HTC’s lightweight device puts the emphasis on stress—or lack of it. News is rolling out about XR devices and peripherals in advance of the AWE conference, which this year will be one of the first events to be held in real-life (IRL) as well as virtually and recorded. Many vendors aren’t waiting for the conference to introduce their new devices, nor should they. One side … [Read more...] about XR season kicks off with HTC Vive Flow
VR
‘Inside Covid-19’ brings home the virus’ effect
Filmmakers Gary Yost and Adam Loften combine 3D camera footage with computer graphics. At Siggraph 2021, filmmakers Gary Yost and Adam Loften showed their piece Inside Covid-19, which tells the story of one man’s battle with Covid-19 as a doctor and as a patient. The documentary follows Emergency Room supervisor Dr. Josiah Child who, early in the pandemic, developed safety … [Read more...] about ‘Inside Covid-19’ brings home the virus’ effect
Collaborating around the Campfire with augmented reality
Meta technology resurfaces as a new company with AR pioneer Jay Wright at the helm. There are at least 12 popular AR SDKs. Why is that important? For two reasons, (A) you can’t develop a category or industry without applications that people want and need, and (B) if you enter such a market, you’ve got an excellent foundation to work with.One of the first companies to help … [Read more...] about Collaborating around the Campfire with augmented reality
Theia Interactive’s biometric tracking tool levels up VR
Theia Interactive, a visualization firm and software developer based in Chico, California, has launched Claria, a set of biometric tracking tools to track the physical reactions of users while experiencing virtual reality using HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition VR headset. Claria has been developed exclusively for the HP Reverb G2 Omnicept Edition that has sensors to track pupil … [Read more...] about Theia Interactive’s biometric tracking tool levels up VR
PTC and Rockwell Automation expand their strategic alliance
The two companies celebrate 250 new joint customers as a result of the deal. PTC and Rockwell Automation signed a strategic alliance in 2018 to jointly sell their products for PLM, SaaS, factory automation, IoT, virtual machinery simulation, and testing software. At that time, the deal was sealed with a $1 billion equity investment in PTC shares and a seat on the board for … [Read more...] about PTC and Rockwell Automation expand their strategic alliance
Google gives up on VR
Abandons Daydream to the island of broken toys. Google came up with a great name and a great industrial design for the Daydream, its entry into VR for the Android world, but the company seemed to forget about it after the initial splash. Do you remember when there used to be long lines to try out the latest headsets on the scene? Those lines weren’t for the Daydream. … [Read more...] about Google gives up on VR
XR has a real chance now, thanks to Khronos
Doing what they did for mobile phones, Khronos has stabilized XR. The headline is: Khronos announced multiple conformant implementations of OpenXR are shipping from Oculus and Microsoft. That happened because of the newly opened OpenXR 1.0 Adopters Program and open-source conformance tests, which Khronos announced was coming after launching the OpenXR 1.0 specification last … [Read more...] about XR has a real chance now, thanks to Khronos
Latest round of Epic MegaGrants reward imagination and real-world connection
MegaGrants program has awarded $42 million of $100 million to more than 600 recipients. The latest batch of winners in Epic’s ongoing MegaGrants program includes games, a couple of which break the mold but most intriguingly technology companies that are pushing on the walls of game engine technology to expand where games and game engines haven’t gone before and that of course … [Read more...] about Latest round of Epic MegaGrants reward imagination and real-world connection
Blender Foundation starts a long-term support pilot program with Blender 2.83
Blender Foundation has released Blender 2.83 as its first LTS (Long Term Support) release. The LTS program is aimed at organizations or teams that require stable and maintained software up to a two-year period. The organizations will be provided with a stable Blender version. LTS releases will continue to receive critical fixes for a two-year period. An updated version naming … [Read more...] about Blender Foundation starts a long-term support pilot program with Blender 2.83
Unity announces new XR plugin framework
This framework will influence officially supported platforms, verified Solutions partners, and innovators. Unity has announced a unified plugin framework that will enable XR hardware and software providers to develop their own Unity plugins. According to Unity, some benefits will be: Multi-platform developer tools such as AR Foundation and the XR Interaction Toolkit. … [Read more...] about Unity announces new XR plugin framework