Why VR providers are pinning their hopes on profiting from ‘Zoom fatigue’

What is the latest marketing strategy for virtual reality software providers? If the Covid-19 pandemic will cause the new normal to become the normal full stop, Zoom and their ilk are not going to cut it long-term.

Meet AfterNow. The California-based startup, which describes itself grandly as 'building the future of human computing with augmented reality and artificial intelligence', is looking to help users against 'Zoom fatigue.'

The company has launched its new...

29 July 2020 | Advertising

Carnegie Mellon research aims to combine touch with useability in VR: A winning approach?

Virtual reality (VR) is able to create stunning immersive visual experiences - yet they remain an alternative dimension, with the user experience somewhat obtrusive. Research into haptics - the area of interaction between virtual and physical forms - is ongoing. Yet new research from Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) has aimed to unlock the challenge of simulating touch in VR.

The device uses multiple strings attached to the hand and fingers to simulate the feel of obstacles and...

7 May 2020 | Devices

All Nippon Airways to introduce VR safety training to enhance risk prediction and worker safety

Japanese airline All Nippon Airways (ANA) has announced that it will soon be introducing virtual reality (VR) training designed to help its mechanics predict future risks and also improve safety in all aspects of aircraft operation.

According to the company, the latest VR Safety Training System will make use of 3D simulations of work environments in order to build real-world scenarios based on common work-related accidents. Those workers who would be participating in the VR training...

10 March 2020 | Brands

Oxford VR secures $12.5 million investment to help VR for mental health mission

UK-based Oxford VR has announced $12.5 million (£9.63m) in a series A funding round led by Optum Ventures and supported by Luminous Ventures. Existing investors which include Oxford Sciences Innovation, Oxford University Innovation and GT Healthcare Capital Partners also participated in this investment round.

According to Oxford VR, the funding will help the firm to boost US expansion of its evidence-based and scalable automated VR therapy solutions for behavioural health...

13 February 2020 | Healthcare

Mojo Vision announces breakthrough in ‘invisible computing’ smart contact lenses

California-based startup Mojo Vision is developing a smart contact lens that will have an inbuilt display in what the company is describing as ‘the world’s first true smart contact lens.’

The Mojo Lens provides users with an eyes-up experience known as invisible computing whereby the information is accessed without looking down at a screen or losing focus on surrounding objects.

The invisible computing platform, which allows information to be prompt,...

20 January 2020 | AR

PwC predicts AR and VR to add $4.1 billion into UAE economy by 2030

A recent study by PwC has predicted that augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) will together add $4.1 billion into the UAE economy by 2030, which will enhance the country’s GDP by 1%.

It says that AR and VR would significantly influence employment in the UAE, which will generate over 42,000 jobs in the country over the next decade.

Ali Al Hosseini, chief digital officer at PwC Middle East, said: “AR and VR technologies will improve how organisations in...

13 January 2020 | AR

Consumer mixed reality app installations to reach 10 billion by 2024, says Juniper Research

A recent study from Juniper Research has revealed that the number of consumer mixed reality app installs will reach 10 billion by 2024, increasing from the current three billion. Mixed reality overlays interactive digital images and videos on the real world via a smartphone, tablet or smart glasses.

The research, titled 'Consumer Mixed Reality: Emerging Opportunities, Vendor Strategies & Market Forecasts 2019-2024', identified, social media and games as the key app...

15 November 2019 | Applications

Audi launches ‘hyper-reality’ experience for ‘innovative’ awareness of electric mobility

Audi has introduced its new hyper-reality experience, called “The e-tron room: the Future Paradox”, in Spain to raise public awareness of its electric propulsion technology.

By using the escape room format for the first time, the German automaker is trying to educate participants through an entertaining series of trials and challenges helping them understand the Audi e-tron concept.

Participants entering the algorithm-powered escape room are clad with HTC Vive...

1 November 2019 | AR

From Silicon Valley to Hollywood: Sandbox VR secures $11 million in funding round

Silicon Valley and Hollywood has joined forces to invest $11 million (£8.6m) in Sandbox VR to help its rollout across the US.

The company’s goal is to provide an immersive experience where, by using full body motion capture and virtual reality, players can ‘go anywhere together with their friends.’ The California-based startup has just opened in Los Angeles and will soon expand to New York, Austin, San Diego, and Chicago with 16 total locations planned...

28 October 2019 | Brands

Solving the two biggest problems in AR could lead to a $10 billion increase in value by 2026

Augmented reality (AR) can be seen as a major trend – indeed, its potential is set to outstrip that of virtual reality (VR). But a technical challenge lies ahead.

According to a new whitepaper from Adlens, a provider of adaptive focus lens technologies, alongside analyst Greenlight Insights, solving the two key issues plaguing augmented reality could unlock an incremental $10 billion in addressable market value by 2026.

These issues are focal rivalry and...

9 October 2019 | AR