Monthly Archives: January 2022

Though the metaverse often loosely mimics the organizational mores established by the physical world, the buildings themselves routinely deviate from what might be considered feasible real-world design. In the metaverse, gravity doesnt exist, nor do material constraints. Things like structure, materiality, and cost, for that matter, all go out the window, says Leon Rost, a principal at Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), who has worked on a handful of virtual projects for clients. This lack of stylistic constraint has attracted architects who are interested in pushing the formal boundaries of what space can look like. BIG partnered with UNStudio to develop a virtual meeting platform called SpaceForm, where people can collaborate in real time inside futuristic rooms featuring holographic tables that display 3D renderings and data visualizations. Beneville, meanwhile, has built hovering performance stages for clients like iHeartRadio that float in outer space like satellites. Jose Sanchez, a professor of architecture at the University of Michigan Taubman College who designs highly immersive multiplayer videogames through his studio Plethora Project, is designing a videogame where collectives of players can build their own structures that drip in greenery. From a design standpoint, you have to think very differently, because the samerules dont apply in the virtual world as they do in the physical world, Rost says.

In a recent project, Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg of Space Popular, an architecture studio based in Spain and London, created a virtual gallery for the Spanish organization Fundacin Arquia modeled on the layout of Barcelona. Digital avatars can wander through seemingly endless labyrinths of sunrise-hued rooms whose architectural features look as if they were pulled from an M.C. Escher drawing. The rooms were designed with a misty softness that Lesmes says is helpful for loading times and for easing screen-addled eyes into a new environment. Lighting is incredibly important; it can make a virtual space feel a lot better, she says.

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What Will Our Virtual Reality Be? - Metropolis - Metropolis Magazine

Mark Zuckerberg's vision of a sanitized, hypercapitalist metaverse will likely never be as compelling or idiosyncratic as VRChat, the virtual reality community that's been home to anime fans, Furries and a slew of other sub-cultures since 2014. That's my main takeaway from We Met in Virtual Reality, the first documentary filmed entirely in VRChat, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival today.

There's no chance Zuck's metaverse would let people wear trademarked avatars without paying a ton, attend exotic clubs to receive (or give) virtual lapdances, or allow users to build whatever the hell they want. VRChat, as portrayed by director Joe Hunting, is basically a proto-metaverse where anything is possible. And for many, it has served as a crucial social hub during the pandemic, a place where they can forget about the world, relax with friends and maybe find love.

But of course, that's been the nature of practically every online community. We're social animals people have always been able to connect with each other over BBS, IRC, Usenet and the plethora of forums and chat services that populated the early internet. I spent most of the '90s hanging out in anime and gaming chat rooms, the sorts of places that today's connected youth would probably find quaint. Still, the people I met there helped me survive the worst parts of middle and high school. Those relationships, and the internet itself, shaped me into who I am (for better or worse).

We Met in Virtual Reality proves that the unbridled, experimental sense of online community is still alive and well today, despite relentless consolidation from Big Tech. But now, instead of staring at tiny CRT monitors, people are slapping on VR headsets to explore fully realized environments. Hardcore VRChat users are also investing in powerful computing rigs as well as upgrades like finger and whole-body tracking. In the '90s, I was grateful to get another 16MB of RAM so that I could have more than one browser window open. Today, VRChat devotees can communicate using American Sign Language, or have their anime avatars show off their belly dancing skills.

Hunting approaches his subjects with the eye of an anthropologist, without any judgment towards their sometimes ridiculous avatars (do all the anime ladies need to have jiggly, Dead or Alive-level boob physics?). We Met in Virtual Reality begins as a chill hangout flick we follow a group of friends as they have virtual drinks and go on joyrides in crudely-built VR cars but it quickly moves beyond the novelty of its setting. One person credits their VRChat girlfriend for helping them to "unmute" after being silent for two years. An exotic performer explains that being able to dance for people in VRChat helped her grieve with a family tragedy and manage a bout of alcoholism.

Joe Hunting

The film chronicles how that exotic dancer, a young woman based in the UK, formed a romantic relationship with another VRChat user in Miami. These sorts of cyber relationships arent anything new, but the VR platform allowed them to do much more than trade links and memes over IM. They could exist in a space together, go on dates to new environments every night. I wont spoil where things end up for the couple, but I can say that it wouldnt have been nearly as effective outside of VR.

We Met in Virtual Reality effectively conveys why people would gravitate towards VRChat, especially during a pandemic. But it doesn't fully capture the wonder of exploring these environments yourself. Seeing people hop on a virtual rollercoaster isn't nearly as thrilling as doing it, where your entire field of vision is covered and you can easily get vertigo. But I don't blame Hunting too much for that; his job was to boil down the VR experience so people can enjoy it on a 2D screen, and the film is mostly successful in that respect. The film was shot using a virtual camera that could mimic all of the functionality of a typical shooter, from focus points to aperture levels. So even though it's produced in an alien environment most people aren't familiar with, it still feels like a traditional documentary.

Hunting has spent the past few years making VR documentaries, starting with a few short films, as well as the series Virtually Speaking. Its clear from We Met in Virtual Reality that hes not just dropping into the community for a quick story. Instead, he sees the humanity behind the avatars and virtual connections. These people aren't just escaping from their lives with VR their lives are being made richer because of it.

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'We Met in Virtual Reality finds love in the metaverse - Engadget

Virtual reality (VR) is one of the hottest trends in tech right now, thanks to the growing popularity of concepts such as the metaverse as well as the utility of this technology in popular niches such as video gaming.

Mordor Intelligence estimates that the virtual reality market could clock a compound annual growth rate of 34% through 2026, pointing toward a sharp increase in sales of VR hardware. More specifically, VR device shipments are expected to jump to 112.6 million units in 2026 compared to just 13.5 million units in 2020.

Image source: Getty Images.

Investors can take advantage of this fast-growing market through Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:FB) and Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL). While Meta is already taking advantage of the VR opportunity, Apple is rumored to be joining the fray in 2022. Let's see why investors looking to buy VR stocks shouldn't overlook these tech giants.

Social media giant Facebook announced in October last year that it would be rebranding itself as Meta Platforms to reflect its focus on developing the metaverse. This concept is aimed at helping people collaborate in a three-dimensional virtual world to work, study, play, or work out, among many other activities.

Meta points outthat virtual reality will be a key building block of the metaverse, which explains why the company will be investing significantly in this technology in the future. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on the October 2021 earnings conference call that the company is "building multiple generations of our VR and AR products at the same time," and it was on track to invest $10 billion on these technologies last year.

Meta plans to increase its investment in this area in the long run, so it won't be surprising to see it dominate a market where it already has a head start. For instance, Meta leads the VR headset market by a huge margin. Counterpoint Research estimatesthat Meta's Oculus VR headset controlled 75% of the market in the first quarter of 2021, recording a massive increase from its market share of 34% in the prior-year period.

This puts Meta in a terrific position to benefit from the augmented reality (AR) and VR headset market that's expected to grow nearly tenfoldin the next four years. Counterpoint Research estimates that AR/VR headset shipments could jump to 105 million units in 2025 from an estimated 11 million units last year.

Meta is pulling out all stops to capture this massive growth. The company is reportedly working on the next generation of its Oculus Quest VR headset projected to hit the market in 2023. However, analysts expect Meta to launch another VR headset in the second quarter of 2022 that could give users a more immersive experience.

What's more, Meta has partnered with Ray-Ban parent EssilorLuxottica to offer smart glasses. The two companies launched the Ray-Ban Stories series of smart glasses in September 2021 at a starting price of $299. This could unlock another opportunity for Meta as Mordor Intelligence expects the smart-glass market to generate almost $8 billion in revenue by 2026 compared to $3.9 billion in 2020.

All this indicates that Meta could turn out to be a top VR stock in the long run. Its annual earnings could grow faster than Wall Street's projectionof 21% for the next five years as the VR market continues to expand. That's why investors looking to make the most of this market should consider buying Meta stock as it is tradingat 24 times trailing earnings -- a discount to the S&P 500's multipleof 28.5.

Apple is a consumer electronics giant that sells popular products ranging from iPhones to iPads and MacBooks. So, it is not surprising to see reports of the tech titan entering the AR/VR headset market.

Noted Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo saidin December 2021 that Apple could launch its first-generation headset in 2022, followed by another device in the second half of 2024. Naturally, Apple hasn't officially confirmed the existence of such a device, but there are further indications that the iPhone maker looks set to make the jump into the lucrative AR/VR headset space.

Citing anonymous sources aware of Apple's headset development plans, Bloomberg reported on Jan. 14 that the company's first mixed reality headset -- supporting both AR and VR -- could hit the market in 2023 instead of this year. The report points out that Apple was originally planning to reveal the device this year at the Worldwide Developers Conference in June. Development challenges faced by the company have probably led it to delay the release by a few months.

While that may be a near-term setback, the important thing to note here is that there is now more evidence of Apple being in the mix for AR/VR headsets. It is also worth noting that Apple is working on a mixed-reality device combining both AR and VR. This could be an important selling point for Apple's device since it can give users the best of both worlds.

Apple is reportedly looking to price its headset at $2,000 at least. That may seem expensive, but investors should note that the average selling price (ASP) of an AR headset stoodabove $1,800 in 2020, while that of a VR headset was $357. So, Apple's mixed-reality headset could find takers since consumers won't have to spend on two different devices.

Apple reportedly expects to sell 7 million to 10 million units of its headset in the first year, which indicates that this could turn out to be a multibillion-dollar product for the company given the estimated price point. Additionally, it won't be surprising to see Apple achieve its sales target, given the massive iOS ecosystem with an installed base of 1.65 billiondevices at the beginning of 2021.

Apple is in a terrific position to cross-sell its anticipated headset to a huge customer base, and that could make it a top tech stock to benefit from the VR space.

This article represents the opinion of the writer, who may disagree with the official recommendation position of a Motley Fool premium advisory service. Were motley! Questioning an investing thesis -- even one of our own -- helps us all think critically about investing and make decisions that help us become smarter, happier, and richer.

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2 Stocks to Invest in Virtual Reality - Motley Fool

LOS ANGELES, Jan. 20, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Stripchat, the leading free live camming platform that averages over 500 million visits per month, today announced that any adult using Stripchat.com can interact with live stream cam models in virtual reality without the need to install 3rd party applications. On top of this, the most popular all-in-one VR system, Oculus Quest is now compatible with the platform and will connect natively to Stripchat via the web browser.

With 4K quality and no delay, users can now completely immerse themselves in virtual reality alongside their favorite models for free using any pair of VR glasses, whether they be low-cost or advanced technology.

"Watching adult cam models perform in virtual reality has been around for a few years now, but mostly for those who have the money to buy expensive VR headsets and the time to seek out and download third party VR applications," said Max Bennett, Vice President at Stripchat. "Now, we're opening the door to users all over the world who have been waiting to experience virtual interaction at the highest quality. Once you have some VR goggles, you can put them on and use them on Stripchat immediately."

Stripchat has started using new techniques for rendering 3D content with VR glasses, based on partial rendering on various layers, to optimize the application and the image quality. The platform has achieved 60fps when watching 4K video with interface elements in modern virtual reality glasses. Stripchat has also reduced the delay between models' performing actions and users noticing them to a minimum.

The platform has taken all functionalities of its site - tip menu, toy reactions, private shows, interactive chat - and merged them with virtual reality glasses. Features which can also be activated during VR shows include using a microphone to talk to the model and new interactions with physical remotes including standard PC keyboards to facilitate control over the virtual interface.

To experience Stripchat in VR, please visit: https://stripchat.com/girls/vr

About Stripchat:Stripchat is an 18+ LIVE entertainment community, with more than 500 million monthly users, where users can watch streams from both amateur and professional models for absolutely free. Users can browse through thousands of performers and influencers broadcasting live shows 24/7. Besides watching, they can also interact with performers by choosing desired options from the tokens menu, using interactive technology, chatting, and diving into private shows. All models appearing on the site have contractually confirmed to Stripchat that they are 18 years of age or older.

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Stripchat Democratizes Virtual Reality Live Webcamming - PRNewswire

The registration for the VR Exhibit opened for MLK Jr. Day, but has been available year-round for anyone interested.

MINNEAPOLIS Minneapolis has historically been praised for being one of the best places to live. It has beautiful parks, relatively well-connected bike paths. However, it still remains a place with one of the biggest racial inequality gaps in the nation.

"Whether that's red lining, educational disparities, things about housing and systemic inequities in general..." Tracy Nielsen said. Nielsen is the Executive Director of HandsOn Twin Cities, a volunteer center that coordinates companies, nonprofits and volunteers.

She said they've been partnering with REM5, a virtual reality experience company out of St. Louis Park to host something called 1 City, 2 Realities.

"1 City, 2 Realities is a virtual exhibition space, so basically it can be accessed in real time via phone or computer when people go into the exhibition," Nielsen said. "It's like walking into a museum you have an avatar and you're navigating the space."

Nielsen says this experience has been available to her volunteers for a while, and she thought MLK day was the perfect jumping off point to introduce the public to it, so that they can participate too, without leaving their homes.

"Everyday we are working to make people think about themselves on how they can be more anti-racist as a volunteer," she said. "We really believe that by deeply informing of our history that affects our current circumstance, and the existing need, people will become better volunteers to understand those issues."

Amir Berenjian, The founder of REM 5, the company behind building this VR exhibit, says his company's mission had been the same since the beginning.

"When we first started the company about four years ago, we spent a lot of time deploying this technology for empathy building or soft skills, emotional intelligence, cultural competence, using it as an intimate storytelling medium," Berenjian said.

And ever since the company developed this exhibit, Berenjian says he's worked with schools and corporate groups to not only educate but to also help visualize what the inequities look like in numbers.

The exhibit includes dozens of items, featuring information about educational, housing and wealth gaps in our city.

"When you start to look at the data, we have some of the worst race inequities in the country across the board, so if we can open up people's eyes to that data and that content and those stories using this tool as the medium for it, and get those 10, 20, 100 people in that company to engage in discourse around that and what they can do individually and as an organization to counteract some of these systemic issues, then we've done our job," Berenjian said.

If you are interested in the exhibit as well as other events HandsOn Twin Cities is organizing throughout the week, you can find that info here.

The virtual exhibit is free to view for anyone with a computer or a smartphone, but requires registration. You can also participate in the debriefing session hosted by HandsOn Twin Cities throughout the week.

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Virtual Reality exhibition highlights racial inequities within Minneapolis - KARE11.com