This Week in Virtual Reality, 1 August 2016

This week’s top Virtual Reality stories: memory palaces, Lollapalooza, the Olympics, and more!

Virtual Reality has never been bigger than it is right now, and it’s one of the most exciting new areas of technology. VR offers an incredible experience for users, and for creators, it presents an unparalleled amount of freedom to experiment with new ideas and applications. We’re seeing exciting developments in the field every day, so to help you keep pace with everything that’s going on, we’ve created This Week in Virtual Reality, a curated list of key stories in the space. New posts will be published here first, and previous posts are archived on the Udacity blog.

Whether you’re already in the field, considering a VR career, or just interested in the subject, This Week in Virtual Reality is sure to have something to inspire you!

Education

Macunx VR reaches its Kickstarter pledge target to develop virtual “memory palaces”, a technique for memorizing information based on visual and spatial memories.

Entertainment

Lollapalooza sponsor Samsung deploys various VR experiences around the weekend’s festival, allowing guests to virtually experience being on stage.

Environment

Jeremy Bailenson talks to TED Talks Live about using virtual reality to help address climate change by better communicating the damage done to the environment.

Media

National Geographic announces The Protectors, a 12-minute virtual reality documentary about the fight against elephant poachers in Africa.

Tourism

Idaho Tourism launches a new campaign aiming to use virtual reality to share outdoor experiences with potential visitors in collaboration with 360 Immersive LLC.

Sports

Wired Magazine publishes a comprehensive guide to viewing the Rio 2016 Olympics, highlighting especially virtual reality options on the Samsung Gear.