Here’s an excerpt from one of the earlier drafts of our white paper on the link between cinematic vr and empathy, published as a white paper by the Tow Institute. Read that paper here. The purpose of this post is to contextualize the study within the respective fields of VR and psychology, drawing on empathy research published in academic journals, … Read More
3 VR “Booms” That Often Sneak Under the Radar
Virtual reality has generated countless headlines and news stories over the past two or three years. In fact, if you rewind back past all of the speculation and excitement that preceded the public unveiling of devices like the Oculus Rift, VR has been making headlines for longer than that. Even so however, the overarching focus tends to be relatively narrow. … Read More
The State of Augmented Reality in 2018: How it Continues to Disrupt Different Industries
Last year we predicted that augmented reality or AR, would continue to build on 2016’s momentum and we were right. The technology further improved in 2017, with Google releasing Project Tango, Asus unveiling ZenFone AR, and developers creating various apps that made use of AR, like Holo, Ink Hunter, and WallaMe. This year we expect AR to get better and … Read More
HOW VR can help us learn about the world
Is virtual reality too immersive? It’s a question that has been raised as the new technology has become more accessible to a wider audience of creators and users.”With virtual reality, rather than telling a story, you are putting someone inside a story – and usually involving them in it,” said freelance BBC VR producer Catherine Allen at the VR & … Read More
“I Survived” Virtual Reality Project in Colombia: Project Overview
We first approached the vast topic of the Colombian conflict in 2015, when a Colombian producer friend put us in touch with the Prison Fellowship (PF) of Colombia. PF had until that point been working exclusively (as its name suggests) in prisons, using a restorative justice framework to reconcile convicted criminals and their victims. The focus of restorative justice that … Read More
Global indigenous communities find their voices through new technology
In 2016, activists around the country gathered at the Standing Rock Sioux reservation in North Dakota to protest the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, which they said could have detrimental environmental consequences. While the most publicized depictions of the historical event were photos and videos of protests between activists and police, The New York Times decided to create a 360-degree video … Read More
Celebrating Women in Tech
When it comes to technological innovations, women have always been at the forefront. Ada Lovelace, the daughter of poet Lord Byron, is considered to be the world’s first computer programmer for recognizing that a computer could have applications past simple calculations back in the first part of the 19th century. During World War II, it was largely female engineers who pioneered … Read More
February AR/VR News #2: Virtual gathering, a ‘spider glove’ and the digital equivalent of duct tape
Images of Magic Leap’s anticipated portable augmented reality device were leaked to Business Insider last week. According to Business Insider, Magic Leap, a $45 billion Google-backed startup, was hastily finishing building the prototype, known as PEQ0, in preparation for a board meeting this week. In other Google news, it is pushing for VR with a new update of the mobile app for Chrome … Read More
February VR/AR News #1: Tech updates, mixed reality and how VR is changing the art/music industries
Featured Image: London-based startup Opto might be the first company to make quality mobile VR mainstream. According to Wareable, the company’s “Opto Air is made from a lightweight foam, offers built-in speakers plus a 100-degree field of view via double-aspheric lenses which Opto says are 25% bigger than rival mobile VR headsets.” Costing £98, the headset is a strong competitor for the Google Daydream … Read More
January VR/AR News #4: VR in Bangladesh, women in tech and the Oscars
This week our Spanish version of Life in Gawair launched with El Pais and was a great success. In the multi-media experience you will meet different characters from Gawair, Dhaka, Bangladesh via 360 video, comics and text. You will learn about their lives, their experience as climate refugees as well as working inside a garment factory. Special emphasis on education was given … Read More