Daily Archives: April 2, 2017

Green prince: Charles experiences virtual reality. Photograph: Tim Rooke/Rex/Shutterstock

I worry that humanity isnt getting enough direct contact with the wild and well all end up with Nature Deficit Disorder. Plus, how can you protect what you dont love and havent experienced?

Greenpeace has been encouraging us to bear witness for more than 40 years. In the past this meant telexes sent from the ship Rainbow Warrior; now it means virtual reality (VR).

A rainforest-themed headset (greenpeace.org/virtualexplorer, 6) arrived through my letterbox in a surprisingly low-key box. The cardboard innards popped up into a headset, then I downloaded the Greenpeace Virtual Explorer app (available for both Apple iOS and Android) and within minutes I was tramping across the Arctic viewing polar bears, then swinging across the canopy of the Brazilian rainforest.

There is something thrilling about looking a polar bear in the eye. It made me want to kick back extra hard against Russian plans to drill the eastern Arctic, to take that next step, sign the petition or help fund further action.

With Munduruku (Greenpeaces next VR film, out soon) the hope is to swell opposition to the Brazilian governments massive complex of hydro-electric dams, planned for the Tapajs basin, as we experience these ancestral lands through the eyes of the Munduruku people who will be flooded out.

Director Chris Milk is a VR pioneer. His films include Millions March, protesting against police brutality and Clouds over Sidra, which puts you next to a 12-year-old Syrian refugee. Milk says VR allows you to connect on a real human level, regardless of where you are in the world. Clouds over Sidra is credited with attracting an extra $1bn in funding. So beware: VR will find your empathy button.

The humble seed gets top billing as Taggart Siegel (no relation) and Jon Betzs documentary Seed: the Untold Story launches in the UK on 20 April. But then theres nothing humble about this epic good vs evil battle to defend humanitys 12,000-year food legacy, not least from the group of 10 corporations who now own more than two thirds of the global seed market (seedthemovie.com).

Scottish designer Faisal Mohammed has launched his first collection under the label Cloh. It represents his longstanding ambition to manufacture clothing from Scotlands rich textile industry using scraps.

Everything made at Cloh is necessarily limited edition because each piece is made from different scraps. Faisal says his mixed Scottish/ Pakistani heritage gave him his strong sense of using every inch of available fabric.

My mother was born and brought up in Pakistan, he explains. When I travelled there with her, I often saw the selvedge [the edge on fabric that prevents it unravelling] turned into a design feature on the hem, cuff or openings of the shirt.

This is usually the first thing discarded by western design houses, but not at Cloh where waste materials are given the full artisanal treatment.

Cloh garments from 200, cloh.co.uk (available from 10 April)

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The eco guide to virtual reality - The Guardian

This article originally appeared on The Motley Fool.

Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies have gotten a lot of attention within the past few years.Sony'sPlayStation VR headset is shining a spotlight onthe viability of VR gaming, whileAlphabet'sGoogle Cardboard and new Daydream View headsets are pushing mobile VR into the mainstream. The unexpected success ofPokemon Golast year showed that smartphone users are ready and willing to adopt augmented reality. AndMicrosoft'sdevelopment of its HoloLens goggles aims to prove that the virtual and augmented worlds will soon become a part of our reality.

Investors looking to benefit from these two intertwined markets should keep these five things in mind.

Much of the attention surrounding virtual reality right now has to do mainly with how it will be used for gaming, filmmaking, or other entertainment content. ButFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes that VR could surpass all of these categories.

He said in a Bloomberginterviewlast year that VR is "a good candidate to be the next major computing platform." Zuckerberg thinks it'll take a while for us to get there (more on that later), but he's optimistic that VR could be a primary form of communication technology in the near future:

Photos are richer than text; video, much richer than photos. But that's not the end, right? I mean, it's like this indefinite continuum of getting closer and closer to being able to capture what a person's natural experience and thought is, and just being able to immediately capture that and design it however you want and share it with whomever you want.

VR is still in its very early stages, and it's likely that it will take many more years before it becomes mainstreamZuckerberg has put the time frame at five to 10 years.

Adding to the slow pace is the fact that some hyped technologies, like Magic Leap's AR headset, have recently been found to be behind schedule.The Informationreportedat the end of last year that Magic Leapwhich has raised $1.4 billion in funding in about three yearspivoted away from some of its earlier fiberoptic technologies and now trails the image quality of Microsoft's HoloLens.

And even the HoloLens, which currently costs $3,000 and is mainly for developers, has sold only thousands of units. Roger Walkden, Microsoft's HoloLens commercial lead,recently toldThe Inquirer:

We're not trying to sell hundreds of thousands or millions or anything, it's expensive, and it's not in huge numbers. So we're happy with the level of sales that we've gotI can't tell you anything about the numbers, but it's in thousands, not hundreds of thousands, and that's fine. That's all we need.

While Microsoft may be pleased with those numbers, it's still a clear indicator that VR and AR have a long way go before they become mainstream.

And then there's the recent news that Facebook's Oculus is shutting down 200 of its 500demo sites within Best Buy stores, reportedly due to thelack of public interest. The future may be virtual, but we're getting there slowly.

Jason Pontin, the editor of MIT'sTechnology Review,recentlyinterviewedJessica Brillhart, a filmmaker for virtual reality at Google, and talked with her about how VR is currently used and what it might become in the near future. When askedif people will eventually use VR to record home videos, Brillhart responded that we probably would but that it might not be a good thing:

Think of everything you forget about a birthday party when you're a kid. But now the rig would capture everything. You could watch someone you loved respond the way she used to, or eat cake a certain way. It is going to be interesting to see what happens when we aren't able to forget anything anymore.

The interview is a good reminder that VR is still in its early stages and it's still unclear how this platform will be used, and whether or not we'll like exactly how it turns out.

Right now, VR is limited to a user's visual and auditory senses, but in the future this will likely be enhanced. Thegeneral manager of Dell's gaming PC manufacturer Alienware,Frank Azor, saidinan interviewwith Timelast year, "Once you begin catering to the rest of the senses, like what we feel body-wise, temperature-wise, and smell, the reality factor of virtual reality [becomes] stronger and the virtual piece begins to fade."

Breaking the barrier between the virtual world and the physical world with high-end touch sensors could be the next step in virtual reality, and it won't be here for a while, but VR hardware and software makers are already thinking about how this technology can go from immersive to fully interactive.

The virtual reality market was worth about $1.9 billion in 2016, but that's expected to climb to $22.4 billion by 2020. Those numbers include both software and hardware sales. And when you factor in AR sales, the market skyrockets even higher. The combined AR and VR market will be worth $121 billion by 2021, according to Digi-Capital.

In that same year, IDC estimates more than 99 million AR and VR headsets will be shipped, up from just 10 million last year, which represents a 58 percent compound annual growth rate between 2016 and 2021.

The good news for investors is that companies are just getting started with AR and VR, which meansthe opportunities to benefit haven't passed. There are still plenty of unknowns, but as more companies rally around these new technologies and make the necessary investments to get them off of the ground, we're likely to see the future of AR and VR develop substantially over the next few years.

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What to Know About the Future of Virtual Reality - Newsweek - Newsweek

A full transcript follows the video.

This video was recorded on March 23, 2017.

Vincent Shen:A lot of the big players have been putting money into this, and also,people not typically into thevideo game industry. Sony(NYSE:SNE)has the PlayStation VR. This offering issupposed to be meeting management expectations. This is a headset, sells for about $400for most of the retailers that I checked before the show. It was released late last fall. So far, they've sold about 1 million units. Management seemsvery happy with the progress they've seen with this. What do you think?

McNew:I think they had a great advantage ofhaving the first console to make this a real part of the console. I think it works great. I love being able to play on it. And there's a lot of upsells they have with that, different kinds of controllers, the games that go along with it. It seems like it's agreat opportunity for them to continue getting revenueoff of that release. And obviously,other companies are following along.

Shen:Yeah. In terms of that dedicated headset, two other main competitors are the -- OK, thepronunciation on this, I've heard two differentthoughts --HTC(NASDAQOTH:HTCXF)Vive. I don't mind either one,we'll just call it HTC. Theirheadset is being compared a lot to the FacebookOculus Rift. These companies have not offered nearly that level of detail that Sony has in terms of their PlayStation VR, but some people say the VR is outselling the Rift three to one,in terms of some analyst estimates. But ultimately, bringing this back,what kind of impact is this going to have for these companies, their bottom lines, and their overall revenue? A research group called CCS Insight, they put virtual and augmented reality device sales at 11 million last year, which is actually way more than you would think. We talk about console sales. Nintendo, with the Switch, is hoping that,if they can hit 10 million,that's really a good threshold for them to attractdeveloper attention. They would be very happy with that. But, while that seems really great, and the forecasted device sales might top 60 million by 2020, there is a caveat to all of that:most of this volume comes from low-cost solutions, likeGoogle Cardboard.

McNew:Sure, or even ones like theGoogle Daydreamthat they released for the Pixel, that'ssomething like $80, but that has to be used with the phone. There'snot a lot of technology thereother than the screen that views the phone. Here, you'retalking about real headsets that have the technology to be a serious gaming solution. And you have the early adopters thathave used that so far. But,here in the next couple of years,you'll see the prices start to decrease a little bit,and they could be a little bit more mass market.

Shen:And that's the big challenge, I think, with this technology in general. A lot of people have said that 2016deflated a lot of expectations for virtual reality. Not that there isn't a lot of optimism behind it, but a reality check, in a sense. When it comes down to it, if you want something like what the Oculus Rift offers, you need not just the headset itself, which costs anywhere from $500, for Facebook's offering, to $800 for HTC's offering,at least according to Amazon. Inaddition to that, you need a PC with some really strong specs, and a high quality GPU video card to be able to even run these games. So, at the moment,like you mentioned, early adopters --although, you're going to get early adopters, but otherwise,people are going to be very reluctant to shell out over $1,000 for a dedicated system when the titles themselves arelimited in the virtual reality space.

McNew:Andas we talked about earlier in this podcast, that's going to be a holdback. When you have the content that makes people want to pay that much money, then people will. But, of course, the other thing about the virtual reality is that you're still waiting to see what other industries it can be used for. People arealready going to have one at home for gaming,and it also works for something else. Might be moreimpetus to buy something, if it works for something more than just the game.

Shen:Thevalue proposition,it's easier to shell out that kind of money. And the thing is, over time, likeanything with technology, it will get cheaper.Going back to that original number I mentioned, 11 millionvirtual and augmented reality devices sold in 2016. If yougo to those dedicated headsets, the ones that are hundreds of dollars, muchmore sophisticated than, for example, theGoogle Cardboard, sales at just over 1 million. Still really early, butdefinitely something that I personally am very excited personally to see develop. Anything else from you, Seth, in terms of takeaways forpeople who are thinking big picture about video games, be it eSports, virtual reality, digital downloads? Anything else?

McNew:Yeah,especially, we were talking about the chips that go in your computer that are going to power all this stuff,that leads into a whole other discussion of companies likeNVIDIA,for example, that's making that technology that'sdriving the technology behind the gaming industry. That's for a whole other podcast, but it's something to look at.

Seth McNew has no position in any stocks mentioned. Vincent Shen has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Amazon, Facebook, and NVIDIA. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Understanding the Market for Virtual Reality Gaming - The Motley Fool - Motley Fool

The 2017 Game Fest in the Skutt Student Center on Saturday attracted students for games, fun and the chance to try out the HTC Vive, a piece of modern virtual reality technology that immerses the gamer in a digitally-created and interactive experience.

The event was hosted by CU After Dark, an organizer of late-night campus activities, and the Division of Information Technology's RaDLab, an innovation-focused organization that provides in-house solutions for the myriad needs of professors, students and university infrastructure.

The mid-semester refresher Game Fest catered something for every avid game-player: top video games such as FIFA '17, Rocket League and Super Smash Bros. and board games such as chess, Life and Monopoly.

"Games are a great way to engage like-minded students with new technology," Ryan Cameron, senior director of research and development, said while showing off his gaming skill at Game Fest. "It helps them to experience teamwork and see a glimpse of the technologies of the future."

Future technology made an appearance at Game Fest. Compared to the exuberant and exasperated yells from other game stations, the HTC Vive generated even more consistent noise. After strapping on the Vive headset, students were able to use the Vive's motion controllers to interact with a virtual reality realm where they could practice archery, view incredible vistas atop an Icelandic mountain path or even wield a lightsaber to fend off a platoon of Imperial Stormtroopers.

Many students who had a run in the Vive were impressed.

"It was unlike any other experience, said Heider College of Business junior James Delage. I was totally immersed; it felt so realistic."

Steve Maaske, a primary organizer of Game Fest and an innovation analyst at the Division of Information Technology explained that virtual reality has an important role at the RaDLab not simply for its entertainment use.

"Virtual reality is something we're investing time and effort into, for applications like 360-degree photos and virtualizing real environments," Maaske said.

The RaDLab is working to inject virtual reality into academics at Creighton, starting with the College of Nursing. By using images taken by 360 degree cameras, virtual reality can offer students first-person views of clinical and lab locations without requiring classes to relocate for such lessons. These 360-degree photos are capable of being visualized in a Google Cardboard, an inexpensive smartphone-powered virtual reality headset, so that students can spend time in digitally recreated versions of these real locations, even after hours or in their rooms.

For the RaDLab, Game Fest was a proof of conceptinnovation is centered on the engagement and promotion of developing new technologies, and the RaDLab invites students to expand their involvement with such technology after having experienced the programming at Game Fest.

"Game Fest provides a mechanism for bringing together students collaboratively within the context of a relevant technological reality," Cameron said.

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Gamers experience virtual reality - The Creightonian

Virtual reality is a term that youll see used frequently at Seeker in the coming year, so wed like to take this opportunity to break down some of the terminology. There are two primary types of Virtual Reality these days: cinematic 360 VR and interactive game-engine based VR.

Interactive VR Interactive game-engine based VR takes things one step further by allowing you to move around a computer generated world; picking up objects and moving through a fully interactive environment. Imagine your favorite video game;interactive VR allows you to become the main character of the game, moving through digitally generated worlds, transporting yourself through stories that require interaction to be told.

Interactive VR typically requires users to have some sort of controller or special remote that allows them to bring their hands into VR for full control.

Keep checking back in on our VR hub for more updates in both cinematic and interactive realms. We have lots of exciting projects in store and can't wait to create the future with you.

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360 vs Interactive Virtual Reality - Seeker

Tyler Hays speaks about his company Evolvr Media, a virtual reality production company. Brianna Paciorka/News Sentinel

Tyler Hays' company Evolvr Media specializes in implementing new, innovative technologies to create unique customer experiences while also solving practical business problems.(Photo: BRIANNA PACIORKA/NEWS SENTINEL)Buy Photo

New Business Spotlight focuses on local businesses that have existed for one to five years. This month's spotlight features Evolvr Media, which was founded by Tyler Hays and Chris Berrong.Hays discusses the company in Q&A format with reporter Cortney Roark.

Q:What is Evolvr Media, and how did the company start?

A:Evolvr Media specializes in implementing new, innovative technologies such as virtual and augmented reality to create unique customer experiences while solving practical business problems. For years, I've been helping companies create relevant digital video marketing content that amplifies their message with Vessul Creative, which I co-own with Alex Widmer,so great storytelling is always at the heart of what Evolvrdoes. We've built some great success and momentum with Vessul Creative, and even won an Emmy Award in the informational program category. However, when I first tried virtual reality back in 2014, I knew that it had the potential to completely change the way we approach storytelling, and I wanted to create a company that could almost specifically focus on creating a new level of customer interaction with VR content. Thus, Evolvr was founded and helped launch in the summer of 2014 through the Knoxville Media Works program as well as Chattanoogas Gigtank program. We learned a lot that summer, as it was our first exposure to the startup tech industry. I have an industrial engineering background, so I love the startup mentality and processes that we worked with over the course of that summer, such as the lean canvas and also having the mindset of failing fast.

Q:What has made Evolvr Media successful up to this point?

A:Hard to say. I guess it also depends on how you define success. Truthfully, I believe the project success we've had is mostly attributed to a little bit of luckand a lot of hustle. For a while, I felt like we were building something that no one was asking for. Which, at the time, was probably true. Fast forward a couple years until now, and everyone has probably heard of or seen VR through someone you know or a TV commercial. We could have given up, but we kept pushing because we believe in the power of it. The biggest brands in the world from Samsung to Google to Facebook have now launched VR platforms, and now we are the team to help companies use these VR platforms well. On a deeper level, if we as a company can stay true to who we are individually, maintain passion about our work, and keep perspective of what's really important in life, then that's true success in my book.

Q:What sets the company apart from others in your field?

A:Virtual Reality is not something that most people, even large companies, can do well at this point. The technology exists, but the hardware and knowledge base is trying feverishly to catch up. On a recent project for the Travel Channel, we had to design and 3D-print our own equipment because it doesnt even exist yet. So, not only do we bring the technical expertise for crafting the VR itself, but we also have the knowledge of how to tell a great story and create something that people will care about. Real, true VR is much more than just a 360-degree video or a panorama photo. VR can allow the user to actually move within a space as if they were actually there.

Q:Where do you see Evolvr Media in the future?

A:We are beginning to find areas where both Vessul Creative and Evolvr can combine their marketing and new technology skills to provide a very competitive service. One main area of focus in the near future will be new commercial condo developments. We plan to partner with property developers to create top-notch marketing collateral, which will include promo videos as well as real-time, photo-realistic VR environments that allow potential buyers to tour the space before it's even been built. Our team is ready, but we just need to find the right project to work on.

Q:What do you wish someone had told you as you began your business venture?

A:I wish someone had told me how much emotional energy it takes to run a company. If you're like me, your thoughts can run a mile a minute. You have to almost train your body to turn off "work mode" or else you'll never get rest or be present with other people outside of work. Another big piece of advice would be to not compare yourself to other people or companies. This is much easier said than done, especially in the days of social media, but I believe we all have a unique purpose, and that purpose has a better chance of being reached if we stop trying to be like someone else.

Last word:The founders of Evolvr all have roots here in Knoxville, and we hope to serve this city as a unique company that can offer unique services with a capability that even some larger markets dont have yet. We love this area, and want to be a part of continuing to make it better while creating some jobs along the way.

Website:Evolvr.Media and Vessul.co

Email:Tyler@Evolvr.Media

Type of business:Marketing agency

Year founded:2014

Owners:Tyler Hays, Chris Berrong, Alex Widmer

Address:P.O. Box 18392, Knoxville, TN 37928

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Evolvr Media makes virtual reality strides - Knoxville News Sentinel