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Google is turning Tilt Brush over to the open source community
Google said it’s halting development on Tilt Brush and open sourcing the project so that the community can continue to use it.
BBC winds down its in-house VR production team
After two years, the BBC is shutting VR Hub production division. In a lengthy blog post, the UK public broadcaster announced that it plans to produce one last virtual reality experience called Missing Pictures before winding down the unit.
The (Day)dream is over: Phone-based VR is well and truly dead
When Google introduced Cardboard at I/O 2014, a lot of people thought it was a joke. A cardboard-based contraption that turned your phone into a primitive VR headset seemed more like a kid's science project than a serious endeavor. But Google's Cardboard was just the first in a long line of phone-powered VR. Samsung's Gear VR combined serious Oculus optics and tracking with its own Galaxy handsets, and Google later came up with its own "real" VR hardware with the Daydream View.
Google's Daydream VR experiment is over
Google is bringing the Daydream VR experiment to a close. The Pixel 4 and Pixel 4 XL smartphones it announced today don't support the platform, and it won't sell Daydream View headsets anymore. The Daydream app and store will still work for people with other Pixel devices, however.
'Shattered State' is a VR political thriller designed for the Netflix crowd
Supermassive Games is best known, at least in recent times, for the story-driven horror title Until Dawn, which spawned both a spin-off and a prequel in subsequent years. Other than occasionally flirting with Windows over its nigh decade-long history, Supermassive has focused on developing games for several generations of PlayStation consoles. Its latest project takes it into entirely new territory, however. Political thriller Shattered State is a VR experience that launches today on Google's Daydream platform, and so is available to anyone with a compatible phone or headset.
Robert Rodriguez releases over-the-top VR film 'The Limit'
Want to see how well Robert Rodriguez' directorial skills translate to virtual reality? Now's your chance. Rodriguez and STX have released The Limit on nearly every major VR-capable platform, including Oculus headsets, HTC's Vive line, Android, iOS, PlayStation VR and Windows Mixed Reality. Shell out $10 ($8 on phones, and half-off during the launch period) and you'll take part in a 20-minute film where you recruit a "super-assassin" (Michelle Rodriguez) to recover your identity and seek justice. To no one's surprise, this involves a whole lot of punching, shooting and gratuitous explosions. Norman Reedus also plays a pivotal role, although the trailer suggests he might not be so friendly.
Google tests see-through mode, better motion tracking for Daydream
Google has introduced some new experimental features for developers working with the Lenovo Mirage Solo, the standalone Daydream headset released earlier this year. First up is see-through mode, a setting that lets the user see the real space around them through the VR headset. Google says this mode plus the Mirage Solo's tracking technology will allow developers to build AR prototypes. It demonstrated an application of this feature through an experimental app that lets Mirage Solo wearers position virtual furniture in a real-world surrounding.
Firefox brings the thrills of web browsing to VR
Mozilla's headset-focused web browser is finally ready for your cranium: Firefox Reality is available for HTC Vive, Oculus and Daydream devices through their respective stores. The software is designed from the start for AR and VR hardware, with an interface that revolves around pointer control and voice search. There's a virtual keyboard if you need it, but let's face it -- you'd probably go back to a regular screen if you wanted to type more than once in a blue Moon. And yes, Mozilla knows the flat web isn't so exciting in a headset. The home screen provides fast access to 3D content like Sketchfab models, so you won't be hurting for something to take advantage of AR and VR technology.
Google's Daydream science labs bring STEM experiments to VR
It's not always easy for STEM students to find enough lab time to get their work done, which is often essential for their degrees. Whether it's down to student demand, school budgets or students living far away from their university's labs, there are a range of obstacles. To that end, Google has teamed up with Labster to open more than 30 virtual reality labs in Daydream to help students get more lab time no matter where they are.
Google brings Chrome to Daydream VR headsets
It's been a long time in coming, but Chrome browsing in VR is finally here. Google has released a version of Chrome that supports both Daydream View and stand-alone Daydream headsets like the Lenovo Mirage Solo. It can visit any website and includes Chrome staples like incognito mode, syncing and voice search, just in a wearable-friendly format. Google is also promising Daydream-specific features like a "cinema mode" when you watch online video.
The first standalone Google Daydream VR headset is now available
The Lenovo Mirage Solo is the first standalone VR headset that runs Google's Daydream. Now, Google has announced that the headset, along with the Mirage camera, are available for purchase today. These devices work both separately and together. The headset is priced at $400, while the camera is $300.
Lenovo Mirage Solo review: A solid VR headset looking for a niche
There's nothing quite like spring in New York. It's warm, but not too warm. Protests and open-air markets are spinning up at Union Square. The popsicle vendor next to the office is slinging treats while the heady aroma of kebabs from the food truck around the corner draws a crowd of lunchtime regulars. At long last, people are luxuriating outside, and New York feels alive again. Naturally, because the city was brimming with energy, I had no choice but to go outside and goof around with a VR headset. You see, Lenovo's Mirage Solo is part of a new breed of self-contained VR headsets. You don't need to connect it to a powerful PC or stick a phone inside of it. You just turn it on, pick up Google's classic Daydream controller and dive right in. While headsets like the Oculus Go are accessible because they're fairly cheap, Lenovo and Google were a little more ambitious. They needed to take the existing Daydream concept and make it more capable. By cooking up a way to help this all-in-one headset understand your movement in the real world and translate it into virtual ones, I'd argue they succeeded.
Plex brings its virtual reality movie app to Gear VR with Oculus (updated)
Earlier this year, Plex jumped into VR with a Google Daydream app that puts you and up to four of your buddies into a virtual movie screening room. Now the media server company is bringing Plex VR to another platforms: Gear VR with Oculus
Lenovo's Daydream VR headset might go on sale May 11th
Lenovo only gave a vague "second quarter" release window for its Mirage Solo Daydream VR headset when we saw it in January, but there might be firmer date to work with. B&H is listing the standalone wearable as available for pre-order with a May 11th ship date and a $400 price tag. We've asked Lenovo if it can vouch for the accuracy of the listing. We tend to take these discoveries with a huge grain of salt (stores frequently pick arbitrary dates as placeholders), but there might be some credulity to this one.
Netflix is taking a wait-and-see approach to virtual reality
Netflix was one of the first video-streaming services to adopt VR in 2015, when it introduced a 360-degree app that let users step into a virtual room to watch movies or TV shows on a Gear VR. Then, a year later, it launched a version of that application for Google's Daydream headset, but the company has been relatively quiet in the VR space ever since. The reason for that, simply put, is that Netflix doesn't see the technology as a priority -- at least not right now. Speaking at a media event inside the company's Hollywood headquarters, Chief Production Officer Greg Peters said that Netflix is only focused on seeing how VR systems evolve at the moment.
Wes Anderson's 'Isle of Dogs' VR mock-doc is live on Pixel phones
Big-budget VR tie-ins are nothing new. Dunkirk got its own version from Intel, Blade Runner 2049 has one that debuted at Comic-Con and even Spider-Man got his own virtual reality "experience" when the reboot launched last year. Wes Anderson's Isle of Dogs premieres next month in the US, but you can experience the film's VR tie-in now via Google Spotlight Stories app and your Pixel phone. The faux-documentary will go live for everyone else via YouTube (VR, 360 and 2D) March 2.
BBC and Google take you under the sea in VR
It's easier to appreciate nature when you witness it first-hand, but that's rather difficult with the ocean unless you have a submarine at your disposal. The BBC and Google have a more practical solution: they've launched a BBC Earth: Life in VR app that illustrates the underwater ecosystem on Daydream View headsets and compatible phones. You can explore environments ranging from kelp forests to deep sea trenches, and life as large as whales or as tiny as plankton.
TNT's NBA VR livestreams begin February 16th
Last November, Intel and TNT announced a partnership to bring 360-degree, 3D broadcasts of NBA games to GearVR and Daydream VR headsets. Now Turner Sports and Intel have officially launched the app that brings an immersive basketball experience via TNT's VR app and powered by Intel's True VR technology. While the current VR app is mainly a Turner Broadcasting initiative, it can only help the NBA expand its audience via the technology.
Lenovo’s VR Classroom kits come with Daydream headsets
Lenovo will soon release its VR Classroom setup, which will let teachers guide their students through virtual field trips. Each kit comes with the first standalone Daydream VR headset, Lenovo's Mirage Solo with Daydream, which arrives preloaded with over 700 Google Expeditions VR field trips as well as three exclusive Jane Goodall "Wild Immersion" videos. The VR field trips allow classrooms to explore the world and in order to help facilitate the learning experience, the videos include stopping points during which teachers can add more information or answer questions as well as talking points for teachers. Additionally, online lesson plans will be available to assist teachers in getting the most from the kit.
Plex jumps into VR on Google Daydream headsets
Last year Plex's reach extended to cover live TV and automobiles, so in 2018 the company is jumping into yet another platform: virtual reality. As it has done before, the company brought in the developer of a community project, Plevr, to work on the new client and Plex VR looks like a nice addition. The content browsing experience I saw in a short demo looked excellent. It really made us of the virtual space with touches like selecting a title popping it out into a virtual DVD case that users could hold, rotate or put down on a table in front of them while they flipped through other options.
