AntVR, the Beijing-based company known for their 2014 VR headset Kickstarter, is launching a new crowdfunding campaign soon focusing on a hybrid AR headset called simply Mix. The makers are promising a bevy of bells and whistles, including the ability to integrate with the SteamVR platform so users can play VR games too, and all at only $500.
‘Ready Player One: OASIS beta’ Launches on Steam With Vive, Rift, & Windows VR Headset Support
Ready Player One: Oasis beta (2018), the free mini-game sampler with experiences inspired by Steven Spielberg’s latest film Ready Player One (2018), is finally on Steam, which includes support for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, and Windows “Mixed Reality” VR headsets.
Get $50 Off Oculus Rift + Touch at Microcenter Today
Microcenter is known for knocking down prices ahead of its competitors, even if it’s just by a little to draw in the crowds. Today, Microcenter stores are selling Oculus Rift + Touch for $50 under the suggested price, putting the whole system at $350.
Google Partners With CyArk to 3D Scan the World’s Historical Sites, Provide Open Access to Data
Google has partnered with CyArk, the non-profit studio behind VR app MasterWorks: Journey Through History (2018), to expand CyArk’s mission to 3D laser-scan the world’s historical sites and provide open access to the data. Called the Open Heritage Project, Google and CyArk aim to preserve the historical sites digitally for future generations in case disaster strikes
Cloudhead Games – Lessons Learned From Five Years of VR Locomotion Experiments
Both the Rift and the Vive first launched to consumers around this time two years ago, but their debut, and the games that launched alongside them, were the culmination of years of prior game design experimentation in a new medium that brought both new opportunities and challenges. Cloudhead Games, developers of Vive launch title The Gallery: Call of the Starseed, were among those leading the charge. On this occasion, the two year anniversary of modern VR headsets becoming available to consumers, the studio’s Lead Programmer, Paul White, and Narrative Designer, Antony Stevens, look back at the studio’s journey in VR development and where it has led them today.
‘Modbox AR’ to Arm You With an Arsenal of Virtual Objects to Create Useful & Fun AR Apps
The developers behind Modbox (2016), the VR physics sandbox for SteamVR-compatible headsets, have been experimenting with augmented reality recently, something they say is a perfect fit for the Modbox software.
Vive Pro Gets AR Capabilities Thanks to HTC’s New Tools for Front-facing Cameras
HTC has announced a new set of tools allowing developers to build applications which take advantage of the Vive Pro’s stereo front-facing cameras, effectively turning the device into an AR headset dev kit. The new tools allow the cameras to capture depth, spatial mapping data, hand input, and seamlessly shift between VR and AR worlds.
Researchers Electrically Stimulate Muscles in Haptic Designed for Hands-free AR Input
Researchers at The Human Computer Interaction Lab at Hasso-Plattner-Institut in Potsdam, Germany, published a video recently showing a novel solution to the problem of wearable haptics for augmented reality. Using a lightweight, mobile electrical muscle stimulation (EMS) device that provides low-voltage to arm muscles, the idea is to let AR headset-users stay hands-free, but also be able to experience force-feedback when interacting with virtual objects, and feel extra forces when touching physical objects in their environment too.
17 Minutes of Sci-fi Adventure ‘Downward Spiral: Horus Station’, Gameplay Video Here
Downward Spiral: Horus Station is an upcoming sci-fi adventure set in the lost and forgotten Horus space station. Created by Finland-based 3rd Eye Studios, the minds behind the game recently put out an extended look at some of the its atmospheric exploration and puzzles in a new gameplay video.