Worldwide spending on augmented reality and virtual reality (AR/VR) is tipped to balloon from just over US$12.0 billion this year to US$72.8 billion in 2024, according to IDC. Leading the way is China, which accounted […]
Tag: virtual reality
Vecton unveils VRONE
Vection Technologies has rolled out VRONE, its first Dell-powered virtual reality (VR) integrated solution for enterprises. Designed by JMC Group, VRONE is powered by Dell’s WKS hardware and Vection Technologies’ real-time VR software suite to […]
HTC Vive introduces Vive XR Suite to help enterprises with the “Next Normal”
HTC Vive has announced its entry into the cloud software business with the VIVE XR Suite offering that comprises five applications — remote collaboration, productivity, events, social, and culture.
Glue introduces VR-first collaboration platform
With the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses are letting staff work remotely as part of the social distancing efforts. Collaboration platforms have become increasingly popular with many turning to the likes of Webex and Zoom. Finland-based Glue Collaboration has taken this a step further with the introduction of the next generation of its VR-first collaboration platform.
Oculus buys Beat Saber maker
The award-winning Beat Saber is an easy to learn and addictive VR game.Oculus has acquired Beat Games, maker of the highly popular VR game Beat Saber, for an undisclosed sum.
Pico Interactive introduces stronger, lighter and more capable VR headset
Pico Interactive has launched the Pico G2, its second generation virtual reality (VR) headset that is stronger, lighter and sports more capabilities than its predecessor.
Consortium introduces standard to simplify VR headset connectivity
NVIDIA, Oculus, Valve, AMD, and Microsoft have come together to introduce VirtualLink, an open standard that simplifies next-generation virtual reality (VR) headset connectivity to PCs and other devices. Instead of a range of cords and connectors, the new standard adopts the single, high-bandwidth USB Type-C connector.
ICT spending in APAC (sans Japan) to hit US$1.5t in 2021
Information and communications technology (ICT) spending in Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) will hit US$1.5 trillion in 2021, according to IDC.
Gaming and VR focus at Computex
With the global gaming market expected to touch US$128.5 billion in 2020, this year’s Computex will have gaming and virtual reality (VR) as a focus area, alongside artificial intelligence (AI), 5G, blockchain, Internet of Things, and innovations and startups.
VR to impact retail and marketing
Virtual reality (VR) has been tipped to be the next innovative technology to improve and impact retail and marketing.
VRgineers ups the notch in enterprise VR
VRgineers is harnessing the potential of the new NVIDIA Quadro GV100 GPU for its high-resolution virtual reality (VR) headset, enabling even complex 3D scenes, high-poly models and high-resolution textures to perform smoothly at full refresh rates.
Fujitsu announces new Xeon-based servers
Fujitsu has introduced its fully refreshed range of Xeon-based dual- and quad-socket Primergy servers and octo-socket Primequest business critical server systems.
These new servers are powerful and flexible, enabling enterprises to build secure, agile, multi-cloud data centres.
Featuring the new Intel Xeon scalable processors, the Fujitsu Server Primergy and Primequest business model server systems are designed for exceptional workload-specific performance and hardware-enhanced security. Built for trusted data service delivery, the new models represent significant leaps in I/O, memory, storage and network technologies.
Singapore to focus on 4 technology areas
Singapore will be focusing on four technology areas to build the foundation for its digital transformation. These are artificial intelligence (AI) and data science, cybersecurity, immersive media, and Internet of Things and future communications infrastructure.
At the opening of Infocomm Media Business Exchange at Marina Bay Sands Singapore Convention Centre, Minister for Communications and Information Dr Yaacob Ibrahim noted that “they are exciting fields with bright prospects in their own right, and they have great potential to transform other industries and enhance people’s lives”.
Artificial Intelligence and Data Science
The nation has established AI.SG, a national programme with funding of up to S$150 million to boost Singapore’s AI capabilities.
Toyota cruises with NVIDIA Drive PX2
Toyota, one of the world’s largest automakers and renowned for its high standards and priority on safety, has picked NVIDIA Drive PX for its autonomous vehicles. It will use the AI car computer platform to power advanced autonomous driving systems planned for market introduction within the next few years
Engineering teams from the two companies are already developing sophisticated software that will enhance the capabilities of Toyota vehicles, enabling them to better understand the massive volume of data generated by sensors on the car, and to handle the broad spectrum of autonomous driving situations.
“Toyota has worked on autonomous driving technologies for over 20 years with the aim of reducing traffic fatalities to zero as an ultimate goal, achieving smoother traffic, and providing mobility for all. Through this collaboration, we intend to accelerate the development of autonomous driving systems that are even more safe and capable,” said Ken Koibuchi, Executive General Manager of Toyota.
HTC leads in China VR market
HTC has captured the top spot in the virtual reality (VR) headset market in China with 18 percent market share, according to Canalys. It shipped more than 50,000 of its Vive headsets in China.
Local vendor DeePoon came a close second, taking a 17 percent share with two headsets to compete with HTC. In 2016, almost 70 percent of DeePoon’s shipment were of its M2 smart VR headset.
Overall, around 300,000 VR headsets were shipped in 2016, making it the world’s second largest market with a share of around 15 percent.
Global devices market continue to shrink for second year
Worldwide combined shipments for devices (PCs, tablets, ultramobiles and mobile phones) are expected to drop three percent in 2016, according to Gartner.
This will mark the second consecutive year of decline as the global devices market fell by 0.75 percent in 2015. And the immediate future remains bleak for this market.
“The global devices market is not on pace to return to single-digit growth soon,” said Ranjit Atwal, Research Director of Gartner.
360-degree camera demand to rise
What was popularised by Google Earth is now easily available and affordable for consumers. That is the 360-degree camera, of course.
Demand for such cameras is expected to surge among prosumers and professionals. ABI Research expects professional grade cameras and mid-tier, prosumer 360-degree cameras to hit nearly two million shipments by 2021, with consumer 360-degree cameras to top four million by the same year.
“The most prominent force driving 360-degree video content and hardware is virtual reality (VR). And though VR has been experiencing a period of content starvation due to its novelty, small early install base, and the high cost of premium VR, support from major content platforms will lessen this for 360-degree video,” said Eric Abbruzzese, Senior Analyst of ABI Research.
VR takes centre stage at Computex
Virtual reality (VR) was the talk of the town at Computex in Taipei a couple of weeks ago.
At the NVIDIA Experience Centre in Grand Hyatt Taipei, a never-ending queue of people waited for the opportunity to check out VR demos powered by the newly-launched NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 GPUs.
In the halls — both at TWTC and Nangang — many exhibitors were up in force with their own flavours of VR. At one booth, a visitor put on a harness to try virtual parachuting while in several others, they checked out virtual Grand Prix racing and other demos.
VR hardware to take off in 2016
Virtual reality (VR) is not new but it has had a few false starts in recent years. However, it looks like 2016 is going to be a great year for VR.
According to IDC, worldwide shipment of VR hardware will hit 9.6 million units in 2016. Led by key products from Samsung, Sony, HTC, and Oculus, the category should generate hardware revenue of about US$2.3 billion this year.
While VR will drive nearly all of the hardware volume in 2016, augmented reality (AR) hardware is forecast to ramp up over the next few years. The combined AR/VR device market will see hardware shipments surge past 110 million units in 2020.
NVIDIA unveils VR-ready programme
NVIDIA is paving the way to virtual reality (VR) gaming experiences with the launch of its new VR-ready programme at CES.
Under the programme, PC and notebook makers and add-in card providers will deliver GeForce GTX VR Ready systems and graphics cards that deliver an immersive VR gaming experience. The programme minimises confusion regarding which equipment is necessary to play the range of VR games and applications increasingly coming to market.
Delivering a great VR experience demands seven times the graphics processing power of traditional 3D games and applications – driving framerates above 90 frames per second (fps) for two simultaneous images (one for each eye).
Samsung Gear VR available in Singapore
Powered by Oculus technology, Samsung Gear VR will be available for S$148 from November 28 in Singapore. The headset is fully optimised and compatible with the latest Samsung flagship smartphones, including the Galaxy Note 5 4G+, […]
NVIDIA releases SDKs for VR platforms
NVIDIA has released the 1.0 version of two powerful VR software development kits (SDKs) — NVIDIA GameWorks VR and NVIDIA DesignWorks VR — to help developers deliver VR games and applications.
Immersive VR requires seven times the graphics processing power compared to traditional 3D apps and games.
When used in conjunction with the company’s industry-leading GeForce and Quadro GPUs, these SDKs provide developers the tools to create VR experiences, increase performance, reduce latency, improve hardware compatibility, and accelerate 360-degree video broadcasts.
Virtual reality a hit at NVIDIA ballroom
At Computex, the exhibition officially closes at 6pm each day but at NVIDIA’s exhibition room, the doors only shut at 9pm. That’s because members of the IT industry fraternity and the public alike are making […]
HTC debuts Vive VR headset
Through a strategic partnership with Valve, HTC has introduced HTC Vive, which aims to transform the way consumers interact with technology and the world around them. If you’re planning to go out and grab one, hold steady because the consumer edition will only be available at end 2015.
HTC and Valve have introduced a full room scale 360-degree solution with tracked controllers so users can get up, walk around and explore virtual space, inspect objects from every angle and truly interact with surroundings. The headset features high quality graphics, 90 frames per second video and great audio fidelity.
HTC is also introducing new wireless VR controllers that will make users feel as one with the virtual environment. The new HTC VR Controllers come in a pair and are designed to work with a wide range of VR experiences.
Entelechy Asia 