• Disclosure
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer
Friday, September 29, 2023
Guadalupe County News Online
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Business
  • Technology
    • Crytpocurrency
    • Gaming
    • Gadgets
  • Sports
  • Health
  • General
    • Business Services
  • Travel
  • Press Releases
  • Videos
No Result
View All Result
No Result
View All Result
Home Technology Metaverse

In-Person VR Is A Crystal Ball To The Metaverse. COVID Tried To Shatter It – CNET

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
in Metaverse
in-person-vr-is-a-crystal-ball-to-the-metaverse.-covid-tried-to-shatter-it-–-cnet
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter
27-ready-player-one-oowyio

The film Ready Player One, based on a 2011 book, imagines humanity addicted to a society existing in a virtual-reality game.

Jaap Buitendijk

The Infinite wasn’t my first instance of traveling miles to try a virtual-reality adventure since the world reopened. But it was the most epic.

A massive installation that lets you explore a life-size, virtual replica of the International Space Station, The Infinite is the largest in-person VR exhibit of its kind. And as the world haltingly reopens amid COVID-19 flareups, The Infinite also comes complete with ultraviolet sterilization stations for its headsets, ridding them of germs before you lash one to your face. 

Just as Netflix thrived while movie theaters imploded, the pandemic polarized virtual reality’s fortunes. VR flourished in living rooms, but lockdown and social distancing devastated in-person, location-based VR. 

Yet, the recent success of The Infinite, which has toured two cities and plans to open in as many as three more before the year’s out, isn’t an anomaly. Other in-person VR businesses have reported activity near and sometimes exceeding pre-pandemic levels. These may not be the first places that come to mind when you’re hit with the hype of the Metaverse. But if you want to get a brush with how it will literally feel, location-based VR is one of the first places you should go.  

The Metaverse — whatever it is now or ever shall be — is a convergence of several technologies, VR key among them. It’s not incidental that the current buzz around “the metaverse” was ignited by the owner of VR’s most popular headset, Oculus. And thanks to touch points from sci-fi imagination like Ready Player One, VR is one of the foundations to how many average folks envision the metaverse’s future consummation. 

Two VR gamers stand in a black treadmill apparatus

Virtuix’s Omni multidirectional treadmills hold you place while you can roam freely virtually. 

Virtuix

You already can strap on a real-world likeness of Ready Player One’s fictional “haptic feedback suit,” mimicking the physical sensations of a virtual reality. And you can try a run on something like its “omnidirectional treadmill,” letting you walk to infinity without moving anywhere. 

You just can’t have them at home, at least not without breaking the bank. Instead, they’re at location-based experiences. 

“It’s the frontier of what’s possible,” Kent Bye, the host of the Voices of VR podcast, told me. “And location-based entertainment is always pushing the edge.”

Proving ground 

Because of its limit-testing nature, location-based VR experiences differ wildly. The Infinite is one example. It can take the form of high-end VR “theaters” operated by the likes of Dreamscape or a social competition room — VR’s version of laser tag. At the other end is a VR game you might play at a Dave & Buster’s while the rest of the arcade pings and plinks in the background.  

But whether it’s a “ride” at a theme park or elaborately immersive art exhibited at the Sundance Film Festival, location-based VR is virtual reality you experience outside your own home. You’re there with other people, using hardware and other architecture bespoke for that specific simulated escapade. 

One advantage of building custom-tailored virtual-reality experiences is they can incorporate boundary-pushing technology that’s out of reach for a normal person. 

“These location-based, immersive venues can afford to go get that technology, to give people an opportunity to test it out,” said Dan Eckert, managing director of PwC’s innovation AI and emerging technologies consultancy. Nobody is going to craft a specialized system in their home to waft heat and smoke while their virtual Star Wars skiff rides over a lava planet, he noted. But some location-based experiences can — and do.

A man wears a VR headset and a technological bodysuit

The Teslasuit is a haptic-feedback apparel that buzzes you with physical stimuli linked to a virtual world.

Teslasuit

The Teslasuit (no relation to Elon Musk) isn’t far off from Ready Player One’s imagined haptic feedback coveralls. Virtuix’s Omni multidirectional treadmills, which let you run around in VR while you stay in place, have been shipped to 500 locations worldwide, the company says. 

“Location-based entertainment is a proving ground for the cutting edge of immersive technologies that are too expensive for consumers to have,” Bye said. 

One of my personal favorites was a breath-measurement belt I’ve only seen once at the Tribecea Film Festival in 2016. Pointing your gaze in whatever direction you wanted to go in otherworldly underwater VR surroundings, you propel yourself forward based on how deeply you breathed. This peacefully gamified mission put me in a meditative pattern of deep breathing that calmed the prickliest edges of my nervous system and brought me to a mind-tingling zen state.

These experimental peripherals ebb and flow. Some make a foothold as VR attractions, like Virtuix with Omni, and others disappear, like my deep-breathing belt. But they still offer you the chance to encounter what the metaverse future may feel like.  

“VR has come and gone in the location-based entertainment industry a few times, and each time the technology just wasn’t ready,” said Bob Cooney, a location-based entertainment industry expert who mentored companies like Virtuix and Zero Latency. By 2019, VR had won over location-based entertainment operators, leading to a spike in adoption, he said. 

“And then everything just shut down.”

Filling a void

Pandemic lockdowns illuminated the appeal of at-home consumer VR, most represented now by the Oculus Quest. When we couldn’t go anywhere or be near anyone, these slightly uncomfortable boxes strapped to your face didn’t seem so silly. They offered the virtual respite to travel to far flung lands or simulate the feeling of gathering close with other people. 

People wear VR headsets, haptic vests and laser guns

Sandbox VR filed for bankruptcy protection in the US after the pandemic hit, but it re-emerged and has reported activity beating pre-pandemic levels. 

Sandbox VR

Ramon T. Llamas, a research director with IDC, estimates 1.8 million virtual-reality headsets shipped in the US pre-pandemic in 2019. Those shipments rose to 2.8 million in 2020, as pandemic-driven demand clashed with its supply-chain constraints. But in 2021, as production caught up, shipments more than doubled to 5.7 million. 

But sectors of location-based VR, like all out-of-home entertainment, were devastated. Sandbox VR, a chain of 600-square-foot rooms to host six people in battling virtual zombies or visiting Star Trek planets, was backed by the likes of Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry. Its US subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2020. The Void, a similar venture once allied with Disney to put fans inside immersive worlds from Star Wars and Marvel blockbusters, defaulted on its loans around the same time. More than one of The Void’s landlords auctioned off its equipment as abandoned property, according to Protocol. 

As the world has reopened, though, location-based VR has bounced back. Beyond experiences like The Infinite kicking off multicity tours, Sandbox VR has re-emerged from bankruptcy protection and seen ticket sales exceed pre-pandemic levels. The Void, which in a twisted joke of fate was literally rendered void by COVID, is aspiring for a comeback, having reportedly rounded up $20 million to relaunch this year. 

Inevitably, technology will progress to give people refined and affordable versions of next-level immersive elements in their homes that are currently the domain of location-based experiences. But the experts I spoke with don’t anticipate the attraction for shared experiences will extinguish. 

As Eckert puts it, movie theaters didn’t disappear when television was invented. A cinema’s surround sound and big screen continue to allure us, as does the social gratification of going to the movies with a pal or laughing along with the crowd in the darkness. 

“In VR, that [social fulfillment] is the ‘killer app,”http://www.cnet.com/” Eckert said. “Yes, you can go out and go dancing by yourself. But it’s always so much better to go with your friends.” Enjoying VR — at least until presence in VR advances beyond kludgy cartoonish avatars — lines up with these same human urges for shared physical togetherness. 

People in headset step into a dark open space dotted with green lights

The Infinite has a room bigger than a basketball court where as many as 150 people an hour can freely roam a virtual model of the ISS. 

Felix & Paul

The Infinite exists because its creators felt this urge too. When the first VR recordings from the ISS were beamed back to Earth, “we were just genuinely blown away by the emotional power of that footage,” said Félix Lajeunesse, the cofounder and creative director of Felix & Paul Studios, which spearheaded the ISS project. 

The ISS footage is already an Emmy-award winning VR series called Space Explorers, but the company felt duty bound to make it available beyond just the gamers and early adopters who already had VR on hand. 

With a location-based communal experience, he said, “we wanted to share it with the world.” 

Get the CNET Now newsletter

Spice up your small talk with the latest tech news, products and reviews. Delivered on weekdays.

Related Posts

meta-is-working-on-a-web-version-of-its-horizon-worlds-metaverse-platform-–-the-verge

Meta Is Working On A Web Version Of Its Horizon Worlds Metaverse Platform – The Verge

by NewsReporter
April 15, 2022
0

Meta is planning to bring its Horizon Worlds social metaverse platform to the web, Meta CTO Andrew “Boz” Bosworth said in a tweet on Thursday. Being available on the web would mark a major expansion for the platform, which is currently only available on its Quest VR headsets. A web...

how-to-protect-your-intellectual-property-in-the-metaverse-–-security-intelligence

How To Protect Your Intellectual Property In The Metaverse – Security Intelligence

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

Will people ever live in a digital world 24/7? Nobody knows for sure, but the metaverse is certainly expanding rapidly. As the world dives deeper into the digital realm, companies need guidance on how to protect their assets and intellectual property (IP). Consider that the top 10 most expensive NFTs...

meta-etf:-the-metaverse-provides-new-opportunities-for-tech-stocks-–-seeking-alpha

META ETF: The Metaverse Provides New Opportunities For Tech Stocks – Seeking Alpha

by NewsReporter
April 14, 2022
0

tolgart/E+ via Getty Images Investment Thesis The Roundhill Ball Metaverse ETF (NYSEARCA:METV) is designed to offer investors exposure to the Metaverse. Emerging technologies such as virtual reality and game engines allow the Metaverse to take form and grow as they seek to expand the capabilities of a virtual world. Based...

teamflow-brings-metaverse-to-the-office-with-new-platform-–-employee-benefit-news

Teamflow Brings Metaverse To The Office With New Platform – Employee Benefit News

by NewsReporter
April 13, 2022
0

What if employees could return to the office without actually leaving the comfort of their homes? Virtual tech platform Teamflow is making it possible.The employer-facing product intends to help organizations recreate an in-person culture in a remote world. Virtual offices — complete with cubicles, break rooms and conference rooms —...

Guadalupe County News Online

© 2021 Guadalupe County News Online

Navigate Site

  • Disclosure
  • DMCA Policy
  • CCPA
  • Medical Disclaimer

Follow Us

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • DMCA Policy
  • Medical Disclaimer
  • Disclosure
  • CCPA
  • Terms of Use

© 2021 Guadalupe County News Online

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept All”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent.
Cookie SettingsAccept All
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT