E3 2015 and the explosion of VR

Posted on 17/06/2015 by Federico Lo Giudice

This year’s E3 has not just been about gaming, but also about virtual reality and augmented reality, high-end tech that had a privileged position in the expo.

Fueled by what it could do for gaming, VR has been growing and expanding for years now even outside of the world of consoles. As such, virtual reality is now the next bit thing for consumers, and so important it was one of the center stage themes of E3 thanks to projects by Sony, Microsoft, and Facebook. First comes virtual reality gaming, then changing the way we consume media. These devices are Morpheus (Sony), HoloLens (Microsoft), and Oculus Rift (Facebook), and all appeared at E3 this week showing what they could do.

Sony’s big bet came from the possibility of creating multiplayer experiences, enabling multiple people wearing Morpheus virtual reality gear to play together. This was already teased in an upcoming game, Guerilla Studios’ RIGS – a first person shooter with 3-vs-3 battles, created entirely around the idea of sharing virtual space. Other titles being teased include Battlezone, Headmaster, Wayward Sky, and World War Toons.

In response to Sony’s Morpheus gear, Microsoft has also announced its own virtual reality headset, HoloLens. During Microsof’s E3 presentation, a demo of HoloLens was shown running Minecraft. The demo was well received by the audience since it was a ground-breaking development for both the virtual reality platform and the Minecraft franchise.

Microsoft also showed their vision of the future with HoloLens, a voice reactive headset that users can also control with their hands, Minority Report style. Bill Gates’ team left attendees in awe with an incredible Minecraft demo in augmented reality during Microsoft’s E3 keynote, and how it could display entire worlds on any surface. It’s not that the users will be inside the game, the game can also be brought out and displayed outside of the screen.Although really promising, HoloLens is still under the development and research stages and doesn’t have a set release date.

All of these devices are coming out soon, and with the way consoles are going, they might change not only videogames, but also the way we watch TV shows, listen to music, or interact with media in general.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at Apple Will Employ Robots to Map Building Interiors and The new Apple TV is coming out mid-2015.

PlayStation Enters The VR Arms Race With Project Morpheus

Posted on 21/03/2014 by Bernie Mota

Sony Computer Entertainment announces their virtual reality efforts with Project Morpheus at the Game Developers Conference.

This week during the Game Developers Conference, the entire industry waited for Sony’s long-rumored plans to announce their own virtual reality headset. With their GDC keynote, Driving the Future of Innovation at Sony Computer Entertainment, the company did just that by unveiling Project Morpheus.

Centered around a Daft Punk looking head mounted display that’s fit with blue-glowing highlights, Project Morpheus is “the next innovation from PlayStation that may well shape the future of games,” says President of Sony’s Worldwide Studios Shuhei Yoshida. Further more, “this new technology will deliver a sense of presence, where you as the player actually feel like you’re inside the game and your emotions feel that much more real.”

Virtual Reality is a rapidly growing field among the development community, especially with the fevered hype surrounding VR-competitor Oculus Rift. Sony great potential for VR to their gaming platform, and seriously wants in at its onset. The company announced that they would be working with a handful of developers, including Epic Games, Unity, Crytek, and a crop of others to deliver content tailor made for VR in mind.

Project Morpheus’s VR headset is still in its developmental phase though – with the coming several months serving as a feedback period – but is being planned for a future PlayStation 4 release. Along with its blue neon accents, the helmet features a 1080p display, 90+ degree field of view, and internal components that allow for positional, 360-degree tracking that can be followed using the PlayStation Camera.

Apparently, SCE also is envisioning that control input for Project Morpheus will somehow involve the PlayStation Move, with VR content using the motion-control peripheral as a virtual object. In terms of audio, the VR headset supports “true spatial sound” using binaural audio that should allow games and what not to fill a users space around them, improving the immersion effect.

For now, everything about Sony Computer Entertainment’s Project Morpheus seems truly exciting, and could add a host of endless possibilities for video games as a whole. Not just in terms of giving a new way to experience a traditional games, but to explore games that haven’t yet been thought of.

Be social! Follow Walyou on Facebook and Twitter, and read more related stories at https://www.facebook.com/Walyou and https://twitter.com/walyou.

Morpheus lander crashes, burns and explodes in untethered flight test, NASA remains optimistic (video)

Posted on 10/08/2012 by Sean Buckley

As noisy as we found Project Morpheus' tethered flight test, its untethered follow-up was far, far louder. Yesterday, the experimental lander suffered a hardware component failure, which NASA says "prevented it from maintaining stable flight." This caused it to crash into the ground and well, explode. On the upside, the space agency says that these kinds of failures were anticipated, stating that they are a normal part of the development process and will be used to build better systems moving forward. You didn't think Curiosity made its touchdown on Mars without learning from a few mistakes, did you? Click onwards to check out the test -- and its aftermath -- in 5, 4, 3, 2, er...

Continue reading Morpheus lander crashes, burns and explodes in untethered flight test, NASA remains optimistic (video)

Filed under: Transportation, Science

Morpheus lander crashes, burns and explodes in untethered flight test, NASA remains optimistic (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 10 Aug 2012 07:03:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | source

NASA, YouTube (toastforbrekkie) | Email this | Comments

NASA’s Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video)

Posted on 07/08/2012 by Mat Smith

While it's not landing on Mars any time soon, NASA took a breather from Curiosity's adventures to showcase the Morpheus Lander. The prototype went through its first (tethered) flight test at the Kennedy Space Center just before the weekend, showcasing its methane-powered rocket system. It's this rocket setup which could make the Morpheus Lander a strong candidate for future landings. It's both safer than rocket fuel and NASA suggests that methane gas discarded from the International Space Station could be enough to top up the lander's fuel tanks without necessitating a visit back to Earth. Morpheus' built-in guidance system also reduces the amount of input needed from mission control -- the pod has been practicing hard on its own hazard field near the Space Center. After passing the test with its training wheels on, the first free flight descent has been tentatively penned in for later today. Crank the volume low -- it gets loud -- and watch Morpheus test those right rockets after the break.

Continue reading NASA's Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video)

Filed under: Transportation, Science

NASA's Morpheus lander detects hazards, noisily passes tethered flight test (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 07 Aug 2012 10:21:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink