Friday FOV: Trouble in Pokeparadise, HTC’s Big Bets, and Chinese VR
A compendium of the latest in virtual reality for the week ending August 5, 2016.
This week, Elizabeth Spiers interviewed Wired co-founder Kevin Kelly about his new book The Inevitable: Understanding 12 Technological Forces That Will Shape Our Future, how AI will affect VR, and of course, PokemonGO.
Story of the Week:
PokemonSLOW?
The AR app of the summer hit a few roadblocks, struggling with various bugs and third-party fixes. PokemonGO developer Niantic has struggled to show the community of aspiring Pokemon Masters that they’re listening, but promises that they’re on the case. Here’s a letter from the developer of one of those third-party apps, Pokevision, which acquired 11 million daily active users before getting shut down.
VR Content:
- Now you too can create your very own VR. Here’s a helpful walkthrough for building a photosphere so you can always preserve your happy place.
Business:
- HTC announced that 33 companies would take part in the first round of its Vive X Accelerator program. While 10 of those companies remain in “stealth mode,” the other 23 span a variety of sectors within VR, including hardware, social VR, games, marketing, education, analytics and more.
- VR increasingly sounds like it stands for “Virtual Retail,” as high-end boutiques let you explore their store from your home, Tommy Hilfiger lets you sit front row at their fashion show, and Audi builds a virtual city for you to drive around in.
- Good news for aspiring VR developers — Steam continues its benevolent streak by letting us all use the tracking software employed by the Vive for free.
- Online car retailer Vroom has unveiled a virtual reality showroom that allows potential customers to explore 15 different makes and models with a headset.
Hardware:
- We got a peek at the next iteration of the Gear VR headset, plus a suggestion that it will play nicely with Google’s Daydream headset and controller. Learn more about the updates to the headset in this video:
- Feel your failures with this “synesthesia suit” that makes you feel light tingles and serious blasts alike through a series of coils that cover your body.
China:
- China’s parallel Internet is lurching towards AR, as Baidu announced its own AR platform.
- The country’s strong Internet cafe culture has also facilitated VR adoption, giving consumers easy access to the Vive without the price tag.
Don’t forget to catch up with last week’s “Friday FOV: Facebook’s ‘Really Big Plans,’ VR Stock Photos & a $25k Add-On.”
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