New Oculus Rift prototype brings out the best in virtual reality

byMichael Gorman|@Numeson|1 day ago

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Presence. It's the ability of VR headsets to fool your mind and body into thinking that you are actually in a virtual world, and that experience is what Oculus seeks to deliver with its latest prototype. Codenamed Crescent Bay, it's an evolution of the DK2 headset that only recently started making its way into the hands of developers. I got to try out the new hardware today at Oculus Connect, the company's inaugural developer conference. Come live vicariously through me, dear reader, as I tell you how it went. Gallery | 10 PhotosOculus Rift Crescent Bay hands-on + See all 10

I'm fortunate enough to have worn every Oculus Rift since the first prototype was revealed to the world almost two years ago at CES 2013. Each time I put on one of the company's new headsets, it has been a markedly improved experience over prior iterations. Crescent Bay is no different.

First off, the hardware, despite being a hand-built prototype, is surprisingly well put together. This time around, Oculus ditched the elastic ski goggle strap of its forefathers in favor of a plastic chassis with nylon straps to snugly fit it to your melon (a design akin to Samsung's Gear VR). It also has integrated headphones attached to the frame, so external ones are no longer needed. Crescent Bay is noticeably lighter than any other Rift I've held, and that drop in weight makes it more comfortable to wear. My only qualm was some light leakage around my nose, but once the visuals cranked up, the issue was hardly noticeable.

Unlike some past Oculus demos, this newest one was on rails, so I wasn't in control of where I was going. However, I could very much control what I was looking at. The headset works using a new in-house constructed camera mounted on the wall (Oculus wouldn't say what's different between it and the one paired with the DK2 we saw back at GDC), and the tiny white sensors studding the front and back of the goggles. With this new combo comes 360-degree depth and head tracking in roughly a 1.5 meter square space. What that means in real world terms is that you can now truly explore the virtual environment as you would in real life. I found myself regularly crouching down and moving around to examine the digital objects surrounding me me from all angles. It's a much more immersive experience, and one that gets awfully close to delivering the feeling of presence that Oculus craves.

It's not perfect. When moving my head side-to-side or squatting then standing up, I noticed some juddering and tearing in the objects around me. Those little glitches kept me from feeling fully immersed in the various digital scenes I was dropped into. Still, being able to shuffle around to examine the switches and knobs in a submarine or squat beneath an exploding car as it hurtled over my head is a thrilling experience. The sounds coming through the headphones wasn't as powerful as I expected them to be, but that was probably due to a lack of volume and ambient noise more than any failing in the audio implementation -- and I'd need an external subwoofer to deliver the visceral experience I really wanted, anyway.

I did come close to the feeling of presence, I think, during one portion of the demo that had me moving slowly forward through a giant disintegrating orb. I was stationary, of course, but my brain definitely thought I should be moving, and I found myself actively trying to balance myself as a result. It is the first time that I truly felt like the digital world had begun to take over more than just my visual perception. That sensation was fleeting, but Oculus' latest dose of virtual reality gave me a glimpse of presence. And that taste has me wanting more.

Tags: crescentbay, hands-on, oculus, oculusconnect, oculusvr, virtualreality  Hide Comments 0Comments

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'Oculus Connect' is the first virtual reality dev conference from Oculus VR

BYBen Gilbert @RealBenGilbert12 hours ago

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First, Valve held its "Steam Dev Days" event back in January, and virtual reality's industry leaders spoke. Now, Oculus VR is organizing its own event -- "Oculus Connect 2014" -- and those same luminaries are speaking once more. Oculus VR founder Palmer Luckey, president Brednan Iribe, and tech overlords John Carmack and Michael Abrash are all slated to speak, and the announce post promises attendees the first chance "to learn about upcoming Oculus technology." Perhaps what was teased to us back at E3 2014? We'll see!

Though the event is open to the public, you'll have to apply for a pass, and please beware that the event is detailed as "developer-centric." Should you either not get a pass or not be able to make it to Los Angeles, CA. on September 19/20, Oculus is livestreaming keynotes from the aforementioned speakers.

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Spyglass increased strengthens iOS navigation with the reality for large rooms

Of course you can the regular cards available for iOS to move, but those that are in the desert trek will need a little more muscle. EH well, Spyglass offer only that all Apple devices home sensors and throw a little augmented reality for good measure. Layers app, compass, GPS and location on the Visual information captured by a camera the iPhone or the card itself. There are also a load of navigation tools for a thorough follow up options tech (HUD), Milspec, gyro compass, tactical compass GPS, speedometer, altimeter, rangefinder camera, Sextant and more advanced such as viewfinder hi -. Followed in real time based on the location of which is Star, the Sun and the Moon possible, since the ability to save waypoints for the return trip. You can also save Sunday State certain tasks for more later, overlaid with data and coordinates a dozen submitted by one of the different systems to deal with between civilian and military. Too good to pass up for this tour to mountain? Spyglass is now available through iTunes app store for $3.99.

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Tags: app, AR, augmented reality, compass, iOS, Mobilepostcross, maps, navigation, software, according to Spyglass: study suggests, e-CIGS overshadow the patches for smoking stop .fyre .fyre-comment-divider

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Hyperrealistic virtual reality adventure Loading Human headed to Oculus Rift and Project Morpheus

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As the medium of virtual reality progresses, its applications only get more incredible. Take Untold Games' Loading Human, for instance. It takes Unreal Engine 4 and infuses it with the tropes of the adventure game genre, only instead of pointing and clicking, you're in that world. Solving puzzles and exploring narrative are at the heart of Loading Human, and it shows in the eerily realistic gameplay clip the studio's released. The game's intended for Oculus Rift, naturally, and Sony's Project Morpheus headset as well.

That's if the studio achieves its Kickstarter goal of $30,000, of course. The 11-person team claims it can create the first episode of a planned three episode game for that paltry sum, with backer benefits ranging from the basic (a thank you in the game) to the extreme ($5,000 gets your face in the game in place of the main character -- creepy!). But when will you get the game itself, given the total lack of a release date (or even a window) for consumer-ready VR headsets? Untold Games is anticipating "Q1 2015" for Rift availability (though, ya know, that's not from Oculus), so maybe then? Only time will tell.

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Look at this: Sony demos two new of round of enlargement advanced reality

No, Sony does not come out, with a new toy augmented reality immediately, but it does not, it doesn't work, behind the scenes, a little more to make the graphics... credible. The company has recently released two videos from his lab to the PlayStation in Japan, suggesting what it might be like future PlayStation move games. In the first, we see one of them with water keeps two boxes in three dimensions, inside a man (Sony signature rubber Duckie it is). He pours the water behind a box to another, we see the rippling of water after top on the ground and sloshed back, sometimes even for the duck. Say not "credible", you? Check out the second video that someone take a flashlight on a dinosaur in a dark room (just go with it, OK), with change of shadows as light moves to shows, and miscellaneous. We have the two videos below, integrated but you can still see, blog post by Sony PlayStation - reference to some new trading-card-recognition function exists, there is unfortunately no demo video, to go with him.

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Source: jp.playstation.com, YouTube (1), (2).

Tags: AR, augmented reality, Hdpostcross, PlayStation, Sony, Sony PlayStation, after video: feedback loop: price, mobile chrome extensions, TV shows and more telephone!

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