Virtual Reality

Although there are already mobile VR systems that track what each of a user's fingers are doing, they typically take the form of expensive gloves. KupVR is designed to be a low-cost alternative, as it leaves the user's fingers open and free.

The Oculus Quest is a stunning piece of technology, an all-in-one, totally self-contained VR setup that drags virtual reality out of the lofty realms of nerd-dom and makes the incredible experience of VR something the unwashed masses can enjoy.

Phoria is a startup working to leverage VR and AR technologies to take its users to entirely new places. New Atlas sat down with its CEO Trent Clews-de Castella to discuss its ambitions, and where its experiences might be taking people in the future.

Middlesex University London is putting student nurses, pediatric postgrads and midwifery students to work in virtual environments to deal with scenarios faced in real-world settings.

Home VR is going to hit the mainstream big time this decade, and it'll be devices like this that get it over the line. Panasonic has demonstrated a set of lightweight, compact, ultra high-def VR goggles that actually look good.

A study is suggesting VR may inhibit effective formation of visual memories, and in some contexts could result in poor educational results. The study hypothesizes the enhanced cognitive demands of VR potentially disrupt visual memory formation.

Interactive 3D images that appear to float in the air, above a table that a group of people can stand around without needing any special headsets or glasses: that's what Australian company Voxon Photonics has built with its US$10,000 VX1 table.

Although VR tech may allow users to see and hear computer-generated environments, the extent to which people can feel those worlds is still quite limited. That could be about to change, though, thanks to what's being called an "epidermal VR" system.

Autron VR has just launched in Melbourne, Australia, with a range of shooting games, escape rooms and other VR experiences, all tailored for groups. New Atlas went hands on to check it out – and may have ruined regular escape rooms for ourselves.

In order for AR systems to recognize locations from a user's ground-level perspective, they first have to be "trained" using ground-level images of those same places. Sturfee's City AR system, however, works quicker by utilizing satellite photos.

If you're going to be using a "smart" eyewear device for long periods of time, then it had better be light and unobtrusive. Well, ThirdEye's X2 Glasses may fit the bill, as they're said to be the world's smallest mixed reality glasses.

Virtual reality headsets are increasingly being put to use at theme parks, in setups that move around in accordance to what wearers are experiencing in the VR world. A new headset is designed to make the experience more efficient and more hygienic.