Virtual Reality

When we first set foot in Zero Latency’s warehouse-scale virtual reality system three years ago, we were blown away by how immersive the experience was. Now New Atlas has gone hands-on with the latest development, which marks a logical next step for the tech – pitting players against one another.

Nissan has unveiled a concept that can “see the invisible” at CES 2019. The tech uses virtual reality, in-vehicle sensors, and connected car technologies to create a virtual world around the visible world for the driver. Invisible-to-Visible shows how VR can be used to enhance driver awareness.

360-degree VR footage needs to be super high resolution to let you look around a nicely detailed landscape, and now Insta360 has an all-in-one rig, the Titan, that gives 11k/30fps resolution using eight micro 4/3rds sensors and Flowstate stabilization.

At CES 2019, HTC has unveiled the Vive Pro Eye, which adds eye-tracking to last year’s high-end hardware, and the Vive Cosmos, which turns the tracking inside out. On top of that, HTC has outlined software updates to its content subscription service and something called the “Vive Reality System.”

Even when plugged into a music player or playing games on a smartphone, long bus journeys can be tedious. If you ride a FlixBus on select Las Vegas routes, you could find yourself being offered a VR headset, to transport you to other worlds while the driver takes you where you need to go.

Our sense of smell is now being used to help sell the illusion of virtual reality with the FeelReal VR Mask, which not only wafts certain scents your way but can also simulate rain, heat and wind on your face.

Billed as a window into virtual reality, ViewR allows onlookers to step into these worlds alongside players and observe all the action from close proximity, opening up some interesting possibilities that include the potential for interactivity between virtual avatars. ​

To speed up the creation of virtual environments, researchers at Nvidia have taught artificial intelligence systems how to generate and detail new virtual cityscapes, by training neural networks on real video footage.

​In real life, you don't just see and hear things – you also smell them. Therefore, given that virtual reality (VR) headsets are meant to replicate real-world experiences, shouldn't they provide odors along with sights and sounds? That's the idea behind the smelly new Vaqso VR system.

The virtual reality playing field is spreading out to fill all niches, and HTC is helping speed that along by getting its open source platform Vive Wave out to third party companies. Chinese manufacturer Shadow Creator is the latest to jump on board, unveiling the Shadow VR standalone headset.

Samsung is updating its VR headset, announcing the HMD Odyssey+, which targets the dreaded “Screen Door Effect” with a clever new tactic and adds a few ergonomic improvements to the outer shell.

Facebook-owned Oculus has a new virtual reality headset to show off. The Oculus Quest sits between the portable Oculus Go and the PC-connected Oculus Rift in the range, needs no connecting wires or external sensors, and is arriving at the start of next year for $399.