Virtual World Web Teams with Oculus, Virtuix for Holodeck
Virtual World Web Inc. (VWW) announced on Friday that it is collaborating with Occulus VR and Virtuix to co-develop the first-ever, consumer virtual reality simulator. Dubbed as "Holodeck Version 1.0," this solution will combine the company's Curio software with the Oculus Rift and Virtuix Omni.
The Curio software, according to the company, provides realistic, virtual environments. Users can fully interact with other users in the virtual world, including playing out stories and games, attending school classes, viewing concerts and holding meetings.
Brian Shuster, CEO of VWW, expects the official Holodeck public release, scheduled for early 2015, will be as groundbreaking as "when the first personal computers debuted on the market."
"It's so exciting because suddenly the paradigm shift will be that people won't have to 'go' to things anymore, but these things will come to them. For example, students won't have to physically go to school -- the school, professors and classroom will come to them," Shuster says. "The same holds true for everything from mall shopping experiences, going to the movie theater or a concert, and even conducting business meetings."
Sorry, but some experiences can't be replaced with Virtual Reality, like concerts.
"From the way we live and work to the ways we entertain ourselves and engage with others, I anticipate that this revolutionary technology will lead to major sociological and behavioral modifications that impact our everyday lives," he adds. "This truly is a game changer and will provide a whole different way of how future our future[sic] is going to look."
Although the announcement didn't reveal pricing, we already know that the Virtuix Omni is $499 for one treadmill, and $1,019 for two. Currently, Oculus VR is selling the second Rift development kit for $350. That said, expect to pay around $850 for the hardware.
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Currently, the Curio 3D browser is in the alpha stage, allowing users to navigate through the Virtual World Web, a network of interconnected virtual communities. New users log into this new 3D Internet, create a persona, and then discover a number of different areas connected by a single lobby. This service "plays" like a MMOG, allowing users to explore in third person, or shift to first person for a more immersive experience.
"The company was formed with the goal of supplementing the flat web with a 3D web, through their proprietary platform software, which offers companies and organizations around the globe the opportunity to become service providers on the network and/or creating virtual world experiences, complete with their own content, rules, animations, scripts and visual effects," reads the company's profile.
For more information about Curio, head here.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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Stimpack I understand when everyone else does it, but please remember that Oculus only has one letter C.Reply -
virtualban I am curious how would the presence of ever-beautiful, ever-fit, avatars impact self esteem, the desirability factor, the increasing preferences for the virtual over the real, etc.Reply
And impacts on the interactions between people when they can be as tall, buff, thin, as they wish, or chose gender, race, species or even method of representation (for example, cartoon-ish vs. fully 3D) of the avatar representing themselves or others in cyberspace. And the effects of fully immersive 'porn' interacting with humans, with pre-programmed empty shell type of avatars, or with fully interactive artificial intelligence.
Will people feel empowered by the new technologies, or threatened with the changes in the established status?
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f-14 what the frack this is no V-world and they are no Daniel or Zoe Greystones.Reply
I am curious how would the presence of ever-beautiful, ever-fit, avatars impact self esteem, the desirability factor, the increasing preferences for the virtual over the real, etc.
And impacts on the interactions between people when they can be as tall, buff, thin, as they wish, or chose gender, race, species or even method of representation (for example, cartoon-ish vs. fully 3D) of the avatar representing themselves or others in cyberspace. And the effects of fully immersive 'porn' interacting with humans, with pre-programmed empty shell type of avatars, or with fully interactive artificial intelligence.
Will people feel empowered by the new technologies, or threatened with the changes in the established status? -
Haravikk ReplyI am curious how would the presence of ever-beautiful, ever-fit, avatars impact self esteem, the desirability factor, the increasing preferences for the virtual over the real, etc.
Probably not at all with the graphical capabilities of this virtual world; it makes Second Life look really cutting edge.
But at the same time; in terms of body image, while some people may get fixated by it, in Second Life there are plenty of people who just want to explore being entirely different things, be it animal, robot, space pirate etc. etc. -
Draven35 If you really crank the settings in SL and have modern built mesh stuff, it can look very good. VWW/RLC is just... old.Reply