Road to VR

JUNE 22, 2023

At least from the outside, it appears Microsoft isn’t actively competing for a seat at the XR table, which is fairly odd coming from a company that pioneered enterprise AR while simultaneously wrangling some of its top OEM partners to make a fleet of PC VR headsets for consumers in 2017. If Microsoft goes in half-cocked, maybe.

Strategy 354

Strategy Microsoft Magic Leap Apple 354

AR Insider

JANUARY 27, 2021

I n 2006, I attended a launch event in San Francisco for Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D. But that’s a non-starter for anyone outside of the few million people that own VR hardware (much less the compatible HTC and Oculus hardware). The product’s main feature was 3D graphical renderings of U.S. Force Multiplier.

Immersion 245

Immersion San Francisco Construction Google 245

Road to VR

OCTOBER 19, 2016

Microsoft Research has devised two novel methods for more realistic haptic feedback on virtual reality controllers. Linear actuators tend to offer more haptic ‘detail’ and responsiveness, as can be found in Apple’s ‘Taptic Engine’, the HTC Vive controllers, an the Oculus Touch controllers. more recently, linear actuators.

Haptic 100

Haptic Microsoft Controllers Technology 100

ARVR

FEBRUARY 5, 2021

In 2006, I attended a launch event in San Francisco for Microsoft Virtual Earth 3D. But that’s a non-starter for anyone outside of the few million people that own VR hardware (much less the compatible HTC and Oculus hardware). The product’s main feature was 3D graphical renderings of U.S. cities, starting with San Francisco.

Immersion 130

Immersion San Francisco Construction Virtual Reality 130

Road to VR

OCTOBER 12, 2018

FlyInside FSX , the crowdfunded VR plugin for Microsoft Flight Simulator X (2006) , was built well before first-party VR motion controllers existed, developed back in the DK2-era of 2015 as an ad hoc way of jumping into an already highly-detailed flight sim. SEE ALSO This Awesome DIY VR Cockpit Hides a Flight Simulator in Plain Sight.

Simulation 237

Simulation Nevada Oregon Controllers 237

VRScout

NOVEMBER 21, 2016

We’ll see the FacioMetrics tech make its way into videos and Live broadcasts in the near future – and eventually it is likely that facial image analysis would be useful for the customizable avatars that Oculus is creating, too (as well as create super datasets of human emotional reactions).

Machine Learning 150

Machine Learning Augmented Reality Haptic Google 150

Road to VR

MAY 27, 2016

Essentially Wii Sports (2006) for PS3 using PlayStation Move, it featured a table tennis mode that remains, to my eyes, the greatest motion-control game ever published. At the time the prototype used a VR headset combined with a Microsoft Kinect for tracking. Anyone remember Sports Champions (2010) ? VR motion control changes all that.

Controllers 190

Controllers Gaming Microsoft Oculus 190