Where Science meets Fiction

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) typically refers to computer technologies that use software to generate realistic images, sounds and other sensations that replicate a real environment (or create an imaginary setting), and simulate a user’s physical presence in this environment. VR has been defined as “…a realistic and immersive simulation of a three-dimensional environment, created using interactive software and hardware, and experienced or controlled by movement of the body” or as an “immersive, interactive experience generated by a computer”.
A person using virtual reality equipment is typically able to “look around” the artificial world, move about in it and interact with features or items that are depicted on a screen or in goggles. Most 2016-era virtual realities are displayed either on a computer monitor, a projector screen, or with a virtual reality headset (also called head-mounted display or HMD). HMDs typically take the form of head-mounted goggles with a screen in front of the eyes. Programs may include audio and sounds through speakers or headphones.
Advanced haptic systems in the 2010s may include tactile information, generally known as force feedback in medical, video gaming and military training applications. Some VR systems used in video games can transmit vibrations and other sensations to the user via the game controller. Virtual reality also refers to remote communication environments which provide a virtual presence of users with through telepresence and telexistence or the use of a virtual artifact (VA). The immersive environment can be similar to the real world in order to create a lifelike experience or it can differ significantly from reality where gamers can use fictional powers.

Source: Wikipedia.org

Inside IMAX’s Big Bet to Rule the Future of VR

The company that turns cinema to spectacle is betting big on the future of face-computers. The post Inside IMAX’s Big Bet to Rule the Future of VR appeared first on WIRED.

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Dear Angelica Is the Film—and Filmmaking Tool—VR Needs

Making a female-led VR experience sets a precedent for the industry, and the animation tool Quill puts the creative power in VR users’ hands. The post Dear Angelica Is the Film—and Filmmaking Tool—VR Needs appeared first on WIRED.

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It’s called virtual “reality” for a reason

It all started with a fish tank. It was the 1990s, while I was in grad school working on a project for University of Michigan’s Advanced Technology Lab in their EE department. Someone at another university had aimed a webcam at the office fish tank and published the feed on the early web. You could hit the refresh button every 30 seconds on primitive browsers like HotMetal to see if…

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Six Flags and Samsung unveil ‘mixed reality’ rollercoaster

To many of us, roller coasters are just fine without extra visual stimulation. However, last year, several amusement parks introduced virtual reality devices, letting you fly through space or a gargoyle-infested dystopia. Six Flags and Samsung have done that one better now with the New Revolution Galactic Attack mixed reality experience. As before, Six Flags is using Samsung’s Gear VR headset, but now it’s using the passthrough camera on the…

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Complex 3D data on all devices

A new web-based software platform is swiftly bringing the visualization of 3D data to every device, optimizing the use of, for example, virtual reality and augmented reality in industry. In this way, researchers have brought the ideal of “any data on any device” a good deal closer.

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Novel liquid crystal could triple sharpness of today’s televisions

An international team of researchers has developed a new blue-phase liquid crystal that could enable televisions, computer screens and other displays that pack more pixels into the same space while also reducing the power needed to run the device. The new liquid crystal is optimized for field-sequential color liquid crystal displays (LCDs), a promising technology for next-generation displays.

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Heidelberg Castle revisited

Strikes of lightning, fires, wars – not only ravages of time left their traces on Heidelberg Castle. Today, it is considered one of the most important renaissance buildings north of the Alps. And it is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Germany with about 1.1 million visitors from all over the world every year – many of them from English speaking countries and Asia. Now, a researcher has reconstructed the castle as it looked before its destruction by means of a three-dimensional virtual model.

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Substantial evidence of holographic universe

A UK, Canadian and Italian study has provided what researchers believe is the first observational evidence that our universe could be a vast and complex hologram. Theoretical physicists and astrophysicists, investigating irregularities in the cosmic microwave background (the ‘afterglow’ of the Big Bang), have found there is substantial evidence supporting a holographic explanation of the universe — in fact, as much as there is for the traditional explanation of these irregularities using the theory of cosmic inflation.

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A new approach to 3-D holographic displays greatly improves the image quality

With the addition of holographic diffusers or frosted glasses to wavefront modulators, researchers offer a simple and practical solution to significantly enhance the performance of 3D dynamic holographic displays by 2,600 times.

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Sci-fi holograms a step closer

Physicists have invented a tiny device that creates the highest quality holographic images ever achieved, opening the door to imaging technologies seen in science fiction movies such as ‘Star Wars.’

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Why scientists should research emojis and emoticons :-P

More than 90 percent of online populations now incorporate emojis and emoticons into their texts and emails, and researchers are wondering what the use of (~_^), (>_<), or =D can reveal about human behavior. Emojis and emoticons can be used as tools for evaluating how we relate to each other in the digital age.

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3D scans for the automotive industry

The variety of car models has increased significantly over the past decades. Take Volkswagen: In 1950, the automaker produced just two model ranges – the Beetle and the transporter. Long gone are the times when one factory fabricated the same car for years on end. There is a trend towards more frequent model changes and smaller volumes. A car factory with just one production line suitable to manufacture multiple models is what the future will look like.

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