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Jaunt's 'cinematic VR' tech will take you around the world
Nothing can compare to seeing the world for yourself, but visiting places through 360-degree virtual reality experiences doesn't sound that bad. Jaunt, the startup that aims to produce a ton of immersive content for everyone's VR devices, has joined forces with a travel agency called Mountain Travel Sobek. They're planning to capture MTS' adventure tours using Jaunt's "cinematic VR" platform to create a series of VR videos. Based on what the agency offers, you can expect to virtually climb mountains, go hiking on the other side of the world and see places of cultural significance you might never see in person.
Take a 360-degree video tour of CERN's Large Hadron Collider
CERN's Large Hadron Collider keeps delivering important scientific discoveries, but apart from some Google Street View images, it's pretty hard to grasp the scale of it. However, a new 360-degree video from the BBC (below) takes you on a visual tour of the world's largest machine. At up to 4K resolution, you can see parts of the 27 km (16 mile) tunnel where particles fly by at the speed of light in both directions. It also shows the Compact Muon Solenoid detector that looks for dark matter, extra dimensions and the Higgs Boson. The science is mind-bending, but as the video shows, the machine needed to test it is equally so.
NASA's Curiosity offers another 360-degree peek at Mars
Less than two weeks ago NASA posted a 360-degree video on Facebook that showed the perspective of its Curiosity rover on Mars. It was an exhilarating view, but the way it had been created -- by stitching together lots of different photographs -- meant the final video offered a strange, fishbowl-like picture. Thankfully, NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory has uploaded a replacement to YouTube which is lightyears better than the original. While it's still a static shot -- so more of a panorama than a true 360-degree video -- it's another mesmerizing look at the Red Planet. The component images were captured by Curiosity on December 18, 2015 using the Mast Camera rig, otherwise known as Mastcam, which sits on top of the robot's vertical arm. In the video you can see the Namib Dune, which forms part of the Bagnold Dunes dotted along the northwestern flank of Mount Sharp. NASA notes that, after analysing images taken from orbit, scientists believe the dunes can move as much as one meter during a normal Earth year. A portion of Mount Sharp can be seen on the horizon and of course, Curiosity itself is visible down below on the surface. You can watch the video in your browser and click around to change the perspective, but for an immersive experience we recommend using the YouTube app on your phone or a Google Cardboard -- with the gyroscope sensor you can look around naturally, which is always pretty fun.
Google can take you on a VR trip to the Great Barrier Reef
One of Google's more exciting announcements at least year's I/O was Expeditions, a VR kit that let educators lead students on virtual field trips to far flung locales like Mars and the Great Wall of China. Now, you can add two more places to that list: The Great Barrier Reef and Buckingham Palace. The virtual Great Barrier Reef expedition was designed by none other than Sir David Attenborough and produced by Alchemy VR, while the Buckingham Palace tour was made possible thanks to the UK's Royal Collection Trust. There's even a YouTube 360 video of the Palace, so you can easily use your phone to take a private tour of the Queen's art collection.
Navigating Chernobyl in VR is tricky business
A yellow Ferris wheel looms over an abandoned amusement park. A rusty red frame alludes to a carousel that was once on the ground. Decaying bumper cars stand motionless behind fading fences. Sights that evoke a sense of child-like exhilaration have become tragic symbols of the Chernobyl disaster, the largest nuclear accident in history. The decomposing rides and crumbling buildings of Pripyat, the nearest city that was evacuated and turned into a ghost town within days of the explosion at the nuclear power plant, have been documented in hundreds of touristy photographs and amateur video tours. Now a virtual reality documentary wants to bring viewers up, close and personal for an immersive experience of the radioactive region in Northern Ukraine.
360-degree video puts you in a bombed-out Syrian war zone
A new 360-degree, 4K video lets you see the destruction of Syria's civil war firsthand on any virtual reality (VR) headset. It was shot by Syria's Smart News Agency between May and July in the city of Jisr al-Choughour, at the nation's northeastern frontier near Turkey, according to Le Parisien. The city of 40,000 is in near-complete ruins and most of the residents have fled after it was taken by rebels affiliated with al-Qaeda. The video (below) was captured by a six-camera rig mounted on the photographer's head, then stitched together at Okio Studios in Paris.
Discovery launches short-form VR videos, starting with sharks
Discovery hasn't jumped the shark yet, but it's definitely gotten really, really close to a few ferocious sea beasts. Discovery VR is the company's new foray into virtual reality and 360-degree experiences, and it begins with a series of short-form, shark-infested videos from Mythbusters. It also launches with Gold Rush and Survivorman spin-offs, showcases of freeboarding and surfing, and tours through California's Half Moon Bay and Muir Woods. We first heard about Discovery shooting Mythbusters and other shows in VR back in May. The Discovery VR videos can be viewed online, via mobile apps for iOS and Android, and in Google Cardboard or Samsung Gear VR. Oculus support is "coming soon," though probably not before the Rift actually launches in Q1 2016.
Google's interactive tour lets you go 'Inside Abbey Road'
Abbey Road Studios is one of the most famous recording venues in the world, where artists such as The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Michael Jackson produced some of their most influential tracks and albums. Despite its heritage, the studio isn't open to the public, which means few outside of the music industry have seen what it actually looks like inside. Today, Google is answering the call with a Street View-style online exhibit called "Inside Abbey Road." One hundred and fifty panoramic images have been stitched together to recreate the three main recording studios and mastering suite. The space is littered with photos, videos and other historical tidbits, as well as guided audio tours and interactive mini-games based on classic recording equipment. Unless you're a world-class musician, this is probably as close as you'll ever get to stepping inside Abbey Road Studios yourself.
