Tag: Virtual Reality
Vuzix iWear VR920 now offers expanded support for some quite old games
Can you afford a 62″ telly? No you can’t. Can you afford a 62″ telly that moves WITH YOUR HEAD? No, you can’t. But neither can this guy, and he’s got off his arse and found a solution:
Korea/Japan Week: NTT DoCoMo's vision of the 4G future is… fishy
There’s nothing like a spot of futuregazing to bring out the awestruck geek in me, and NTT DoCoMo didn’t disappoint during a visit to their showroom this morning. The Japanese operator has a promotional video showing what 4G handsets might look like when they come out around 2010.
Virtual reality – a modern day Mother Theresa
Last week we had virtual reality helping burn victims – this week it’s helping soldiers cope with post-traumatic stress.
Very dull business blog The New York Times is reporting on a VR system that’s designed to recreate war situations…
Virtual reality games help patients forget about the bits that hurt
Boffins at the University of Washington’s HITLab have built a virtual snowball fighting game, designed to help recovering burn victims forget the pain of their wounds.
The virtual reality headset kit draws the wearer into the pretend world, leaving the poor, overwhelmed human brain with less resources to worry about the pains of the real world…
World Wildlife Fund sets up Conservation Island on Second Life
The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has today set up a virtual island on Second Life, designed to allow residents to live in harmony with its friendly wild animal population.
“Conservation Island” includes Mr Tangee, an orangutan with an ice-cream van (exactly how wild is that supposed to be?), and guide pandas who show people around the wind-powered town.
“WWF set up the island as a way to help people learn about conservation issues and the need to live sustainably. We want to be able to show people that WWF has solutions to the real environmental issues affecting their ‘first life’,” said WWF’s David Cole.
UCAS provides A-level advice on virtual island in Second Life
One of the latest organisations to create a presence for itself on Second Life is UCAS, the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.
Having created their own virtual island, they’ll be offering free advice from professional advisers about the clearing and application processes.
It’s supposed to be a pressure-free environment where those who’ve just got their A-level results can find out what happens next. The island features a series of bio-domes, each containing useful information.
Joined at the Heart: Second Life's first live streaming Frankenstein musical
An original musical — Joined at the Heart — based on Mary Shelley’s “Frankenstein”, is to be streamed live over the Internet via Second Life.
In the real world, the musical has a thirty-strong cast and will premiere at The Junction, Cambridge, from 1st-4th August, and then move to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from 12th-18th August.
Vauxhall launches Guide to getting a Second Life
Shameless brand promotion though it is, Vauxhall, makers of the Corsa, has teamed up with Second Life to produce a guide to the best, weird, wild, wacky, fun places to hang out in the virtual reality phenomenon.
The Corsa Guide to Getting a (Second) Life includes the top 10 places to hang out in the game, as voted for by its users. It includes the virtual Blarney Stone, Bora Bora Wavelabs, Acropolis Gardens, The Lost Gardens of Apollo, and the Bubblegum Music Factory.
Does the Church of England have any rights over a virtual Manchester Cathedral?
Andy Merrett writes…
An almighty row (no pun intended, honest) has broken out between two giants: Sony and the Church of England.
It’s all down to the highly controversial use of Manchester Cathedral in Sony’s hit game “Resistance: Fall of Man”.
Both the Church, and relatives of victims of Manchester’s gun crime, have condemned Sony for producing the game, branding it “sick” and “highly irresponsible”.
Sci-fi it may be (the first-person shooter is annihilating aliens as they dash around the sanctuary toting a huge gun) – and that’s the line Sony is sticking to – but the Church of England is considering legal action if the game is not removed from shelves and if Sony do not apologise.
In the highly unlikely event that Sony do remove the game voluntarily from shelves, they’ll be reaching up to the number one shelf position – this controversy will probably just increase the game’s popularity.
So does it matter?
Daily Telegraph recreates its Chelsea Flower Show garden in Second Life
Though the real Chelsea Flower Show is now over for another year, the Daily Telegraph has recreated its garden in Second Life, claiming it to be the first of its kind in the virtual 3D world.
Inhabitants of Second Life can view the virtual garden by logging on and visiting the Kensington and Chelsea area of the virtual world (where else?)
