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Sony says its Project Morpheus will be released for the PlayStation 4 in the first half of 2016, bringing virtual reality to its game console. The manufacturer revealed a new design for the headset as well as improved hardware specifications, as it prepares to release the PS4-powered VR headset inRead More →

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MindMaze Announces $8.5 Million in Angel Funding; MindLeap Game System Driven by Players’ Brainwaves SAN FRANCISCO — GAME DEVELOPERS CONFERENCE – Today MindMaze, a neurotechnology company, unveiled the industry’s first thought-powered virtual reality (VR), augmented reality and motion capture game system, MindLeap. The system is based on MindMaze’s proprietary, medically-provenRead More →

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John Vechey, the cofounder of Bejeweled maker PopCap Games, has created a new startup, Pluto VR, to take advantage of the opportunity that the resurgence of virtual reality has created. Seattle-based Pluto VR will focus on the software needed to make virtual and augmented reality environments more social and connected. ReadRead More →

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Press release: 360Heros announces new technology for producing 4K virtual reality 360° videos Supports Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Google Cardboard headsets Offers super high-definition video Olean, NY – 360Heros Inc., a company specializing in virtual reality 360 video technology, creates camera systems that can capture 4K (4,000 x 2,000 pixels)Read More →

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Augmented and Virtual Reality Devices to Explode from 3 Million Units in 2015 to 55 Million in 2020 Scottsdale, Arizona – ​The augmented (AR) and virtual reality (VR) markets are seeing much action, from new devices and new content, to existing content adapting to make use of the new medium. HeadRead More →

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WizDish‘s ROVR developer kit will cost £395, or about US $610, according to a report today in VRFocus. WizDish is an omni-directional treadmill similar to the $700 Virtuix Omni or the $600 Cyberith Virtualizer and is designed to allow users to walk or run while wearing virtual reality headsets. The device requires special shoes, andRead More →

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Valve just announced that it will show off its own virtual reality hardware, SteamVR, at next month’s Game Developers Conference in San Francisco. Valve is the company behind Portal, Team Fortress 2 and the widely-used PC game distribution hub Steam. “At GDC 2015, we’ll be giving demos of the refined Steam Controller,Read More →

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Press release: Immersive Technology Alliance Annual Meeting and Affiliated VR Mixer Offers Easy Access From GDC Event Features VR Design Education, Industry Predictions, and Open Standards Discussion TORONTO, ON — Non-profit and non-proprietary, the Immersive Technology Alliance (ITA) is the voice and standards body for technologies such as virtual reality, augmentedRead More →

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With the renewed interest in consumer-grade virtual reality systems, it is inevitable that there will be a new sort of “format war” going on for the hearts and minds — and wallets — of the general public. How this will play out is anybody’s guess, but the current positioning of contendersRead More →

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River Island, a UK-based fashion chain, has released the first-ever fashion app for Google Cardboard-compatible virtual reality headsets. The app was released to promote the launch of the company’s Design Forum x Jean-Pierre Braganza collection, which hits the stores on February 24, and was created in partnership with the British Fashion CouncilRead More →

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Today, the US Patent Office awarded Apple a patent for a virtual reality headset that is, in effect, a case for an iPhone or iPod. The patent application does not mention the iPad — possibly because it was first filed seven years ago, in 2008, two years before the iPadRead More →

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Press release: Open Source Virtual Reality platform gains traction with 13 new partners VR ecosystem is now supported by 38 members; Academia Support Program announced to support developers worldwide CARLSBAD, Calif. – Razer, a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers, and Sensics, a leader in high-performance virtualRead More →

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Immersis, a project from the French VR company Catopsys, has hit its $100,000 Kickstarter goal for a virtual reality projection system. The technology adapts the image, in real-time, to the shape and size of the room you’re in. Watch the video below.Read More →

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Mattel has updated its View-Master toy, this time, for the smartphone-owning virtual reality generation. The headset, which is scheduled to hit the market in the fall, is made in bright primary colors and works the same way as any other Google Cardboard-compatible headset — it breaks up the cellphone screenRead More →

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Press release: LG G3 AND GOOGLE CARDBOARD BRING MOBILE VIRTUAL REALITY TO EVERYDAY LIFE More Consumers Get Access to Affordable and Powerful VR Experience with LG’s VR for G3 Giveaway SEOUL & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. — LG Electronics (LG) and Google are making virtual reality (VR) more accessible to mainstream consumers. LG todayRead More →

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Its not just cars, movies, and hotels using virtual reality for marketing. Outdoor-apparel brand Merrell showed off an Oculus Rift experience at the Sundance Film Festival last month and said it will do more virtual reality promotions. Watch the video below. Read the full story at AdAge.Read More →

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Press release: VirtualTourCafe Offers 3-D Virtual Reality Alternative to Traditional Real Estate Virtual Tours and Open House Online service embraces new 3-D technology developed by Matterport to offer international and out-of-town buyers an alternative to the traditional real estate virtual tours and being there in person. Pleasanton, CA  – VirtualTourCafeRead More →

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I Am Cardboard — known for their Google Cardboard virtual reality smartphone cases made out of cardboard or EVA foam — is moving up-scale. Its latest design, XG VR, has already raised $70,000 on Kickstarter, well past its $20,000 goal with 22 days left to go. It’s certainly one ofRead More →

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DodoCase, one of the earliest and best known of the many companies that offer Google Cardboard kits, is now offering a design-your-own case for $30. According to the company, volume designs are available for quantities over 50. A plain pop-up viewer is $25, a little on the pricey side forRead More →

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The initial batch of companies in what could be the first virtual reality accelerator have been announced. Among the projects selected by Rothenberg Ventures’ River are a system that creates 360-degree VR imagery, a headset that uses eye-tracking to build immersive experiences, and an embedded-in-VR journalism project. Each company got $100,000, office space and regular adviceRead More →

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Press release: NextVR Completes First Live Broadcast Quality Virtual Reality Patented Technology Ushers in a New Era for TV, Film, Events, and Communications  Laguna Beach, CA – NextVR, a technology company that captures and delivers live and on-demand virtual reality experiences, last Friday announced they have successfully conducted the first ever live, broadcastRead More →

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We seem to be hitting the inflection point on the old hockey-stick curve when it comes to the adoption of virtual reality technology. Consider these headlines, from just the past few days. First, the media-related news, since I’m in the media, and pay more attention to this than pretty muchRead More →

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The Silicon Valley VR group has just announced dates and venue for their second annual conference and expo, May 18 and 19 at the San Jose Convention Center. According to Road to VR, organizers Karl Krantz and Nana Usui are expecting 1,200 attendees and 100 of virtual reality’s top innovators on the expoRead More →

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Microsoft has unveiled a prototype of HoloLens, its most intriguing product in years, as part of a pre-launch of Windows 10. HoloLens gives a new dimension to the ‘holographic method’ invented by Hungarian-British physicist Dennis Gabor, for which he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1971. It is a head-mounted holographic displayRead More →

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Platform offers synchronized videos, hand gestures AltspaceVR has opened up applications for a closed beta of what it claims to be the world’s first immersive social virtual reality platform. The Redwood City, CA-based company’s social and content sharing platform connects friends and enthusiasts in shared virtual spaces and lets them interact online. ItRead More →

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Virtuix Omni, the leading omni-directional treadmill for the Oculus Rift and similar virtual reality devices, unveiled its sleek final design this week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. The Virtuix Omni raised over $1,000,000 in a Kickstarter campaign last July, and then raised another $2.7 million in fundingRead More →

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Samsung has launched a new website, Milk VR, a dedicated portal for 360 degree virtual reality videos that people can view using the new Gear VR virtual reality headsets. For those without Gear VR headsets, they can still watch the videos on the website.Read More →

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Press release: Randi Zuckerberg To Keynote Next Galaxy’s Virtual Reality Focused Business Innovation And Growth Summit Next Galaxy Corp., a leading technology and content solutions company developing dynamic, innovative consumer virtual reality experiences and technology, is proud to announce that Randi Zuckerberg is scheduled to be the keynote speaker forRead More →

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Press release: DIRTT Launches the ICE Virtual Reality Experience Using Oculus Rift Now the Construction Industry — Contractors, Facility Managers, Architects, Interior Designers, and Clients — Can Virtually Walk Through Their Space Before It Is Built CALGARY, AB and CHICAGO, IL– Today, DIRTT brings virtual reality (VR) to a newRead More →

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Update: VR Focus and TechRadar have both confirmed that Microsoft has actually released its prototype virtual reality headset to a group of early developers. Microsoft is rumored to be planning to mass produce a head-worn virtual gaming device in 2015 and is expected to showcase the product at the E3Read More →

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More than half a million Google Cardboard kits are in user hands, Google Cardboard product manager Andrew Nartker announced in a blog post yesterday. Google Cardboard is a smartphone headset, typically made out of yes, cardboard, that often ships as an assemble-it-yourself kit. It comes with lenses, an NFC chip to tell virtualRead More →

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Toronto-based Cordon Media, Inc. has raised more than $21,000 Canadian dollars on a $50,000 Indiegogo campaign for a new virtual reality smartphone headset that works with both iPhones and Android devices, folds up into a slim 15mm phone case, and comes with an innovative multi-touch gesture interface. The Pinć– pronounced “pinch” —Read More →

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VRChat — an application that adds multi-user support, directional audio and gestures to 3D environments — is now available through the Oculus Rift app store. Unlike OpenSim, it doesn’t support in-world content creation. Instead, it requires that the environments and avatars be created inside the Unity 3D engine. And whileRead More →

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Android smartphone users can now watch Paul McCartney’s recent Candlestick Part concert in virtual reality by downloading this app and using it in conjunction with Google Cardboard or similar smartphone-phone based headset. “ It was a spectacular show, one we think everyone should be able to experience,” said Vaunt VR, theRead More →

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Gear VR manufacturer Samsung has posted two new virtual reality-related videos from its recent Samsung Developer Conference in San Francisco. The video below demonstrates the Gear VR headset. In addition, Samsung lead designer Alex Cho talks about review research pertaining to virtual reality experience design. In the second video, below, Oculus Rift scientistRead More →

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World’s largest simulation, modeling and virtual reality event to open in Orlando on December 1 ARLINGTON, VA. — More than 500 corporations, government and military organizations, academic institutions and research institutions from around the world will exhibit and demonstrate revolutionary breakthroughs in one of the world’s fastest growing technologies. TheRead More →

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The rock band The Who has released a free virtual reality app for iOS and Android smartphones and tablets and plan to add support for the Oculus Rift as well, when that device comes out. Watch the trailer for the app below. The app was created by UK-based design studioRead More →

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You may have seen the recent flood of announcements from companies jumping on the virtual reality bandwagon. Movie studios, hotel chains, car companies are releasing virtual experiences at a furious pace. Most people are either excited or confused by all the attention, but a few have been upset at theRead More →

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Samsung has just gone public with its Project Beyond 3D camera for virtual reality film-making. It’s not yet available for sale, and there’s no news yet about when it will hit the market. The device is about the size and shape of a frisbee, with 16 high-definition stereoscopic cameras positionedRead More →

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Are you still holding off on getting a Google Cardboard kit and turning your smartphone into a super low-cost virtual reality device? Maybe Volvo will change your mind. On Tuesday, the company is giving away a limited number of Volvo-branded Google Cardboard kits. All you have to do is downloadRead More →

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Virtual reality’s success or failure will depend on interface design, Oculus Rift chief scientist Steve LaValle told a packed virtual conference hall last weekend at the OpenSimulator Community Conference. “If we do fail, it’ll be because human comfort hasn’t been given the respect it needs,” he told the attendees onRead More →

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Full immersion virtual reality might be here sooner than you think — for movies, at least. Palo Alto-based Jaunt VR is developing a suite of hardware and software tools for creating 360-degree virtual reality videos. The use of 16-camera contraptions and 3-D sound-field microphones, which capture the sounds coming from variousRead More →

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On Monday, to celebrate the tenth anniversary of Firefox, the Mozilla foundation launched the MozVR project to help fosaster the emerging virtual reality Web. In June, an Oculus-compatible version of Firefox was released. This is not a full virtual world platform like OpenSim, but more of an open source alternative toRead More →

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Press release: Avegant Closes Extended Series A Round of Funding Led by Intel Capital and NHN Investment REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — Avegant today announced the close of an extended $9.37 million series A round of venture funding led by Intel Capital and NHN Investment. The company will use the fundsRead More →

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Nimble VR is less than $1,300 away from its $62,500 Kickstarter goal, with 39 days left to go. It’s a sign that this is a useful bit of technology — a camera-based motion sensor that attaches right to the front of an Oculus Rift headset. A sensor attached to the frontRead More →

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There’s yet another smartphone-based virtual reality headset on the market, this time from Australia-based company Phenomec. The headset, called the VRSmartView Developer Kit, costs AU $49.99 or about US $43.48 and is available for order now from the company’s website. Delivery is currently scheduled for December 12 of this year.Read More →

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There are plenty of headsets on the market today that are basically shells made out of plastic — or cardboard — that you slide your smartphone into. Higher-end devices such as the Oculus Rift, Sony’s Project Morpheus, GameFace, AntVR, Vrvana Totem, CastAR, and Immersion VRelia, haven’t yet hit the consumer market.Read More →