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Top news of the week (Image by Google) Google acquires HTC Vive engineers for $250M Completely out of the blue (at least from our eyes), Google decided to acquire some XR-related engineers from HTC Vive (together with a non-exclusive license on some HTC IP) for the whopping amount of $250M.
Google is acquiring "some of" HTC Vive's engineering team to "accelerate the development of the Android XR platform". As an interesting parallel: in late 2017 Google acquired some of HTC's mobile devices engineering team, and leveraged these engineers to vastly improve the hardware of its Pixel phones.
It was six months ago when Google launched a VR version of Google Earth for the HTC Vive. And still to this day, Google Earth VR remains one of the best, if not the best, app experiences available in VR. An app with such a mass appeal like Google’s Tilt Brush, Earth VR lets you visit locations around the world in 3D.
Last year Google launched a VR version of Google Earth , letting you visit locations around the world in 3D. Available on the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift, the update lets you explore Street View imagery from 85 countries right within Earth VR, making it easier than ever to experience the world as it really is.
A number of standalone VR headsets will be hitting the market in 2018, but so far none of them offer positional (AKA 6DOF) controller input, one of the defining features of high-end tethered headsets. But both headsets have controllers which track rotation only, meaning that hand input is limited to more abstract and less immersive movements.
And btw if the header image made you curious… this is a fully modular SteamVR controller built by Rob Cole: [link] ). HTC to reveal its headset at CES. After many weeks of teasing, HTC is finally ready to unveil its new headset at CES. More info (HTC’s new headset — Road To VR) More info (HTC’s new headset — Upload VR).
On the heels of Oculus dropping the price of their Rift and Touch bundle from $599 to $399 this Summer, HTC Vive is also jumping in with a price reduction of their own. The HTC Vive is getting a $200 price drop, bringing the VR system down from $799 to $599. Making VR more accessible one discount at a time.
If Microsoft commits to building this platform and doesn’t abandon it (a la Google), it can become an incredible tool for us developers. Image by HTC). HTC is teasing the launch of a new hardware. With a tweet, HTC has just teased the upcoming launch of a new device. Google stops selling Cardboard viewers.
You will be able to finally buy it in Europe and North America for $599, from the dedicated page on the HTC website. HTC Vive Focus Specs. The Vive Focus is HTC’s standalone headset , the one that the Taiwanese/Chinese company wants to use to start making virtual reality widespread.
A research and engineering group called the Virtual Dimension Center (VDC) in Fellbach, Germany conducted a study recently that reveals just how accurate some of the top VR headset’s are when it comes to tracking their respective motion controllers. HTC Vive Cosmos lags behind by a wide margin with its 2-3 mm deviation.
Today it’s a great day for virtual reality: at WCVRI conference, HTC has just announced a kit to provide 6 DOF controllers for Vive Focus and has showcased a hands-tracking technology for the Vive Pro ! The Venture Reality Fund and of course HTC. 6 DOF Controllers for Vive Focus.
HTC has confirmed that it’s laying off staff in order to streamline its business amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. An HTC spokesperson confirmed this with Road to VR, citing a direct impact of the coronavirus pandemic. However, HTC remains under tremendous pressure,” the HTC spokesperson told Road to VR.
Today during the Vive Developers Conference in Beijing, HTC revealed the Vive Focus, a standalone VR headset with inside-out positional tracking. Update (11/14/17): HTC has confirmed to Road to VR that the company is cancelling plans to bring a Daydream-based version of the Vive Focus headset to Western markets, including the US and Europe.
This reminds me of a similar error HTC made in the past of mixing signals of a pro device and consumer content It has RGB passthrough cameras with three times the resolution of Quest 2 cameras. Image by Google). Google performs interesting AR news at I/O conference. Weirdly enough, most of the demos he showed were games.
According to the Taiwan Stock Exchange, HTC will halt trading of its stock as of September 21st, pending an unknown announcement from the company, reports Bloomberg. Following several years of financial difficulty, the future of HTC seems less clear than it’s ever been. SEE ALSO HTC Vive Gets Major Price Cut, Now $600.
Looks like the rumors are true; Google just announced it’s working on its very own standalone VR headsets at its I/O conference. Google’s VP of VR Clay Bavor introduced this new initiative towards the end of the conference. Google also confirmed it’s working on a standalone headset with HTC and another with Lenovo.
Expected to be rolled out in phases prior to the theatrical opening on November 17, 2017, the Justice League VR experience will have a four-stage unveiling that culminates with a full blown room-scale experience for HTC Vive, Oculus Rift, Samsung Gear VR, Google DayDream and Sony PSVR. No word yet on official pricing.
Sony unveils the new controllers of the PSVR2. One month after the reveal of a “next-gen VR headset for the Playstation” (whose name is not known, but I guess it will be PSVR2), Sony has revealed one important detail of its new VR system: the controllers. The controllers will be given to selected developers very soon.
I entered the building with my Chinese assistant Miss S… and I have to say that that place is very beautiful … all white, with an enormous white hall (shared with Google!) Me under the Vive logo in the big hall of HTC headquarters in Taipei. Actual photo of the Cosmos with its controllers (Image by Upload VR).
Samsung’s 2023 Unpacked event was all about the company’s Galaxy S23 hardware, although at the end of its hour-long presentation the South Korean tech giant announced it was working with Qualcomm and Google to develop an XR device. Notably, Samsung hasn’t released a VR product since the launch of the PC VR headset Odyssey+.
I’ve been tipped about the fact that the Korean store of HTC may have accidentally leaked the name of the new Vive headset that will be revealed at CES… and maybe also its price. These are the features officially revealed by HTC: The device may be interesting also for consumers. Let’s start this 2023 with a leak!
Today Google has launched an update to Google Earth VR which brings the company’s huge library of street-level imagery into the application which lets users immersively explore the entire globe. The post Google’s Massive Street View Library Now Available in ‘Google Earth VR’ appeared first on Road to VR.
While it’s exciting to start seeing 6DOF standalone VR headsets like the Vive Focus and Mirage Solo, both unfortunately include a 3DOF controller which in many cases functions as an immersion barrier compared to a fully 6DOF VR system. 3DOF to 6DOF Controller Upgrade. 3DOF to 6DOF Controller Upgrade.
HTC today announced more specifics around Vive Focus, the company’s standalone mobile VR headset for China-based customers. As reported by YiVian , HTC is putting out two versions: Electric Blue for ¥4,299 (~$650) and Almond White for ¥3,999 ($600). Both 6 DoF headsets will arrive with a 3 DoF Bluetooth controller.
Some of its features are: 2,160 × 2,160 resolution per eye 90Hz framerate 4-cameras inside-out tracking (like the Quest) Touch-like controllers with Knuckles-like finger-sensing Face tracking Hips tracking (for better orientation in games) Integration with SteamVR games Wireless add-on. A new FCC listing appears for an HTC Vive headset.
HTC could be showing off its standalone VR headset at the company’s November 14th Vive Developer Conference (VDC) in Beijing. To wit, HTC says it will have ‘some important announcements’ to make. To wit, HTC says it will have ‘some important announcements’ to make. image courtesy HTC.
On the server-side, it is being integrated with Microsoft Azure, and it is also coming in the future for Google Cloud and Tencent Cloud. HTC is going to launch its headset on May, 11th. HTC is keeping rising the hype for its new upcoming headset. Google is hiring waveguide developers for AR.
With middling smartphone sales and a loss of a major portion of its smartphone IP and engineering team to Google last year, HTC appears to be full steam ahead with VR headsets as of late. SEE ALSO HTC Announces 6DOF Controller Tracking Dev Kit for Vive Focus.
This is likely the name of HTC’s standalone VR headset coming soon. When Oculus first revealed its prototype standalone VR headset, code-named Santa Cruz, back in 2016, we all new a response from HTC was inevitable. and Europe we may now have the official name for HTC’s upcoming Daydream-based headset: Vive Focus.
During a press event on Tuesday, Google finally revealed their Daydream View VR headset, a lightweight VR headset that will be compatible with Daydream Ready phones. The Daydream View headset was announced along with Google’s new Pixel phone in San Francisco, which is the first phone to be Daydream Ready.
HTC revealed their new standalone Vive Focus headset today , poised to launch into the Asian market. Earlier this year the device was teased to be heading to Western markets as part of Google’s Daydream platform in 2017, but now HTC confirms they’ve canceled those plans.
This device results from a collaboration between Samsung, Qualcomm, and Google, where Qualcomm provides the chipset foundation, and Google deploys its widely discussed AndroidXR framework for the upcoming headset. This streamlined workflow saves money and time, enabling productions to move faster while maintaining creative control.
Pico, Varjo, HTC VIVE, and even Meta are all experimenting with premium and affordable VR headsets for business use, as well as intuitive device management software. Others prioritize flexibility for instance Google recently announced the creation of its Android XR system, which supports open standards.
Open Blocks, the open source rebirth of Google's Blocks, is now available on Quest in early access. Blocks by Google released in 2017 as a PC VR tool for low-poly 3D modeling with tracked controllers, and was one of the first VR-native 3D creation tools.
HTC earlier this month revealed a 6DOF controller dev kit for the Vive Focus standalone headset. When HTC revealed the Vive Focus 6DOF controller dev kit earlier this month , the company wasn’t ready to share details. SEE ALSO Google Reveals Experimental 6DOF Controllers for Lenovo Mirage Solo.
Back at CES we met a small creative studio with some big technical plans for the HTC Vive’s upcoming Tracker peripheral. The team’s name was Master of Shapes , and they were one of the groups that HTC had gathered to showcase some of the many applications for the new device. It’s been done.
HTC is reportedly laying off 1,500 employees in its Taiwan manufacturing division, something Bloomberg’s Taipei bureau chief Samson Ellis reports to be around 22% of HTC employees. HTC has been in financial difficulty for the past few years, with stock prices falling since their all-time high in 2011. controllers.
Well this is surprising; HTC has yet another new VR headset on the way, promising to make an important breakthrough for a major category of device. Meet the HTC Link. It’s set to work with the company’s latest smartphone, the HTC U11. The camera and controllers are bundled in the box.
The approach chosen by Meta is similar to the one that Google promised to take with Android XR. Access to cameras will require the application to ask permission from the user (that so is in control). I have no idea what will happen with all the hardware that has been sold and all the headsets that integrated an Ultraleap controller.
Google have announced a new ‘Artist in Residence’ program which will see over 60 artists introduced to the emergent artistic platform of virtual reality via the company’s own Tilt Brush application. As anyone who’s tried it knows, Google’s Tilt Brush is a delight.
In a keynote today Microsoft is revealing a long-awaited missing piece of its Windows mixed reality platform – motion controllers. According to Microsoft, the controllers would be shown on stage at its keynote but wouldn’t be available for hands-on demos at its Build developer conference this week.
It was a hard decision, but you’ve decided to go with the HTC Vive as your first ‘serious’ VR headset, a room-scale device that released early 2016 as a result of a decisive collaboration with Valve. The post The Top 5 Games For HTC Vive appeared first on Road to VR. ‘Space Pirate Trainer’ on Steam.
The white light of the real world was visible out the bottom of Daydream View both for myself and a couple family members who tried the new $80 mobile VR headset from Google. Google says the fit was designed to “work for a majority of faces.” The Daydream controller and headset needed to be re-centered from time to time.
Whether or not you’re in the narrow band of ‘solar eclipse totality’ that’s making its way across the continental United States on Monday, August 21st, Google Earth VR has seen a recent update that will let you experience the rare event from the comfort of your own HTC Vive or Oculus Rift. image courtesy NASA.
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