Virtual Reality - SlashGear

‘virtual reality’ Stories

HiveMind has SimCity creator aiming to turn your real life into The Sims

Chris Burns, Jan 2nd 2012 Discuss [9]

For those of you that don't know, Will Wright is the primary designer behind such massive hits as SimCity, The Sims, and Spore - and this week he's letting us all know that we, not our avatars, will be taking part in his next opus. This game will be called HiveMind, and will be more than just a casual gaming experience. You'll be using your phones, tablets, social network identities, computers galore, and your own brain to make a move in this virtual reality space. This will be the next generation, says Wright, in Alternate Reality Games (ARGs). Read The Full Story

Age of Wulin pre-release auction nabs $16k for a virtual sword

Chris Burns, Dec 28th 2011 Discuss [13]

There's no denying that the virtual world is one lucrative enough for people on both sides of the equation to dedicate their lives to it - and in no more relevant a place today than a pre-release auction of virtual goods for a game by the name of Age of Wulin, this auction selling a man a sword for $16,000 USD. Of course he didn't drop USD on this weapon, and the only physical representation of it he'll see is a plaque (generous of them!) that he can hang in his room while he uses the "real" thing in the game when it's released in the Spring of 2012. This game will also be released in the USA soon after the Chinese Beta, but it'll only be this one lucky fellow who'll be slaying his opponents with this one sword. Read The Full Story

University of Minnesota scientists create brain-controlled virtual flight

Chris Burns, Oct 27th 2011 Discuss [1]

In a move that can only be described by Punjab-esque, your Annie (1982) hero's ability to make aircraft fly with his mind is one step closer to reality now that researchers, led by Dr. Bin He of the University of Minnesota, have created an EEG-based interface that allows users to navigate a virtual helicopter with their mind. The interface is a completely noninvasive brain-computer hookup that allows the user to tell the helicopter where to go by willing it to do so. Read The Full Story

Apple Virtual Personal Assistant app to be a “computing paradigm shift”

Chris Burns, Oct 3rd 2011 Discuss [29]

It was all the way back in February of 2010 when the folks at Siri introduced their original Assistant app for iPhone, and just one month later when their company was acquired by Apple. This week (tomorrow, as it were,) Apple is expected to release its very own version of the intelligent assistant interface with its newest iteration of the iPhone, this newest version made to work hand-in-hand with the newest iPhone’s powerful A5 processor. Siri co-founder Norman Winarsky spoke with 9to5mac this week about the soon-to-be-released software, calling it world-changing and making no effort to hide the idea that it’s coming soon, very soon.

Read The Full Story

Vuzix Wrap 1200 and 1200VR offer wearable displays with sunglasses style

Chris Davies, Aug 11th 2011 Discuss [5]

Vuzix continues to plug away at video eyewear, with its latest set, the Vuzix Wrap 1200, promising the equivalent of a 75-inch display viewed from 10 feet away. Each 16:9 eyepiece runs at 852 x 480 resolution with a 60Hz refresh rate, and supports 16-bit color as well as 2D and 3D playback. Meanwhile, a second version - the Wrap 1200VR - boosts connectivity and makes the headset ideal for virtual reality applications. Read The Full Story

Sony is experimenting with virtual reality games using head-mounted display

Shane McGlaun, Jul 19th 2011 Discuss [6]

I haven't heard or thought of virtual reality in a long time now. I remember back years ago, I tried out a set of virtual reality goggles for computer gamers and they sucked so bad it really turned me off from the tech. With 3D here now I really thought VR was dead. Apparently, Sony thinks differently and is at work on some software that uses VR glasses. Read The Full Story

The World’s Largest Multi-touch screen developed

James DeRuvo, Feb 13th 2011 Discuss [1]

Researchers at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands, have developed the world's largest, curved multi-touch screen. The screen, measuring 33 feet wide, incorporates 6 cameras and 16 infra red emitters to handle over 100 simultaneous touch points. But here's the coolest part ... it was created with nothing but off the shelf technologies. Read The Full Story

Texas Instruments’ OMAP 5 may bring Minority Report UI to Reality

Samia Perkins, Feb 8th 2011 Discuss [0]

Soon, we may see the kind of interactive screen that Tom Cruise used in Minority Report, thanks to Texas Instruments. Texas Instruments is combining its new OMAP 5 platform with its DLP pico projectors and a camera. This would add hardware support for stereoscopic 3D, and would support full body gesturing, so that the user can touch, drag and drop projected images onto any surface. Read The Full Story

Quantum 3D upgrades sweet ExpeditionDI infantry training platform

Shane McGlaun, Nov 29th 2010 Discuss [0]

When it comes to training infantry soldiers in the US military there are all sorts of drills and programs that the warriors go through. One of the coolest is the 3D virtual reality system from Quantum3D that may be the coolest and most realistic shooter in the world. The company has announced that it has updated the training system called ExpeditionDI with new hardware. Read The Full Story

iPhone Conrolled Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter Gets Augmented Reality Chase Game for iOS

Chris Burns, Nov 21st 2010 Discuss [3]

This game is called AR.Pursuit and it'll make controlling your flying machine all the more fantastic with augmented reality - available at the end of November in the Apple App Store. It's a two-player game where you control your AR.Drone VS a friend's, blasting away at them with missiles and machine guns, playing cat and dog in a real world / virtual reality world simulation. It's so weird! It's so wild! It looks like so much fun! Read The Full Story

Namco Bandai and Nissan Team Up to Create Futuristic Yokohama City in Virtual Reality

Evan Selleck, Sep 30th 2010 Discuss [2]

Virtual Reality (VR) was all the rage several years ago. In arcades all over the world (where you could find them), there were rigs set up to showcase a digital world, where the player was fully submerged. A part of the game, and not just playing it. And while it may have quieted down over the years, it looks like Nissan and Namco Bandai have found a way to make it useful again. Both companies have announced today that they plan on creating a driving simulation that uses advanced VR technology, with a Smart Grid, to provide an in-depth driving experience second to none. Read The Full Story

Immersive next-gen gaming system merges virtual and real world

Paul Fang, Dec 23rd 2009 Discuss [1]

For those of you out there who’ve gotten tired of Wii-style gameplay, not to mention mice and keyboards, this new-fangled immersive multiplayer gaming system created by a team of game designers of the National University of Singapore will be bound to shock your world, virtual, real, or augmented. Read The Full Story