This Week in Virtual Reality, 17 October 2016

This week’s top Virtual Reality stories: The Simpsons. ‘Nuff said!

Virtual Reality is one of the most exciting new areas of technology, and for good reason. VR offers amazing experiences for users and creators both, and growth in the space is incredible. New products, new technologies, new experiences, and best of all, new jobs! Did you know that Virtual reality job openings are up 800% year-over-year? It’s true!

With so much going on in this fast-moving field, it can be hard to keep up. That’s why we created “This Week in Virtual Reality.” Each week we publish a curated list of Virtual Reality stories as a resource to help you keep pace. New posts will be published here first, and previous posts are archived on the Udacity blog. So, whether you’re currently enrolled in our VR Developer Nanodegree program, already working in the field, or just pursuing a burgeoning interest in the subject, there will always be something here to inspire you!

Entertainment

The Simpsons celebrates its 600th episode with a virtual reality short “Planet of the Couches” to accompany the episode, viewable via Google Cardboard.

History

CBC releases its first virtual reality documentary, titled Highway of Tears, covering the string of murders that has occurred along a stretch of Highway 16 in Canada.

Technology

SyncThink, a startup specializing in the intersection of neuroscience and technology, receives a patent on a system to track eye movements in virtual reality headsets.

Commerce

In a report released this week, Citi projects that the virtual reality industry will grow to $1 trillion dollars by 2035, driven primarily by hardware sales.

Science

Google and Germany’s Museum of Natural History collaborate to use Google Cardboard to animate dinosaurs live in on-ground exhibits.

Tourism

Hot Knife Digital Media, a UK-based virtual reality and digital media startup, develops a virtual tour of Nottingham’s labyrinth of caves.