Monthly Archives: June 2017

Even without virtual reality goggles, the Kraken rollercoaster at SeaWorld can be scary. It climbs to 150 feet, turns riders upside down seven times and reaches speeds of 65 mph.

But starting Friday, the 17-year-old coaster will be the first major ride in Florida with the high-tech option of virtual reality goggles that project an undersea showdown with the ride's namesake monster.

The Tampa Bay Times was among a gaggle of coaster fans and media members allowed to test out the new feature Thursday. The upgrade joins a trend of technology-driven thrills in Florida theme parks.

THEME PARK GUIDE: Everything you need to know about what's new this summer.

Stephen O'Donnell of Port Charlotte said the new virtual reality ride was like nothing he's ever experienced.

"I don't feel like I rode a roller coaster. I felt like I was riding a high-speed submarine," said O'Donnell, 58, a retired carpenter who loves coasters. "Once your ears are covered, it's like your senses are changed and it's another world."

Once you buckle in, you put on the headset and make it at snug as possible to block out the real world. As other riders are adjusting their goggles, you already are seeing a virtual world. It's an undersea laboratory that has many of the same physical details as the coaster's loading zone. But it looks like you are in a loading zone for a submarine.

A soundtrack muffles the real noise of the coaster and you are soon underwater among realistic-looking sharks, fish and Kraken, a legendary mythical sea monster that looks like a giant squid.

Here and throughout the ride you can look in every direction and see new details. But some of those details will be lost when you are flying by at 65 mph and some were hard to keep in focus with your head rattling around on a coaster.

The storyline in the virtual world mirrors the ride. As the submarine is drifting toward the surface, the coaster in Orlando is making its ascent to the top of the first 150-foot drop.

Unless you have every turn of the coaster memorized, you don't know what's coming next.

O'Donnell said he often gets queasy on simulators, like the Spider-Man ride at Universal's Islands of Adventure. But he rode the Kraken with the VR goggles eight times. Some at Thursday's test were a bit disoriented after the ride, however.

You can still feel the sensations and hear the coaster, but like the old rumble seats in movie theaters, it feels like an enhancement to the experience on the screen.

"When it turns you upside down, it feels right because visually that's what you are doing" on screen, O'Donnell said.

SeaWorld is just the latest of Florida's theme parks to use technology to give visitors a feeling of simulated reality. Disney makes guests feel like they are taking flight and plunging down the side of a floating mountain from the movie Avatar in the new Flight of Passage ride. It's Animal Kingdom's signature ride in the recently opened $500 million Pandora-World of Avatar experience.

At Universal Orlando, riders feel like they are chasing Tonight Show host Jimmy Fallon at the new Race Through New York attraction. And Legoland's Ninjago World has young theme parkgoers karate-chopping their way to victory over evil forces on screen.

The Kraken ride, which held the record for the tallest and longest roller coaster in the state when it opened in 2000, has been closed for two months while the park retrofitted it with the technology.

The SeaWorld company, which also owns Busch Gardens in Tampa, is considering adding the technology to more parks.

"We see great potential for virtual reality use across the parks," SeaWorld CEO Joel Manby said in a call with investors earlier this year. "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."

Not all theme parkgoers are fond of screens and virtual experiences.

Coaster fan Chris Kraftchick, who represents Florida for the American Coaster Enthusiasts club, said many theme park purists are worried that some parks are starting to overdo all the screens and virtual simulator rides.

"When you ride Cheetah Hunt (at Busch Gardens) you are in the wide-open cars flying across the Serengeti, you are living and breathing something real," Kraftchick said. "You can simulate that but you can't really experience the true thrill of going up 335 feet and falling face first" like riders do on Falcon's Fury.

But the virtual reality addition to roller coasters could be something even purists can embrace because you still get the wind in your hair, Kraftchick said.

"I think people will like those better than the simulators because you still get the sensation, but you get a bonus. You are going on an adventure now. You are no longer looking at the horizon or over the lake. Instead we are flying through this underwater realm being chased by the Kraken."

The negative can be that it slows down load time tremendously, Kraftchick noted, because it can take longer for the workers to help riders make sure the goggles are set up. "But I think it's a great idea to get people interested in an older coaster again."

One big bonus, experts say, is technology can be a cheaper way to upgrade an old ride.

"VR headsets are an inexpensive way to create a new ride experience without having to make a major capital expenditure," said professor Martin Lewison, an expert on the global theme park industry at Farmingdale State College in New York.

Contact Sharon Kennedy Wynne at swynne@tampabay.com. Follow @SharonKWn.

Sneak peek: We rode SeaWorld's Kraken coaster while wearing virtual reality goggles 06/15/17 [Last modified: Thursday, June 15, 2017 4:56pm] Photo reprints | Article reprints

See more here:

Sneak peek: We rode SeaWorld's Kraken coaster while wearing virtual reality goggles - Tampabay.com

C4ISR

U.S. Navy engineers used 3-D imaging capabilities of LIDAR technology to measure designated spaces on board the USS San Diego (LPD 22), USS Truxtun (DDG 103), and the USS Anchorage (LPD 23) down to the exact millimeter, according to a SPAWAR media report. Then, virtual reality and virtual environment software processed the hundreds of gigabytes worth of scanned data into a less than one hundred gigabyte file of a virtual reality model of the scanned areas.

A Secretary of the Navy 2016 Innovation Award was presented to a 3-D scanning team from the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) last week for their use of Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology to make virtual reality scans a tool for future onboard technological development and sailor training.

LIDAR technology requires only a small team of two to three people who know the equipment and can create an accuratevirtual 3-D representation of a ships installation compartment, said Lt. Jessica Fuller, a member of the SPAWAR 3-D scanning team.

The LIDAR system uses a special, near-infrared laser that emits electromagnetic pulses in the form of light and measures the return wavelengths to discern the distance and 3D shape of objects in its path. SPAWAR reports that the 3-D scanning team used commercial-off-the-shelf technology and software to ensure state-of-the-art results.

Once the model was created, sailors could don the virtual reality goggles head piece and virtually navigate through a remote part of the ship.

In addition to using these scans for installationssailors can now train virtually on their ship, in their exact spaces, with their exact equipment because of these scans, explained Heidi Buck, Director of Battlespace Exploitation of Mixed Reality Lab. Also new systems can be prototyped and inserted into the virtual ship environment for design and testing purposes.

The next goal is to be able to input the scan data into augmented reality software, which will allow sailors to access 3-D augmented reality maps and scans while on the job, giving the sailors a mobile capability to better understand and maintain the ship, according to Dr. Mark Bilinski, a Mathematician at SPAWAR.

The LIDAR scanning itself took only nine days when first performed on the USS San Diego, and the other two vessels were scanned and modeled within the same year. There is no timeline for implementing the new method and technology across the Navy, however SPAWAR officials are confident that it will become a model for Navy virtual

Read more here:

Navy virtual reality technology will help upgrade ships and train sailors - Defense Systems

STEM and VR

MEL Science, based in London, has launched a series of virtual reality (VR) chemistry lessons for K12. The 3-year-old company this week released a MEL Chemistry VR app, featuring a virtual chemistry lab, for free on Google Daydream. This free version, which contains the first six chemistry lessons, is available at this MEL Science site.

According to MEL Science, chemistry is filled with abstract concepts that may prove difficult for young students to understand. The best method for kids to learn is through hands-on interaction, so MEL Science developed these VR chemistry lessons to enliven molecular-level science and illustrate it on an immersive, enlarged level.

The lessons follow K12 curricular guidelines, and are designed to be used in the classroom or at home. A special version for educators will be released soon, the company said.

In these first six lessons, students should be able to see what its like to dive into a pencil (graphite) or a diamond and discover what these objects look like on an atomic level.

Students should be able to learn about basic chemistry principles in an interactive, friendly way, including topics such as:

Students will also get the opportunity to build an atom of any known element with their hands and/or a guiding tool. Anything that appears on the modern periodic table should be available to build, said Vassili Philippov, CEO of MEL Science.

MEL Science aims to release more than 150 lessons covering all the main topics included in K12 schools chemistry curriculum. Later this year, MEL Science also aims to add support for other VR platforms, including Google Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR.

MEL Science is known for its subscription service, offering educational science sets through the mail. Through this service, parent subscribers get two new chemistry sets every month, allowing them to perform engaging educational experiments at home with their children.

Wed like to change science education, Philippov said in an interview. Virtual reality is the perfect language for science, because you can see what is happening on the micro level. You cant see molecules. But with virtual reality, you can be inside a chemical reaction. You can memorize facts and forget later, or I can put you inside a chemical reaction. Then youll really understand what is happening there. So fundamentally, its a better way to teach science.

Philippov continued, If you understand how to motivate kids, youll really teach them. In science, there is one trick hands-on experience. They have to see it with their eyes. Then theyll really fall in love, and youll inspire their natural curiosities. If you combine those two together engagement and using VR theyll understand what is happening on a fundamental level. Thats the way to teach science.

To witness the MEL Chemistry VR app in action, view the video below:

More information on MEL Chemistry VR can be found at the companys site.

About the Author

Richard Chang is associate editor of THE Journal. He can be reached at rchang@1105media.com.

The rest is here:

MEL Science Launches Virtual Reality Chemistry Lessons - T.H.E. Journal

Smaller stores and virtual reality: Is this the future of Ikea? fox2now.com Ikea has been encouraging shoppers since February to test a new in-store virtual reality app that lets people explore an Ikea kitchen and cook virtual pancakes. Buying a new kitchen is often a big investment and we want our customers to feel confident ... and more »

The rest is here:

Smaller stores and virtual reality: Is this the future of Ikea? - fox2now.com

In the north, reindeer are starving. In the south, nature reserves are turning into deserts. This isnt a dystopian future but the reality of the present. All over Europe climate change is forcing humans and animals to adapt or abandon their homes.

To understand what all the politicians speeches and news reports actually mean when they talk about climate change, Euronews invites you to travel the length and breadth of Europe in this virtual reality experience. What is happening and what is being done to prevent the worst consequences?

Inside the experience, you can watch seven different reports, either with a VR headset or through your normal browser on computer, tablet or phone.

You can choose your destinations by looking at the icons on the map or by hovering the round cursor on them.

On a desktop browser, you can enter full screen mode by clicking on the glasses.

You can watch reports about

Please use Wi-Fi and headphones for the best experience

Originally posted here:

Virtual Reality report: how climate change is affecting Europe now - euronews