David Kariuki is a technology journalist who has a wide range of experience reporting about modern technology solutions. A graduate of Kenya's Moi University, he also writes for Cleanleap, and has previously worked for Resources Quarterly and Construction Review. Email him at [email protected].
Latest articles:
Camera maker 360fly has partnered with software company RaceRender to allow users to add custom video data displays to their 360-degree videos, the companies announced yesterday. Users can shoot the video with a 360fly camera, edit the video with...
VR VISIO, a Poland-based indie virtual reality studio, has opened a mixed reality studio — the first of its kind in Europe to be able to record live videos in virtual 3D spaces during...
If you spent the summer enjoying the doors and avoiding the news, then you’re one of the fortunate ones who was able to avoid the mess that is U.S. politics — but you might...
Due to user feedback, Las Vegas VR has moved beyond 360-degree videos with animated graphics and video overlays, as well as new interactive features to its application to improve navigation and user immersion. Since the app...
The 2016 Fest’Avi event begins today, the third year that FrancoGrid is hosting the avatar exhibit. The event begins at 6 p.m. Paris time, or 9 a.m. Pacific, at hg.francogrid.org:80:FestAvi 2016. The event features an...
CoSpaces, a platform that allows users to create, explore and share virtual reality spaces, is now being used by educators, teachers and students to create virtual learning environments and enhance learning. The platform now includes...
Lifeliqe, a 3D, VR and AR educational content platform launched the Lifeliqe Go: Gotta match ’em all campaign today in which teachers and students to match their 3D interactive educational models with the right environment using...
Filming a 360-degree video of a model train set isn’t like filming life-sized events and requires special techniques and equipment, according to a team of Norwegian entrepreneurs. Special cameras are needed to film in...
Next year, all mainstream Windows 10 computers will be able to run augmented and virtual reality applications built for the Windows Holographic platform, Intel CEO Brian Krzanich announced at the Intel Developer Forum earlier this month. Windows Holographic...
Intel has announced a new all-in-one virtual reality headset, Project Alloy, at the Intel Developer Forum 2016 earlier this month. The headset has its own brain, so not does not need to be connected to...
Lifeliqe, a platform for 3D, VR and AR educational content, has launched a content creator tool that will allow educators to create intuitive and immersive educational content that integrate interactive 3D models in order...
For the first time in history, virtual reality technology was used in the Olympic games to allow users to view events in virtual reality. We’re not quite at the point yet where sports fan can put on...
Public speaking is the single most common phobia, according to numerous studies. Now, virtual reality provides a low-stress way to overcome this fear and improve speaking skills. It can also help companies in the business of...
Kitely’s user community is celebrating History Month this August to celebrate history-inspired builds and encourage people to build more. It will also feature a number of events each week including live music and dance. Visitors can...
MetaWorld, a multi-user virtual world, will add virtual reality creation tools and allow exporting of objects and launch a marketplace. The MetaWorld Pioneer Edition is currently in pre-alpha and users can pre-order it for $9.99 for early pioneer access....
Tangle Grid is hosting the Steam Expo starting from August 1 to September 25 where creators can showcase their items and visitors can see items being displayed. In addition to the exposition for creation,...
GIBLIB, an online platform for medical lectures and surgical videos, will broadcast a live stream of a hernia operation from the Surgery Medical Center & Precision ASC. The surgery will be performed by Dr. Shirin Towfigh....
As the virtual and augmented reality space heats up, so does the number of conferences. Check out the latest technologies and network with industry leaders at these coming events. Below are a number of...
New York-based Become Inc., launched a crowdfunding campaign last week for Veeso, which promises to be the world’s first virtual reality headset with built-in cameras that track facial expressions. The $70 Cardboard-compatible headset will...
Artificial intelligence could help make gesture recognition systems more effective, according to researchers at Purdue University. The system they created, Deep Hand, requires less processing power than other approaches, they said in a paper released this...
More than 40 percent of people under 35 have a “keen interest” in virtual reality, according to a report released by GlobalWebIndex on Friday. Interest decreases by age, but even with people aged 55 to 64,...
Two virtual reality arcades, Immersion Arcade and IVirtex opened in June in Illinois, offering players the chance to play games on the HTC Vive headsets. Immersion Arcade costs $10 for 15 minutes, and up to $60...
UK-based eeGeo Ltd, an 3D mapping software company, has opened its platform to developers to help them create map-based virtual and augmented reality applications. “There’s a meaningful link between a true 3D environment and inducing...
7 Jul, 2016
Part of the reason the HTC Vive gets such great reviews — and costs so much — is that it does positional tracking. When you walk around wearing the headset, you walk around inside...
Two new virtual reality applications for medical patients can help them relax in waiting rooms and get information about their medical devices. Zocdoc, Inc., a site that helps patients find doctors, has placed headsets in...
Littlefield Grid, DigiWorldz and ZanGrid are holding big bashes to celebrate this year’s Fourth of July holiday, America’s Independence Day. Littlefield Grid party on Stonehaven Party Isle Littlefield Grid’s Fourth of July party started Thursday, with...
Virtual reality companies won’t see any significant revenues until 2019, when high-end devices become more affordable and business use of the technology becomes more popular, a panel of analysts predicted at the VRX Europe 2016 event held...
Santa Clara-based EchelonVR has launched an Android application that works with Cardboard and Samsung Gear VR to help heavy equipment dealers to showcase immersive models of their products to customers before they make purchase...
Pygmal Technologies launched a beta version of SPACE, a computer user environment that aims to replace monitor screens with virtual screens. The application, now available for download for the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, is currently free, and Pygmal...
Virtual reality is now a global phenomena and devices are slowly becoming available to more retail shops — including here, in Nairobi, Kenya, where I am based. This Saturday, I walked over to my...
Another surgery video platform, GIBLIB, which serves medical students and doctors, has jumped on the virtual reality train. The company partnered with camera manufacturer 360fly and live streaming service LIVIT NOW to broadcast the first-ever live hernia surgery...
California-based 360-degree camera startup, 360fly, released a satirical ad Thursday featuring a Donald Trump look-alike, a big wall, and what many saw as insensitive stereotypes of Mexican immigrants. The ad was accepted by DIRECTV, FOX News, local FOX LA,...
Unimersiv has launched a new virtual reality platform for educational experiences, joining Google Expeditions, Nearpod VR, and Fieldscapes VR. It is currently available for the Oculus Rift and Samsung Gear VR, with support for other mobile-based...
Virtual learning environments can enhance retention through the feeling of presence and interactive learning tasks, according to the recently-published book Learning in Virtual Worlds, which is a compilation of studies about the use of virtual worlds in education. “Greater perceptions of...
Social virtual reality pioneer vTime added support for the Oculus Rift and added a business-focused meeting space. The app was already available for Gear VR and Android. It is a free application. Both the new consumer and...
The Global Learning Forum is scheduled to take place this Friday, June 17, at the SOC StudioX’s in-world campus auditorium from 1 p.m. to 4.30 p.m. Central Time. The topic is the role of cyberspace and integrated...
Best Western International, Inc. recently announced it will use virtual reality to allow customers tour guest rooms, hotel lobbies and other amenities at any of their North American hotels in immersive 360-degree video before they check in. “Walking into...
The Schmidt Ocean Institute is using virtual reality to help scientists explore the ocean floor. Virtual reality offers a wider and detailed view of the vents when compared to traditional cameras typically used on remote-controlled submarines, Tom...
Microsoft’s Windows Holographic mixed reality operating system will be open to developers and manufacturers, the company announced last week during Computex 2016. Third parties will now be able to develop augmented and virtual reality devices, personal computers, displays and...
The National Crime Scene Cleanup Association is filming 360-degree videos to virtually transport the members of public to crime scenes to witness its crew at work in an attempt to raise awareness and offer in-depth insights...
UNICEF says that 360-degree videos can cut the time spent in getting donor support in half by bringing donors closer to the people who need their help. In the Clouds Over Sidra experience, for example, donors come face-to-face...
Today, Scope AR announces its augmented reality platform for repair manuals at the Augmented World Expo. WorkLink enables companies to provide interactive and augmented reality repair manuals to field technicians or other employees so that they can repair equipment, perform maintenance,...
OSgrid will hold its birthday celebration and fundraiser on July 30 and 31, the grid’s board told residents at a membership meeting last Sunday. OSgrid, which is turning nine this year, is the largest and oldest...
Delightex, a Munich based firm that builds virtual reality platforms, released the CoSpaces app this week, which allows users to explore and share virtual reality spaces with other users on iOS and Android devices and Google...
Online games and social networks are already hotbeds of bad behavior, but virtual reality offers an even higher degree of potential harm — and experts are urging VR innovators to build in more safeguards...
Home interior design firm Decorilla recently launched an Android and iOS application that allows users to do virtual walthroughs of interior designs using Google Cardboard-compatible virtual reality headsets. The company is also planning to extend coverage...
Daden Limited, a U.K Based firm that creates immersive learning and visualization systems, is planning to add a dozen new virtual locations to its recently released Fieldscapes VR, an educational virtual tour app for Android devices. Fieldscapes...
Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Oculus will lead other brands in shipping about 9.6 million units of virtual reality hardware in the global market this year, to surpass previous estimates of $2 billion in sales...
Despite acceptability and huge interest among investors to adopt virtual reality, the technology is still in its learning phases and lack of technological standards across the industry and bandwidth issues will certainly derail its...
The Dutch VR development studio Verum Visum LP has launched a Kickstarter for an interactive documentary, Chornobyl360, that will allow users to experience the Chernobyl nuclear power plant disaster in an immersive way and interact with...
24 Apr, 2016
Women account for only seven percent of all the active and participating investing partners in the top hundred venture firms globally, according to a report released this week. And only 38 percent of the top hundred...
Four Norwegian experts recently proved that virtual reality live streaming systems can practically be employed to control vehicles, when they helped drive a real battle tank — a German Leopard 1 — with the...
Fifty more schools will get free Nearpod virtual reality headsets, lesson plans, professional development and one-on-one support, the company announced this week. And Google Expeditions, the biggest virtual reality education program, rolled its education program to Irish schools...
Alkonost Development, a London-based independent research and development start-up mostly focused on virtual reality and augmented reality, has launched the beta version of Extended Workspace, a virtual reality interface that allows users to use...
Rochester Institute of Technology‘s Magic Spell Studios which recently announced that it will partner with Crytek, a Germany-based video game developer, to bring virtual reality laboratories in universities around the world is also exploring...
Nvidia, which recently announced its Iray VR and Iray VR Lite to enable photorealistic panoramas and light-rich visuals, walkthroughs and scenes in 3D virtual spaces on personal computers and mobile devices, will start to...
Voxelus, a Los Angeles-based virtual reality firm, has launched its “app store for virtual reality content,” the Voxelus Marketplace, that allows users to sell virtual reality content for the platform’s Voxels in-game crypto-currency. All content is free of...
ZanGrid and other OpenSim grids are hosting a number of events this Easter weekend, featuring live music performances, games, and DJ parties. Aachen’s Easter Party 2016 on ZanGrid ZanGrid is hosting Aachen’s Easter Party...
24 Mar, 2016
At a time when immersive virtual reality seems to be the main focus for startups, one company, Edorble, has built a traditional, screen-based virtual world for educators. The company also plans to support mobile...
ScanSpace, in collaboration with Paracosm, launched a Kickstarter campaign for an online service that lets users scan and upload real-world environments, turn them into game levels, and share with other players. The company is hoping...
Trick 3D has released Floorplan Revolution, software which converts traditional floorplans to virtual reality environment. The tool, first announced in September, supports both mobile virtual reality headsets, including Google Cardboard and Gear VR, and traditional views such...
The ninth annual ROBstock festival will feature 20 hours of music, poetry and storytelling from the hypergrid’s top performers next month on 3rd Rock Grid. The ROBstock Festival of Music and Literature is organized by The 3RD...
Cornflakes Week, a whole week dedicated to the work of OSgrid builder Cornflakes Woodcock, began on February 21 but you haven’t missed it all yet. It is that time to be silly and funny...
17 Feb, 2016
Uphold, a Charleston, South Carolina-based virtual currency and cloud payments company, is “seriously studying” the possibility of extending support to OpenSim, Uphold founder Halsey Minor told Hypergrid Business. The company considers OpenSim to be a...
Voxelus is planning to expand its virtual reality creation platform with a deal to bring 7,000 3D assets to its marketplace during the second quarter of this year, and 16,000 more during the second half...
Wevr has raised $25 million from investors such HTC Corp, Samsung Ventures and Evolution Media Partners to fund the launch of its Wevr Transport, a YouTube-like virtual reality platform that will help virtual reality...
10 Feb, 2016
Second Life adult toy merchant Crystal Delights has opened its first retail outlet, in Port Townsend, Washington, and plans to expand into non-adult product lines and use Second Life to help market the non-adult products, company co-founder Andrew Schwartz told Hypergrid Business. “We...
Starbreeze will create a virtual reality arcade in Los Angeles later on this year to give the public access to premium virtual reality experiences with their recently launched StarVR headset, the company announced in a press...
Planner 5D, an application that allows home owners, builders, architects and real estate renovators to design homes in 3D, now has virtual reality support for Google Cardboard headsets. The app can be downloaded for...
Virtual reality equipment maker Virtuix hosted the first ever multiplayer virtual reality game tournament at CES in Las Vegas. Four gamers played on Omni multi-directional treadmills that formed the Omni Arena, with HTC Vive headsets strapped on and...
CNET founder Halsey Minor will launch a virtual reality network that will stream live 360-degree video to Samsung Gear VR and Oculus headsets within the next few months. Minor told Hypergrid Business that the new...
Google Inc, has appointed Clay Bavor as the new boss of its virtual reality team, according to the company’s spokesman Joshua Cruz, in a move seen as the company’s further dive into virtual reality...
The large number of smartphone users in Asia will spur sales of mobile-based virtual reality devices in the region this year, according to SuperData Research in a report released this month. Globally, three out...
WakingApp‘s ENTiTi VR is a cloud-based design tool that allows even those without any coding skills to create 360-degree immersive content using a variety of content types. There is also a correspondent viewer for...
The United States Copyright Office will, from next month, begin taking opinions from the tech industry and members of the public regarding Section 512 of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act that allows OpenSim grids...
Improving virtual reality immersion by increasing the field of view and having more accurate positional tracking will be the battlefield this year, according to a recent report by Digi-Capital. At the moment, the best-in-class of view for virtual...
Roundme virtual tour application allows photographers and brands to create, upload and share 360 degrees immersive paranomic photos and multimedia content of real spaces, which users can then visit virtually using Google Cardboard on...
13 Dec, 2015
Virtual reality is set to transform future workplaces by becoming the preferred method of communication, training, socialization and collaboration due to its ability to deliver immersive experiences in these areas, London Business School professor...
Samsung launched a virtual reality web browser last week, Samsung Internet optimized for Gear VR, allowing users to surf the Internet without taking off their virtual reality headset. The app allows users to check email and social...
More than a third of consumers say they would shop for more products online if they were able to try them virtually using headsets, and 63 percent say they expect virtual reality to impact...
WoofbertVR launched a Samsung Gear VR app this week that will allow users to take virtual tours to marque museums around the world. Powered by Oculus VR, the app is already available for download and...
Quantum Bakery LLC has released an iPhone case that doubles as a virtual reality viewer for iPhone 6 Plus, iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus, but most importantly, one that could turn out as...
More than 100,000 students have participated in virtual reality field trips through Google’s Expeditions, and the program is now expanding to 15 additional cities, Google announced Monday. Benefiting from the new move are Alexandria,...
6 Nov, 2015
LandMark Entertainment Group is bringing theme park experiences to living rooms — via virtual reality. The company, best known for traditional rides and other theme park experiences based on movies such as Jurassic Park and...
Games, immersive videos, and branded marketing experiences will drive adoption in virtual reality next year, according to a panel of experts hosted by We are Wearables last week in Toronto. Gaming markets will lead other markets in...
New Zealand-based virtual reality startup 8i has received $20 million from Samsung and other investors to enable virtual reality users to immersively engage with realistic 3D video captures, or holograms, of people. “Wellington is the perfect place to scale...
Argentina-based Voxelus has announced that it is working on a virtual reality game creation tool, viewer, virtual world currency, and virtual content marketplace. Voxelus co-founder and CEO Martin Repetto told Hypergrid Business that the new platform will...
16 Oct, 2015
Epic Games has released a new video, Sense of Presence, that tries to explain why virtual reality is so compelling and inevitable. The video, which is the first episode of a series that will seek to...
Immersive experiences are transforming the way in which media companies present their content — movies, TV broadcasts, and films. These experiences can help the content producers reach new audiences and increase engagement with existing viewers. The following are...
2 Oct, 2015
CNN has teamed up with virtual reality video company NextVR to stream October 13’s US Democratic presidential primary debate in virtual reality, the world’s first live stream of a news event in this new...
This past week, Atlanta-based Trick 3D announced an application that will allow architects, home builders, real estate marketers and developers to generate 3D virtual environments using just 2D floor plans. The Floorplan Revolution app will also allow...
19 Sep, 2015
Beloola, a browser-based social virtual world, plans to leverage new developments in Chrome and Firefox to support virtual reality headsets. It is a room-based world, where every user gets a free room to start...
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