The Mobius Grid is seeking $2,000 in donations in order to port the Phlox script engine to standard OpenSim. The Phlox script engine was created by the InWorldz grid and donated to the community last fall. The open source community page for Phlox is located here, on GitHub and is distributed under theRead More →

Press release: New platform enables user-created social VR experiences SAN FRANCISCO – Linden Lab, the creators of Second Life, today announced that applications have opened for an upcoming “Creator Preview” for Project Sansar, the new platform for user-created social virtual reality experiences. Interested 3D content creators can now apply at ProjectSansar.com and acceptedRead More →

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 living witnesses from 1986. The Kickstarter was launched on April 26 on the 30th anniversary ofRead More →

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 venture firms have any female investment partners at all –  28 percent of the firms haveRead More →

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 driver immersed in a virtual environment. The driver had complete awareness of the actual environment all aroundRead More →

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 and will be heading to Dublin and Belfast next in the coming two weeks, according to theRead More →

Today, Google Cardboard users who want to switch between virtual reality apps or videos need to take their smartphones out of the viewer and use the touchscreen to navigate the apps. A future version of the Android operating system may offer a more complete virtual reality experience, Ars Technica reports inRead More →

I recently saw Hardcore Henry at the local mall, a movie funded via a crowdfunding campaign and filmed completely in a video game-style first-person point of view. This was not a great movie. It did not have a great plot, or great character development. It felt more watching someone playRead More →

Merchants who sell virtual goods on the Kitely Market can now automatically share the revenues they receive with third parties, both for individual listings and for individual variations of those listings, the company announced this week. “Merchants have been asking us to add support for automatically splitting marketplace store revenue betweenRead More →

OSgrid cleaned out about 1,000 dead region reservations from its grid map, but there was still a net gain in land area this month, with the public OpenSim grids adding the equivalent of 679 standard regions, for a new land area total of 57,612 standard region equivalents. OSgrid is the largest andRead More →

Dan Banner was appointed president of OSgrid at the end of March, following a previous term as treasurer. Former president James Stallings, who is also known as Hiro Protagonist in-world, has stepped down from that position, but will remain a board member. “I have gone back to working full timeRead More →

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 hand-tracking systems to interact with virtual environments with the entire hand — including fingers and fingertips – suchRead More →

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 other technologies such as 3D printing and laser cutting to make kits that offer a rangeRead More →

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 support Iray VR Lite as a standard feature set on its Maya, Cinema4D, Rhino, and 3DsRead More →

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 charge until April 20 when the platform leaves beta, CEO and founder Martin Repetto told HypergridRead More →

Developers love the Oculus, Vive, and PlayStation VR because they offer the most cutting edge technology and the highest degree of immersion. But developers are ACTUALLY working on content for the Google Cardboard ecosystem. Don’t confuse the platform for the little cardboard give-away sets, please! There are some VERY niceRead More →

Press release: Mayo Clinic and vMocion Introduce Technology Which Creates the Sensation of Motion, Transforming Virtual Reality Featuring Mayo Clinic’s Patented Galvanic Vestibular Stimulation (GVS) Technology, vMocion’s 3v(TM) Platform Now Available for Licensing LOS ANGELES, CA and SCOTTSDALE, AZ —  Mayo Clinic and vMocion, LLC, an entertainment technology company, today announced itRead More →

Press release: Digital Media Wire Announces Agenda, Speakers and Virtual Reality Innovation & Networking Lounge for LA Games Conference April 19th Annual Industry Confab Brings Together Top Leaders from EA, Sony PlayStation, Twitch, Google, CAA, SGN, Nexon, Tencent, Gamevil, Seriously, Kabam, Ubisoft, Glu, Endemol, Lionsgate, Perfect World, OGA and manyRead More →

The folks at GearBest just sent me a free review copy of the PlayGlass headset. While this headset is one of the pricier ones I’ve reviewed recently, I was not particularly impressed with its field of view, usability, and opaque cover. However, it does have decent lens adjustment options andRead More →

The second multi-grid OpenSim Treasure Hunt begins in two weeks, and there is still time for grids and region owners to participate. Promote your destination by picking up a stand from Hyperica at hg.hyperica.com:8022, Tangle Grid at tanglegrid.net:8002:HG Station 1, or WestWorld grid at westworldgrid.com:8102, or download an IAR fileRead More →

Beijing-based Baofeng Technology Co. Ltd. has sold more than one million of its mobile-based virtual reality headsets since the beginning of this year, the company told the official China Daily newspaper. That compares to reported sales of half a million headsets last year, making Baofeng the industry leader. White theRead More →

Press release: Discover How to Build the Smarter — Engaged — High Performance Organization MARICOPA, AZ– Elearning! Media Group, producers of the Enterprise Learning! Conference 2016 (ELC16), the leader in learning and workplace technology media, is pleased to announce its groundbreaking Keynote Speaker for the conference. Anders Gronstedt, Ph.D., President, The GronstedtRead More →

The results of our free land for hypergrid newbies survey are in, with over 60 responses. Here are the top seven grids mentioned by our readers. DigiWorldz This grid was mentioned by 17 different readers, even though it has one of the most restrictive offers — only 30 days, onlyRead More →

Hypergrid inventor and OpenSim core developer Crista Lopes, also known as “Diva Canto” in-world, just won the $10,000 prize for software in the public interest from the Tides Foundation, a social justice and sustainability-focused organization. Lopes, who is the first woman to win this award, is also a professor of informatics at the DonaldRead More →

Update: I was doing a demo yesterday and the Cardboard Enabler app I reviewed below mysteriously stopped working. I could no longer switch to the Gear VR view. Deleting the app forced me to reinstall the Gear VR applications and reboot my phone several times. Then my phone died forRead More →

Press Release: Seanchai Library Announces new EXPLORE in Kitely EXPLORE, Kitely – Seanchai Library pleased to announce the next phase of its EXPLORE program in the OpenSim metaverse, and its real world-virtual world partnership with Tacoma Little Theatre. After the great success of last year’sEXPLORE The Great Gatsby, the partnersRead More →

If you go to the official Google Cardboard site, you might think that there are only a dozen or so compatible headsets — and that half of them are made of cardboard. In fact, that page only shows a very tiny subset of the Cardboard-compatible headsets on the market. WorstRead More →

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 2016 and Egg Hunt with prizes on March 27. Check out the ZanGrid event listing and aRead More →

Hulu had originally planned to have its virtual reality app for the Samsung Gear VR last fall, but finally released it yesterday. It is a free download on the Gear VR’s Oculus store, and supports both virtual reality films and Hulu’s entire library of traditional 2D videos. There was noRead More →

Pornhub has launched a dedicated virtual reality porn channel and gave away 10,000 free virtual reality headsets to get people to try it. Totally not safe for work link: http://www.pornhub.com/vr Pornhub says it has over three million videos and attracts over 60 million visitors per day, and, at four million members, theRead More →

Today, many virtual reality applications and experiences are distributed as stand-alone downloads, which makes sense for many types of content and particularly for mobile-based virtual reality headsets with slow connections. But as broadband speeds improve, cloud delivery offers a number of benefits to virtual reality projects, including scalability, monetization, reducedRead More →

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 platforms, and a directory where users will search for and link to other educators willing to collaborateRead More →

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 to raise $125,000, and will add virtual reality support as an $800,000 “stretch goal.” Multiplayer supportRead More →

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 as personal computers, tablets, and smartphones. The Atlanta-based company is also planning to create a virtual homeRead More →

I regularly get emails from new grid owners looking for publicity but very few grids can answer the first question I ask: “What makes your grid different?” Instead, I get generic answers, which could apply to any of the 300-plus active grids I’m currently following. Such as community, support, lowRead More →

GearBest is holding a “flash sale” on its virtual reality headsets over the next few days, with free shipping. Some of the headsets on sale are older models, heavy and with a narrow field of view. But there are three worth checking out, that are newer releases, with wide fieldRead More →

3rd Rock Grid program director Zinnia Frenzy shares lessons learned 3RD ROCK GRID — As soon as the holiday festivities are over and the New Year is welcomed in, a single word pops up on 3rd Rock Grid, and that word is ROBstock, the yearly charity event for Doctors WithoutRead More →

The popular and fast-growing Great Canadian Grid is rapidly nearing 1,000 named regions — but it won’t grow any larger than that, grid founder Roddie Macchi told Hypergrid Business today. This is the first OpenSim grid to formally announce that it will limit its land area. New user accounts will continue toRead More →

The total land area of the public OpenSim grids increased this month, as did the number of registered users and active users. OpenSim now has the equivalent of 56,933 standard regions, 521,735 total registered users and 33,707 active users on 313 different grids. Kitely was the biggest gainer this month, withRead More →

Update: In August, I bought a FiiT VR 2S, and that is now my new favorite. Another headset I’m recommending is the BoboVR Z4 headset, which has a 120-degree field of view, built-in headphones, and a built-in control button. If you haven’t bought a virtual reality headset yet and are looking for aRead More →

The Kitely Market is now offering more than 12,500 different items, 64 percent of which are exportable to other grids, with exports growth continuing to outpace Kitely-only content. “We’re very happy with Kitely Market’s current growth,” Kitely CEO Ilan Tochner told Hypergrid Business. “Last month we reached a record highRead More →

Back in January, I ordered a free Cardboard viewer from Raytheon. The offer is no longer available, but the headset finally came in my mail a week or so ago. If your company is considering giving away VR viewers made out of cardboard, this is what your customers will get:Read More →

If you’re in a gang, or want to be, you don’t want to be wearing a geeky virtual reality headset that covers your entire field of view. After all, you don’t want someone to be sneaking up on you and stabbing you in the side. And you certainly don’t wantRead More →

In mid-December, we were tracking 117 active Google Plus communities related to OpenSim and the hypergrid. As of today, that number has hit 166, of which 53 are new to our list. The largest new communities, with more than 100 members each, are Blender for OpenSim, Opensim Technical, ARiELSIG, Immersive World LearningRead More →

Press release: VR Sociable Network vTime is Now Available for Google Cardboard in Early Access Liverpool, UK – vTime, the first virtual reality sociable network on mobile, today opens its network to millions more users as it launches for Google Cardboard. The app launches in early access for a limitedRead More →

Press release: Virtual Reality in a refugee camp: The hopelessness is visible and tangible Next week, the war in Syria will enter it’s sixth year. The conditions in which most refugees find themselves are inhumane and degrading. VR Gorilla and Stichting Vluchteling, a Dutch refugee foundation, show this with four portraits, in virtualRead More →

Press release Immersv Introduces a Mobile Virtual Reality Ad Platform Dedicated to Helping Consumers Discover Great VR Apps and Content Former Tapjoy and RockYou execs launch innovative platform for the distribution and monetization of mobile VR content LOS ANGELES – Today, Immersv  announced the public launch of its mobile virtual reality advertisingRead More →