Month: October 2014

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The virtual reality relaxation guide

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Relax with Guided Meditation, a Peaceful Virtual Reality World If you are looking for an escape from the daily hustle and bustle of life, you can do so with the help of Guided Meditation, a demo of Oculus Rift DK2. This demo will provide you with the option of visiting some of the peaceful places virtually. The app has been developed by Cubicle Ninjas, a creative design and development agency based in Chicago. With the app, you will be able to choose from four calming locations around the globe. They include Cosmo Canyon, Birchnut Forest, Yosuka Garden and Costa Del … Continue reading The virtual reality relaxation guide

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When science fiction happens

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William Gibson interview: time travel, virtual reality, and his new book Science fiction author William Gibson’s work, from cyberpunk classic Neuromancer to his more recent, less overtly futuristic novels, is usually more concerned with smart cultural analysis than plotting the mechanics of new technology. Gibson has given us a lens to see everything from high fashion to virtual reality, coining the term “cyberspace” to refer to what would soon become a ubiquitous computer network in the real world (“And they won’t let me forget it,” he quipped after being introduced with that factoid in the TV show Wild Palms.) But … Continue reading When science fiction happens

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Oculus Rift goes to school

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This is the Beginning of VR Education, and It Will Only Get Better At a school in the Czech Republic on October 20th, a groundbreaking experiment took place. Instead of pens and paper, students sat down with specially adapted VR headsets (Oculus Rift DK2s) that dropped them into a fascinating, immersive, educational experience that allowed them to interact naturally using natural hand gestures. This is the World of Comenius. As a kid, I didn’t much care for school. I loved to learn things, but as a shy child I never liked to ask for help from the teacher which meant … Continue reading Oculus Rift goes to school

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Are humans mutating?

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With Mindware Upgrades and Cognitive Prosthetics, Humans Are Already Technological Animals In recent years, the surprising idea that we’ll one day merge with our technology has warily made its way into the mainstream. Often it’s couched in a combination of snark and fear. Why in the world would we want to do that? It’s so inhuman. That the idea is distasteful isn’t shocking. The imagination rapidly conjures images of Star Trek’s Borg, a nightmarish future when humans and machines melt into a monstrosity of flesh and wires, forever and irrevocably leaving “nature” behind. But let’s not fool ourselves with such … Continue reading Are humans mutating?

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Criminal investigation meets virtual reality

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Virtual ten-year-old girl leads to pedophile conviction in Australia A global sting operation involving a virtual ten-year-old girl named Sweetie has led to the conviction of a registered sex offender in Australia, marking what is believed to be the first conviction since the avatar was created last year by a Dutch rights group. Scott Robert Hansen, 37, pleaded guilty to three counts in a Brisbane court this week, admitting to possessing images of child sexual abuse and sending lewd pictures of himself to Sweetie. Workers from the charity Terre des Hommes went undercover in chatrooms for ten weeks last year, … Continue reading Criminal investigation meets virtual reality

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The affordable way to virtual reality

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Forget Oculus Rift Virtual reality is making a comeback. At least, the hype about virtual reality is making a comeback. Its resurgence has been fueled by Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of Oculus VR, which landed Oculus co-founder Palmer Luckey on the cover of Wired. In the past year, companies such as Sony and Samsung have announced plans to develop virtual-reality gadgets of their own. For all the hoopla, however, not one of those devices has a definite timetable for release. And when they do arrive, each is likely to cost more than $200.All of which is to say that the … Continue reading The affordable way to virtual reality

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Space travel is going virtual

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Nasa looks to virtual reality ‘holodecks’ – powered by Oculus Rift to keep astronauts sane in space Without some miraculous breakthrough in propulsion technology the future of space travel is going to be a lot like a family holiday driving to France. People are going to have to endure long journeys in cramped conditions with people they slowly come to despise. Well, okay, so astronauts aren’t likely to start asking ‘are we there yet?’ or get sick on the ferry, but the problem of keeping an even psychological keel during space flights (it’s seven months to Mars for example) is … Continue reading Space travel is going virtual