Category Archives: Virtual Reality

Auckland video game studio Method has created a virtual reality game in which players walk on the moon, visit ancient Mayan temples, and fend off crocodiles with a baseball bat.

When the game, called Wanderer is released next Friday on the Sony PlayStation VR, it will be the first virtual reality game made in New Zealand to be released by major console maker.

In the game you play as Asher Newman, an unwitting hero thrust into a time-bending journey to change the course of history and prevent the collapse of civilisation.

Sam Ramlu, co-creator of Wanderer said as well as being a fun romp through alternative histories, the game has the potential change the perception of New Zealand creativity on the world stage.

READ MORE:* Jeremy Wells-voiced mini Kiwi blockbuster getting global attention* Chance for young Kiwi filmmakers to make fully-funded short film about sustainability* My Year With Helen: Gaylene Preston's Doco already a sell-out in Wellington

A lot of people, rightly or wrongly, will play this and think this doesnt feel like a game from New Zealand.

That is one of the things we want to change. We want people to look at Aotearoa and think that these kinds of high quality productions are what comes out of New Zealand, Ramlu said.

Ramlu said being one of the first local companies to build a VR game from the ground up was an epic achievement, and she was immensely proud of the work her team has put into the game.

RICKY WILSON/Stuff

New VR game developed by Auckland gaming studio could change the perception of New Zealand game development, say co-directors Euge Eastlake, Sam Ramlu, and Ben Markby.

The game has been in the works since early 2014 when Ramlu and her team became excited by the prospect of using virtual reality technology in gaming.

In 2016 they secured $25,000 funding from the NZ Film Commissions interactive fund. Using this and $200,000 of their own money they set to work building a demo of the game.

We created this demo that we were super excited by, it had so many possibilities. We loved the idea of using VR to go back in time, we were imagining what if we could see this historical event, or that one. We knew we had a great concept, Ramlu said.

After the demo was created the next step was to bring investors on board, to fund the completion of the game. But it took years of hard work to find the financial backing to get the game completed.

In 2016, no one in New Zealand was interested. It was such early days for VR that most people didnt have a strong understanding of what a game like this would look like. We knew from the start that we would have to go international if we wanted to get this off the ground, Ramlu said.

But even internationally getting attention for a small New Zealand based game studio was difficult. The directors travelled the world to game events pitching the demo, but it would take until 2019 before Sony partnered with the studio.

RICKY WILSON/Stuff

The game has been in the works since 2016. The studio want to give players an experience of being immersed on other worlds and other timelines.

Once we had confirmation of Sonys backing in September 2019 that is when things really got going for us. We were able to hire more people, at our peak we had 25 people working on this game with contractors around the world. It was a huge project, Ramlu said.

The studio worked on the game for another two and a half years before Wanderer was ready for release.

Ramlu said Wanderer was a game that was different to any other on the market.

For people that are playing VR games there is a lot of arcade type games that focus on action and fighting. While we have combat in our game, the game is very much about exploration and discover and puzzle solving. The fact that this game is story driven is quite unique, there are not a lot of VR games out there like this, Ramlu said.

Ramlu said the experience of working on the game has made her all the more excited for the future of VR.

We are right there at the beginning of a new technology. There are so many opportunities for us to do more in this space and to find new ways to bring the technology forward, she said.

Wanderer is part one of three part series. Ramlu said she hoped to start work on the next instalment of the game this year.

Link:

Local virtual reality game putting New Zealand on the world stage - Stuff.co.nz

Participants are needed for a graduate research study to examine how museum educators can apply augmented and virtual reality technologies. Anyone interested in participating may visit the Jule Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art from Tuesday, Feb. 1, through Thursday, Feb. 10, to take part and help the museum field.

Participating visitors will wear a head-mounted camera that will record their experience in the galleries, noting which objects they are looking at and actual time spent viewing. Participants will then complete a survey asking how much attention they paid to each object for comparison, as well as their overall attitudes about augmented and virtual reality.

A new slate of exhibitions, including work by faculty and contemporary artists and collection objects, opens Friday, Jan. 28. The museum is located at 901 S. College St., and admission is free. For more information, go to jcsm.auburn.edu or call 334-844-1484.

See the original post:

Head-mounted camera research to take place at museum Feb. 1-10 - Office of Communications and Marketing

In Reality Check: How Immersive Technologies Can Transform Your Business, expert author Jeremy Dalton, who leads PwC's extended reality (XR) team, explores the world of XR, an umbrella term that covers virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, spatial and other assorted -- or still emerging -- categories of immersive technology. This book is for people with some familiarity with XR who are interested in its business applications, how XR is already being used, the main challenges of the tech and common myths associated with it. If you're "virtually curious," read this excerpt from the chapter titled "Why XR means business."

The value of XR in business stems from the unique attributes of each technology.

Virtual reality's power comes from its ability to immerse users in an environment or perspective safely, cost-effectively and in less time than would be possible physically. This is the principal feature of VR that differentiates it from other technologies. It achieves this by:

Successfully immersed users react to the virtual world in the same way that they would to similar circumstances in the real world. Place a user on a stage in an auditorium in front of a virtual audience of 1,000 people and they may feel anxious. Put a user on the receiving end of a verbally abusive rant and they might feel upset. Suspend them 100 meters above the ground to perform maintenance on a cell tower and it could cause them to panic. In other words, VR is capable of evoking a true-to-life sense of pressure, anxiety, awkwardness, empathy and a range of other emotions relevant to different workplace situations.

How many times have you witnessed a colleague multitasking in a meeting, attempting to pay attention while transfixed by their mobile phone? Have you ever been on a video call, muted your microphone and minimized the window to work on other tasks? The modern world is full of tempting distractions across a range of devices. When you are engrossed in a completely virtual environment both visually and audibly, there are no application windows to open or close and it is much harder to quickly check a notification on your mobile phone without deliberately disconnecting from the experience and jumping between the virtual and the physical environment -- possible, but a process that carries more work, which acts as a natural disincentive.

While being an effective immersion tool, VR also doesn't limit you to what is physically possible. You can collaborate with colleagues in a virtual workshop without having to physically travel; spawn an unlimited number of screens without worrying about the logistics of transporting, setting up and powering them; and walk through a refurbished version of an office without having to buy any materials. 3D models can be resized to better examine them at a human scale: Molecular structures can be enlarged while towering buildings can be downscaled. VR also makes it possible to revisit a past scenario or simulate a future one in an impactful way. What would you do as the pilot of US Airways Flight 1549 after its engines had lost power? How could you simulate a scientific research mission on Mars?

Augmented reality's power comes from its ability to connect to, make sense of and display information on the physical objects and environments around us in a user-friendly way. To expand on this, AR technology:

This information is displayed intuitively in context with the physical environment and objects. At a glance, a technician can view the current temperature and tempo of a machine they're looking at, receive instructions on how to safely take it apart and be visually guided to the next machine in the maintenance queue; a retailer can give customers the ability to view products remotely without any specialist hardware; a field worker can call for assistance remotely and within seconds a senior colleague on the other side of the world can see everything they're seeing and highlight which compartments to open, buttons to press and screws to remove.

Not everything can be seen with the naked eye -- from the network of pipes under our cities to the highways of veins beneath our skin, we live in a world of hidden machinery, and AR can help bring this information to the surface.

Having both hands available is a requirement in many scenarios, from performing surgical procedures on patients to mechanical procedures on machinery. The key benefits are being able to save time, reduce risk and eliminate errors that come from having to refer to documentation or instructions that are away from your place of work or are inconvenient to access. You may be a mechanic examining the undercarriage of a vehicle. Having to stop, take out your smartphone or printed materials, refer to a complex set of instructions, commit them to memory, return to the task and successfully apply the information is a series of steps that is time-consuming, prone to error and potentially dangerous if you are working in a hazardous environment. In some cases, it may not even be possible -- if you are working in half a meter of mud servicing a broken-down tractor, it isn't practical to get out a tablet. And even where not absolutely necessary, implementing hands-free AR technology can lead to improved productivity.

Read more from the original source:

New book explores business benefits of immersive technology - TechTarget

Jeremy HartmannPhD, Cheriton School of Computer Science>Founder, MTION.tv>Researcher in human computer interaction

Jeremy Hartmann successfully defended his dissertation in December 2021 and launched an entrepreneurial venture that took his academic research to the next level.

As a graduate student in the Cheriton School of Computer Science, Hartmanns PhD was a study of merging the real and the virtual, which his new company MTION is putting into practice as a virtual reality streaming service and digital clubhouse.

While pursuing his PhD, Hartmann was involved in the Waterloo innovation ecosystem and was a winner of the Concept by Velocity startup challenge for graduate students. He completed internships at Microsoft Research in 2018 and Adobe Research in 2019, and developed the technical side of his current venture in the Human Computer Interaction Lab, supervised by computer science professor Daniel Vogel.

My research program took up different types of extended reality, Hartmann said. Ive been working to build and understand different interaction techniques and different systems to enable things like augmented reality, virtual reality and mixed reality.

Augmented reality is layered on top of our everyday physical reality, such as through a pair of digital glasses that may show information or overlaid images in physical space. Virtual reality is a more immersive experience, such as through VR headsets that create a digital space. Mixed reality and extended reality are terms to describe the combination of various forms of augmented reality, virtual reality and physical reality.

The way I like to think of it is as a continuum, Hartmann continued. On one side you have unmediated physical reality. Thats the space we occupy with our physical bodies. On the other side of the continuum we have a completely virtual reality, with things like VR headsets.

The more senses that are immersed in the virtual world, like visual, auditory and touch sensation, the further on this side of the continuum. Then you have things in the middle, like augmented reality, where you have a blending between the real and the virtual.

What Hartmanns company MTION is doing is somewhat unique, even in this continuum of realities, in that it builds a virtual reality space that then incorporates the physical reality into that space, both through the design of the space and through sources of video, audio and other feeds.

Hartmann's virtual avatar withinthe VR space,looking at a screen showing Hartmann in physical reality. Image courtesy MTION.tv.

You still get the benefits of being immersed inside the virtual world but then you can also take aspects and pieces of reality and impose them into your virtual space, Hartmann said.

The main customers for the service and the clientele the company caters to are currently video-game streamers. MTIONs virtual clubhouse, as Hartmann calls it, changes the way that video games are spectated by allowing the audience to essentially be inserted directly into the game, such that they can interact with the streamer and other viewers around them and move through a constructed 3D game-like space.

Because of its unique approach to virtual spaces, Hartmanns company and his research are contributing to the creation of the metaverse, a concept that has come to public attention recently. The slogan for Hartmanns company is building the metaverse, one virtual brick at a time.

In a general sense, the metaverse points to these various forms of blended and mixed realities, to something that amplifies, makes more of, or transcends a particular way of being. The metaverse, as it is being created by entrepreneurs like Hartmann, is a conjunction of physical and digital worlds. It is not just reality or virtual reality or augmented reality, but an intermingling of all these kinds of reality.

A piece of concept art for metaverse spaces that mapor overlaysome typical and not-so-typical physical spaces. Image courtesy MTION.tv.

The metaverse is really a collection of a bunch of different things, Hartmann explained. Virtual reality and augmented reality is one aspect of it. But theres also the issue of how we use these spaces and how they complement or overlap with everyday life. A big part of it, at least right now, is about play and entertainment, and so thats where MTION is positioning itself.

Asked about the future trajectory of the metaverse and the technologies that make it possible, Hartmann said its all about creating things that in some way improve peoples lives.

I think what people fundamentally want is to live meaningfully. Any versions of mixed reality and any emerging aspects of the metaverse are going to have to be things that people can get something from. It all has to be in the service of creating meaningful and authentic human experiences.

Overview of the MTION studio streaming software, showing the ways users can create and manipulate a 3D space that incorporates a video feed.

Continue reading here:

Innovation, entrepreneurship and building the metaverse | Waterloo News - uwaterloo.ca

The eight graduating startups demonstrated the value derived from a niche data driven B2B tech startup accelerator program

National , 21 January 2022 NetApp (NASDAQ: NTAP), a global cloud-led, data-centric software company, announced the completion of theninth cohortof its flagship accelerator program, NetApp Excellerator at a virtual demo day event. The eight graduating startups Datamotive, Continual Engine, eCommerce Insights, FireVisor, FabrikSpace, NetObjex, Neuropixel, and Spectrum Analytics are leveraging disruptive technologies such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality/ virtual reality, intelligent automation and blockchain. FabrikSpace created a Metaverse App Platform for individuals, businesses and enterprises where they can create their own metaverses in just a few clicks. On the other hand, NetObjex leveraged Blockchain and Artificial Intelligence and is working on use cases from diamonds to cars to build smart contracts and seamless authentication.

Of the startups that graduated, three startups Continual Engine, FireVisor, and eCommerce Insights were mentored under NetApp ExcellerateHER a subset of the NetApp Excellerator program that focuses on mentoring and promoting women-led B2B tech startups. The global nature of the program is fuelled further by a virtual world with FireVisor being based out of Singapore, and eCommerce Insights and Continual Engine both founded in the USA.

The highlight of the program however was the availability of Spotlight. With most of the startups being cloud-native, NetApp for the first time offered the participants access to Spotlight a unique cloud cost optimization and automation solution. Spot enables average savings of up to 73% off the cloud compute bill, providing a huge advantage to the startups. Additionally, direct access to the Spot solution architect and implementation teams helped them further optimize their cloud usage and reap maximum benefits.

Data is growing exponentially, and it will grow more in the next three years than it has in the last 30. With our laser-focus on innovation in the cloud, we are well positioned to offer tailored solutions irrespective of where a business data lives and how it is being used. With our cloud capabilities and experience, we have been mentoring tech startups with an aim to fuel innovation within the tech and startup ecosystems. We have mentored 58 startups so far and all of them have been an integral part of our journey to the cloud, saidRavi Chhabria, managing director, NetApp India.

Since its inception in 2017,NetApp Excellerator has received industry-wide recognition. Recently, the program was featured as one of the top 5 accelerator programs in India on corporate innovation by NexTT Awards. Out of 50 alumni startups, six have had successful exits through acquisitions which is a testament to the success of the program. 13 of these startups are also engaged in proofs of concept (POCs), with NetApps backing in funding and technology, while a few others are under exploration.

Madhurima Agarwal, director of engineering programs and leader, NetApp Excelleratorsaid, With every cohort, we learn more about the needs and challenges the startups face in their growth stage. We offer startups an opportunity to work on use cases across the spectrum. In the current cohort, we are supporting one startup on their Python review code on-prem deployment while another startup is working on an automated APIs testing POC with NetApp. We also support them with tech expertise and infra to accelerate their growth journey. Spotlight is a great example of how we are using our technology to help startups right-size their cloud consumption and has added to the value they derive from us.

Agarwal was also recognised as one of the top 10 corporate innovation leaders in India at the NeXTT Corporate Innovation & VC Summit, in early December.

Throughthe course of the program, participating startups are assigned dedicated mentors and get access to NetApps stakeholders including customers and investors.Over the years, the award-winning NetApp Excellerator program has received over 1,700 applications. The tenth cohort is now open to applications, with a focus on cloud, internet of things (IoT), big data and analytics, machine learning, virtualization, data security, data management, and storage.

Here are the NetApp Excellerator Program cohort 9 startups,at a glance.

About NetApp

NetApp is a global cloud-led, data-centric software company that empowers organisations to lead with data in the age of accelerated digital transformation. The company provides systems, software, and cloud services that enable them to run their applications optimally from data center to cloud, whether they are developing in the cloud, moving to the cloud, or creating their own cloudlike experiences on premises. With solutions that perform across diverse environments, NetApp helps organisations build their own data fabric and securely deliver the right data, services, and applications to the right peopleanytime, anywhere. Learn more atwww.netapp.comor follow us onTwitter,LinkedIn,Facebook, andInstagram.

See the original post:

Blockchain, Virtual Reality among key technologies leveraged by startups during the ninth edition of NetApp Excellerator Demo Day - CXOToday.com

Facebooks parent company Meta, is once again facing scrutiny from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and several US states, and this time its virtual reality division is at stake.

according to the sources, a bloomberg Over the past few months, the FTC, as well as several states, have been questioning developers of third-party apps for the Oculus headset. Its purpose is to verify whether the company is using its dominant position to crush the competition.

The issue is how the Oculus Application Store can discriminate against third-party companies competing with Metas software. Clearly, researchers want to know more about the Mark Zuckerberg-led companys strategy for virtual reality headsets and whether their prices are competing at risk.

Previously, developers of third-party applications may have complained that Meta rival is using its power to eliminate companies offering games or services, even as it claims That the tech giant copies the ideas it considers most promising.

It is recalled that, in June 2021, a US court ruled that Facebook was right, after halting the sale of Instagram and WhatsApp, with the FTC resubmitting its complaint against the company in August of that year to charge I came back. , Months later, the court hearing the case ruled in favor of the FTC.

Under the ruling, the FTC can now move forward with its antitrust lawsuit against Meta, which could force it to sell Instagram and WhatsApp. In August, the FTC had accused The company illegally acquired both platforms, formerly its rival, in order to maintain its monopoly.

The antitrust case against Metas practices could go ahead, but the FTC would have to present more evidence to be able to force the company to sell the platform.

More here:

Oculus: Meta's virtual reality division is in "sight" of new US investigation - Sprout Wired

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market 2022 Global Driving Factors, Applications, Segmentation, Technology, Size & Share

This press release was orginally distributed by SBWire

London, UK (SBWIRE) 01/19/2022 Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market is valued approximately at USD 2 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to grow with a healthy growth rate of more than 27% over the forecast period 2021-2027. The Augmented and virtual reality are used in the medical environment because of their use of 3D effect that helps for a thorough investigation of the part that is affected. Also, it helps the doctors to plan the critical surgeries. Growing demand of robotic surgeries instead of by-pass surgeries, rising demand for cardiovascular surgeries and rising prevalence of chronic diseases are leading to fuel the demand in the market. For instance, according to Statista report of 2018, in United States (U.S.), 64% adults aged 75 years and older prefers robot-assisted surgery over traditional surgery, similarly 60% of adults aged 55 to 64 years prefer robot-assisted surgery over traditional surgery. Furthermore, technological advancements by market players are expected to boost the demand in coming years. However, high equipment cost may hamper the market during forecast period.

Get a Sample Report of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market @ https://www.intelligencemarketreport.com/report-sample/39086

for more information mail us at [emailprotected]

The leading market players included are:

-CAE-GE Healthcare-Koninklijke Philips N.V.-Intuitive Surgical-Siemens Ltd-Eon Reality, Inc-Layar-Bioflight VR-WorldViz-TheraSim Inc

The file affords precise dynamics on the several elements of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market, assisting market contributors in making strategic development selections. This studies also is going into element approximately the first-rate modifications which are probably expected to shape the market's increase over the forecast period. It also consists of a key indicator evaluation to cognizance available on the market's increase prospects, similarly to fee-based estimates on market development inside the forecast span from 2022-2028.

A current-day observe compiled and analyzed the worldwide Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market's historical and current-day situation because it needs to be forecast its potential future development. To end up aware of opportunistic avenues of business company capability for stakeholders, the test offers special statistics approximately the essential aspect increase factors, restraints, and key traits which are shaping the market's future boom panorama. The record moreover gives a useful perception of the way the market will evolve over the forecast period of 2022-2028.

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market Segmentation

This commentary assesses the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market based totally on the kind, application, give up patron, and location. The document discusses the big market dynamics and current inclinations related to diverse segments, in addition to how they affect the market's increase possibilities. The research includes in-intensity market segmentation, similarly to key records and a competitive outlook over the forecast period 2022-2028.

The detailed segments and sub-segment of the market are explained below:

By Component:-Hardware-Software-Services

By Technology:-Augmented Reality-Virtual Reality

Do you have any specific query regarding this research? Ask your query @ https://www.intelligencemarketreport.com/send-an-enquiry/39086

Research Methodology

The report offers in-intensity information approximately the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market based totally on big research into different factors that play a key feature in accelerating the market's growth capacity. The document's facts solutions sport-changing questions for companies which might be presently working within the market and seeking out present-day methods to create a completely unique benchmark in the organization to assist them to make success strategies and motive-driven choices.

Competitive Outlook

The market report's research approach is based on the big primary and secondary research performed with the aid of the usage of the manner of analysts. Analysts have supplied charming observations and correct forecasts of the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market primarily based totally on in-intensity insights of industry-associated information received and tested the usage of way of market-perfect assets. The document discusses the supermarket dynamics and current dispositions related to several segments, in addition to how they affect the market's increase prospects in the forecast period 2022-2028.

The record includes employer profiles of key players who're currently dominating the market, further to records on numerous inclinations, expansions, and prevailing strategies used and executed with the aid of leading players.

Key Questions Answered in the Report

How will new product releases and technological advancements affect market growth? What segment generated the highest revenue share, and what is the future scope for that segment? What are the market's enticements for various value chain stakeholders? Who are the major participants in the Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare market, and what is their level of competition?

Buy Single User PDF of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market Report [emailprotected] https://www.intelligencemarketreport.com/checkout/39086

About Intelligence Market ReportIntelligence Market Report includes a comprehensive rundown of statistical surveying reports from many distributers around the world. We brag an information base traversing basically every market classification and a much more complete assortment of statistical surveying reports under these classifications and sub-classifications.

Intelligence Market Report offers premium reformist factual looking over, statistical surveying reports, investigation and gauge information for businesses and governments all throughout the planet.

For more information on this press release visit: http://www.sbwire.com/press-releases/augmented-reality-and-virtual-reality-in-healthcare-market-size-growth-opportunities-valued-at-us-2-billion-and-grow-at-healthy-cagr-27-during-forecasts-period-2022-1352023.htm

Excerpt from:

Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality in Healthcare Market Size & Growth Opportunities : Valued at US$ 2 Billion and Grow at Healthy CAGR 27%...

UFC President Dana White has big plans for the UFC going forward, including an unorthodox way of hosting fights.

White and the UFC are set to host their first string of pay-per-views to begin the 2022 calendar year. It all begins with UFC 270, featuring a heavyweight clash for the ages between Francis Ngannou and Ciryl Gane.

But White has always looked ahead to whats next for the sport of MMA, more specifically his promotion. During a recent interview on the Full Send Podcast, White raised eyebrows when he iterated plans to combine MMA fights with virtual reality.

Were looking to do a fight in the metaverse, White said. Weve been working on it for a while. Itll be a live fight, an actual fight that takes place inside the metaverse.

When further pushed on what that would look like, White described how it would play out.

Itd be kids at home, you put on your fuckin goggles and you can fuckin get up and go walk around. Were still working it out, but yeah, itll be soon. Well be doing a fight in the metaverse. Itll be a real fight.

White even stated that fans would be able to buy tickets and experience these events virtually.

The metaverse is a network of virtual worlds of the internet, most prominently linked to the Oculus Quest virtual reality headset. Devices such as the Oculus have become more popular in recent months.

As virtual reality becomes more prominent in the current technological evolution, White and the UFC are looking to adjust to the times. Its unclear when this will all take place, but it sounds like it has been in the works for a while and could happen as soon as this year.

What do you think of Dana Whites claims? Would you attend a fight virtually?

Visit link:

Dana White Teases Virtual Fights In The Metaverse - MMA News

What if you stepped into the boots of one of the firefighters present during the fire of Pariss Notre Dame cathedral? Thats the concept behind a new experience being created by Ubisoft.

The French video game giant has teamed up with director Jean-Jacques Annaud and film production and distribution company Path for a unique virtual reality escape game. Its set to release this March on the occasion of the release of the film Notre Dame On Fire.

A look back at a tragic event that touched the whole world, the film Notre Dame On Fire sees director Jean-Jacques Annaud retrace each moment of the fire at the Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris on April 15, 2019. On the occasion of its release in theaters, the French director partnered with Ubisoft to develop a virtual reality escape game.

For an hour, players will slip into the role of one of the Paris firefighters present at the time of the fire. They will have to search for relics while fighting the fire to save the Notre Dame cathedral.

The two parties began discussions on the project in early 2021. In order to create the most realistic experience, Ubisoft had access to the film script written by Jean-Jacques Annaud and Thomas Bidegain.

The film Notre Dame On Fire is scheduled to be released in March 2022. The escape game should also be launched at the same time around the world.

According to Variety, Ubisoft already has other such projects with the Avatar and Star Wars licenses. AFP Relaxnews

See more here:

A virtual reality escape game puts players at the heart of the action during the Notre Dame fire - The Star Online

Extended reality (XR) is a catch-all term that covers virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR). In the very simplest terms, VR involves putting on a headset to enter a fully immersive, 3D digital environment, AR involves using a phone or glasses to overlay computer images on top of the real world, and MR can be a combination of both technologies.

The 5 Biggest Virtual, Augmented, And Mixed Reality Trends In 2022

Although they achieve it in different ways, they all involve new ways of interacting and experiencing our increasingly digital world. As more and more of our lives work, socializing, shopping, entertainment move online, these new ways of interfacing with reality mean we can experience them in ways that are richer and more immersive. In working and professional environments, this means a greater ability to collaborate on projects with colleagues in digital spaces. In entertainment, it means games and activities that feel more real than ever before.

This digitization of our lives has accelerated greatly since the start of the pandemic, leading to a growth in interest and innovation around XR and virtual worlds. So heres a look at some of the key trends that are involved, and how we can expect them to continue shaping our lives throughout 2022 and beyond:

XR and the metaverse

Sometimes called Web 3.0 (or social media 2.0), the metaverse is a concept thats the focus of a lot of excitement right now - see Facebooks recent rebrand to Meta. This is likely to remain the case throughout 2022. Although the metaverse doesnt have to exclusively exist in XR, its the version of it that does thats getting the most attention. This is because more immersive, experiential environments are central to the whole concept something that XR interfaces lend themselves to very well.

The truth is that no one exactly knows what the metaverse will look like if predictions that it will play a big part in our lives turn out to be correct. But Metas focus on the VR aspects (through its hardware brand Oculus) means that its likely to be a core feature. 3D environments, avatars, and gamification three fundamental aspects of the concept all fit well with VR interfaces. And AR, too, with its potential to blur the distinction between virtual and real worlds, is another idea that meshes well with the metaverse concept. 2022 should see the release of Metas Horizon platform, giving people their first taste of what the metaverse could become, and VR will be the window through which they experience it.

More advanced headsets and hardware

Like any technology, the hardware needed to access virtual reality gets smaller and more powerful as time goes on. This is particularly beneficial to the uptake of that technology, when were talking about devices that need to be strapped to our heads! As well as lighter VR headsets, AR devices will get lighter, too California startup Mojo Vision has already demonstrated the potential for AR contact lenses that project information directly onto the retina.

Hardware will offer more features, too. Eye-tracking technology that lets us control interfaces with eyeball movements has already been cracked, thanks to the HHTC Vive Pro Eye headset, and we can expect more software to take advantage of this technology in the coming year. A big advantage here is that the system only needs to render parts of the picture that are being directly viewed in high quality, reducing the power consumption of the headset. Other innovations will attempt to solve the problem of enabling realistic movement within virtual environments (which will always be a problem if your actual environment doesnt match the size and proportions of your virtual one, and isnt free of hazards that might cause you to trip over!) Proposed solutions to this problem include both boots, as offered by Ekto VR, and treadmills, like the one developed by Virtuix.

A technology known as haptic feedback will attempt to solve the problem of providing sensations of touch in XR environments. One example is the Teslasuit that provides tactile feedback through electrostimulation. The suit currently costs around $20,000 and, among other uses, is used by NASA for astronaut training, but we can expect to see smaller-scale consumer versions on the market in 2022.

XR in Retail

The retail industry is going through huge changes, both online and offline, and both offer plenty of opportunities to innovate with XR technologies. In online retail, VR solutions can be used to create more engaging and immersive shopping experiences that mimic the "hands-on" advantages of bricks n mortar outlets. Meanwhile, in bricks n mortar, AR technology can help customers find what they are looking for on the shelves and provide the type of information and feedback opportunities (for example, integrating customer reviews with in-store products) that shoppers have become used to having online.

VR allows online retail experiences far beyond what is possible with typical e-commerce websites for example, customers can "try on" jewelry and clothing using digital avatars and engage in "personal shopper" interactions with chatbots. In real stores, we can expect more stores to be fitted with AR technologies such as virtual mirrors that allow customers to try on many different items without having to take the time to get changed or even actually touch any products! When they find items they like, they can simply be directed towards where they will be found on the shelves.

XR and 5G

The 5G rollout is gathering pace, and 2022 is looking like it will be the year where uptake becomes widespread enough that it becomes a mainstream proposition. Currently offering speeds around 20 times quicker than existing mobile networks, but with the potential to greatly increase that differential, the benefits arent just faster data transmission, but the possibility of different types of data and services. This is likely to include the large data volumes needed to run XR, making wireless and cloud-based VR and AR a possibility. Plutosphere, for example, and other startups offering similar services, let users stream VR games from cloud servers, eliminating the need for users to own expensive gaming PCs packed with powerful graphics hardware in order to enjoy home VR. Gaming has tended to act as the testbed for much of the VR technology thats currently permeating other industries such as healthcare and education, so we can expect similar solutions aimed at other use cases to emerge during 2022. This will dramatically lower the barriers to entry for many businesses wanting to deploy XR solutions without making large infrastructure investments.

XR in training and education

I believe providing more immersive, engaging, and in some cases safer educational opportunities will be one of the biggest growth areas for XR technology in 2022 and beyond. There are a number of reasons for this; firstly, in line with just about every other aspect of our lives, education particularly adult education and training is increasingly happening online and remotely. This has been driven by the global pandemic but is clearly a trend that was underway long before lockdowns and school closures became a regular feature of life. Online learning either in a formal setting such as through a university or training body or informally through one of the ever-growing number of MOOCs increasingly allows us to fit ongoing learning into our busy lives in ways that would not have been possible 20 years ago.

XR technologies make it easier for students to visualize concepts from the numbers used in accounting to historical events or even the inner workings of reality exposed through quantum physics in interesting and engaging ways. Evidence suggests that when we learn through experiencing in this way, rather than simply reading dry facts, we can improve our knowledge retention by 75 to 90%.

VR can also be used to train and simulate operating in dangerous situations, such as the FLAIM system used to train firefighters to tackle wildfire and aircraft fires. And AR is increasingly being used to provide real-time inputs to trainees during on-the-job learning, such as using computer vision-equipped glasses and headsets to recognize and warn of potential dangers in the work environment.

Read more about how AR, MR, and VR are being used in my book, Extended Reality in Practice: 100+ Amazing Ways Virtual, Augmented, and Mixed Reality Are Changing Business and Society.

Read more:

The 5 Biggest Virtual, Augmented, And Mixed Reality Trends In 2022 - Forbes