three degrees, not six. If its definitely VR, well take a look. Right now we have our hands full with EVE Online, VR, and other PC games going on behind the scenes. Well see if Switch becomes another VR platform. Then it would make sense.

Above: Sparc

Image Credit: CCP

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CCP pushes deeper into virtual reality with Sparc virtual sports game - VentureBeat

With virtual reality, Hollywood and Silicon Valley have never been more closely aligned in their desire to push the boundaries of how people emotionally interact with technology. Video games may be drawing in a huge deal of interest but there arealso an army of filmmakers and creatives looking at how they can use VR to draw viewers in and experience something breath-taking.

Today, Tribeca Film Festival shared the list of films and experiences that will be showcased at its Virtual Arcade and Storyscapes exhibitions. There are 29 virtual reality and innovativeexhibitionsin this years batch of immersive filmmaking, including a whole lot of experiences that are being shown off for the first time ever. Im hopingto check out each and every one of these at Tribeca Film Fest later next month, but here are the eight films and experiences that are going to be the toughest for me to wait for.

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The 8 virtual reality films I can't wait to experience at Tribeca Film Fest 2017 - TechCrunch