Mint Virtual Reality

Known for its industrial, microfluidic haptic gloves, HaptX has announced that in conjunction with Virginia Tech and the University of Florida, their research teams are developing full-body haptics. All made possible thanks to a $1.5 million USD grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF).

When it comes to virtual reality (VR) one of the fantastical goals often portrayed in films is full-body immersion, where digital sensations are replicated in real life, from a handshake to a punch. The research team developing the system aims to utilise HaptX’s microfluidic technology with a robotic exoskeleton.

The funding is part of NSF’s National Robotics Initiative, a four-year project called ForceBot. The goal is to simulate virtual objects with an exceptional level of realism for a range of tasks in virtual environments. The feedback would allow users to feel the shape, weight, and texture of digital objects, naturally move across virtual terrain, as well as being able to use a robotic avatar to manipulate objects.

“ForceBot will advance knowledge at the convergence of virtual reality, robotic control, sensory feedback, ergonomics, and human factor fields,” said Dr. Alexander Leonessa, Principal Investigator, Virginia Tech in a statement. “We’re excited to create a system that increases immersion for VR users in applications requiring intensive body motions like sports and industrial skills training, gaming, emergency response, and many others.”

“Since the founding of HaptX, we have envisioned creating a system for realistic full-body haptics,” said Jake Rubin, founder and Chief Executive Officer of HaptX. “We’re thrilled to collaborate with NSF and Virginia Tech to build a platform that simulates realistic full-body interactions and helps more fully realize our company’s original vision.”

It’ll be some years before you get to live out that Ready Player One lifestyle in VR but this type of research is another step towards that possible future. As for current technology, there’s always bHaptics’ TactSuit system or Teslasuit. For further updates from HaptX, keep reading VRFocus.

via Mint VR

Social VR platform Altspace is to play host to the first plays in a new series of artistic VR experiences from Black creators.

Three plays will be performed live inside the platform on October 1st. These are the inaugural events in the Black Imagination Series, a new program from Blair Russel Productions and Crux, a Black arts group. The short productions will take place in custom-built environments and can be joined by a limited number of VR viewers as well as anyone streaming on YouTube. Each play will last around 10 minutes.

Black Imagination Series Debuts In VR

Plays included in the first event are: Making a Perfect World by Kleban and Audelco award-winner Cheryl L. Davis, Last Ones First by Amara J. Brady, and It’s Homecoming Y’all! by Breana C. Venablé. You can RSVP to attend here.

The plays are just the first in a series of events, with planned future performances including a live improv performance in which the audience takes part, on-location plays captured in 360 degrees and productions using volumetric video capture.

Live VR performances are becoming an increasingly promising part of the industry, especially in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Not only can VR teleport us to venues for immersive experiences, but the technology opens up new storytelling possibilities too. Earlier this month the Venice Film Festival played host to several live VR plays in which audiences could assume the roles of entirely different characters.

Will you be tuning into Thursday’s stream? Let us know in the comments below!

via Mint VR

HTC Vive is partnering up with Gigabyte in hopes of getting more Cosmos and Cosmos Elite headsets into homes.

The pair today announced a bundle for the UK, Germany and Austria that includes one of the two PC VR headsets and the AORUS 15G laptop at a combined saving of £149. The standard Cosmos, with inside-out tracking, is bundled for £2,549. The Cosmos Elite — which swaps out inside-out for Valve’s SteamVR Lighthouse system — goes for £2,749.

New Vive Cosmos Bundle

Still an expensive proposition, then, but the 15G does feature a GeForce RTX 2070 card inside a laptop with a 240Hz (albeit 1080p) display. Plus you could feasibly plug it into a Cosmos, zip it into a backpack and then have relative freedom to explore in VR.

If you wanted to make some further savings, HTC also just announced that new Viveport Infinity subscribers can get a free copy of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners, as the Game Pass-like service adds new titles like Moss, too. Both bundles come with a two-month subscription, so you should be getting those games for free. You can find out more about each from the deal’s official website. HTC currently doesn’t have any plans for such a deal in the US.

We think the Cosmos is an okay headset, though it has its fair share of problems including those steep prices. A few months back we learned that HTC is no longer planning to sell its cheapest variations, the Vive Cosmos Play, to consumers, instead gunning for location-based and enterprise customers instead.

Will you be taking advantage of this new Vive Cosmos bundle? Let us know in the comments below!

via Mint VR

HTC’s Vive Cosmos has been on sale for almost a year, in that time offered in various bundles including the Cosmos Elite version. Today, consumers in the UK and Germany will have access to two new bundles, featuring the headsets and GIGABYTE’s AORUS 15G laptop.

If you’ve been looking for an easy step into PC VR gaming then HTC Vive’s latest offers may be tempting if you have the spare cash. From today, you can purchase either the Vive Cosmos x AORUS 15G for £2,549 GBP or the Vive Cosmos Elite x AORUS 15G for £2,749, saving £149 off the RRP. Both bundles include a 2-month Viveport Infinity subscription to get customers started.

The difference between the two is down to tracking. The standard Vive Cosmos features inside-out tracking so there’s no need to set up external sensors. Whilst the Vive Cosmos Elite comes with Lighthouse 1.0 base stations which will need to be wall-mounted. All the other features like the 2880×1770 (1440×1700 per-eye) LCD display, headphones and hinged front to easily drop in and out of VR remain the same.

GIGABYTE’s AORUS 15G laptop features Intel’s tenth-generation Core i7-10875H processor, an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2070 with Max-Q Design GDDR6 8GB; 16GB RAM and a 512GB SSD, weighing in at around 2.2kg. There’s even pre-installed, Vive software alongside an automatic “VR mode” to optimise  CPU, GPU, and fan usage. Additionally, an AI-Assisted VR mode which uses Microsoft Azure AI, reportedly ‘optimises the system to still allow for high performance’ when the laptop is running off the battery.

“We’re excited to bring people a powerful and flexible PC-VR bundle with the VIVE Comos Series and AORUS 15G, pairing the best technology in VR and in gaming laptops,” said Graham Wheeler, General Manager, HTC EMEA in a statement. “We want to take the hassle out of the barriers of adoption for PC-VR, so we’re giving you everything you need to get started in one package – a powerful gaming laptop with optimised VR mode, and the stunning visuals and tracking in our VIVE Cosmos hardware.” 

At the moment the deal has only been confirmed for the UK and German markets. Should HTC Vive expand the offer, VRFocus will let you know.

via Mint VR

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Viveport is turning four, and to celebrate HTC is giving a free copy of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners to new and existing users who have an annual subscription to Viveport Infinity. Plus, more game are joining the Viveport Infinity lineup.

Viveport Infinity is HTC’s VR subscription service, allowing you to play and access a select library of VR games, apps and more. Infinity isn’t just available for HTC headsets either — the service supports HTC Vive, Valve Index, Oculus Rift, Oculus Quest via Link and Windows MR headsets.

Similar to Microsoft’s Game Pass service for PC and Xbox games, you only have access to the Infinity content while you remain subscribed to the service. However, in celebration of the Viveport platform turning four, Infinity members who have an annual subscription can redeem a free copy of The Walking Dead: Saints & Sinners to keep permanently. So even once your annual subscription ends, you’ll still have access to Saints & Sinners through Viveport.

The promotion runs until October 11 and is available to new and existing annual subscribers. If you’re currently a monthly Infinity subscriber, you can upgrade to an annual subscription to take advantage of the offer. New annual subscribers who join before October 11 will also be able to redeem a permanent copy of the game. An annual Infinity membership costs $107.88 total, but there’s a monthly billing option so you can pay in $8.99 installments.

HTC also announced that two new games are joining the Viveport Infinity library — Moss and L.A. Noire: The VR Case Files. Viveport Infinity subscribers should now have access to the titles in their library.

Viveport Infinity is available as a monthly and annual subscription. You can read more about the Saints & Sinners offer for annual subscriptions here.

via Mint VR