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Mars astronauts could use VR to remind them of home
To put it mildly, Mars astronauts are likely to feel isolation on a level that even the most daring space explorers can't understand. How do you feel connected when Earth is just a dot in the sky? NASA, Smart Information Flow Technologies and 8i might help. They're researching the prospect of using virtual and augmented reality experiences to fight the "sensory and social monotony" of a Mars mission. The aim would be to create a library of inspirational messages that remind astronauts why they're on the Red Planet, and connect them to family -- a bit like the video messages in 2001, only more immersive.
Time's Life VR immerses you in documentaries
There's a certain detachment to watching a conventional documentary. You may understand and appreciate what you're seeing, but you'll never quite get a sense of what it was like to be there. Time, however, believes it can do better. It's launching a Life VR brand that will use virtual reality to give you more immersive view of historic events and unusual experiences. One of the first examples includes Defying the Nazis (above), a parallel to a similarly-named Ken Burns documentary -- you'll see what it was like to take asylum seekers from occupied France to the US. Others include Lumen, a self-guided meditation exercise, and Fast Ride, a view of what it's like to drive the classic Mazda 787 race car at Laguna Seca.
Time's 'Life VR' will 'showcase the world through virtual reality'
NextVR just announced its virtual reality broadcasting tech will bring live concerts home in a partnership with Live Nation, and today it's announcing a team-up with Time Inc. Life Magazine has historically provided a peek into different areas of the world via photojournalism, and the new Life VR project will offer "immersive, next-level storytelling" from Time Inc. media properties like Time Magazine, People, Sports Illustrated and Entertainment Weekly. Word of the launch came at today's NewFronts event in NYC, and the two say it should result in three to five VR events each year, available in the NextVR app.
