Seurat masterpiece in VR / Ambiotherm VR weather module / Crime scene VR — Inside VR & AR

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During an interview with The Independent, Apple CEO Tim Cook said the potential impact of augmented reality on the world could rival that of the smartphone. "The smartphone is for everyone," Cook said, "We don't have to think the iPhone is about a certain demographic... It's for everyone. I think AR is that big. It's huge. I get excited because of the things that could be done that could improve a lot of lives." Apple is said to be working on a pair of lightweight AR glasses with German manufacturer Carl Zeiss. – CNET

Ambiotherm is a new VR accessory that allows users to feel wind and temperature changes. The National University of Singapore's Nimesha Ranasinghe and his team have developed the technology. The wind effect is achieved by two fans that clip to the bottom of the headset, and the temperature effect is delivered via a module at the back of a user's neck. Ranasinghe's team found that heat applied to the neck can eventually be felt through the whole body, and that wind passing the throat can give the impression of windy conditions. "The next step is to start including smells and vibrations," he says. – NEW SCIENTIST

Artist George Peaslee has recreated Georges Seurat's "A Sunday on La Grande Jette" in virtual reality, using Tilt Brush. French post-impressionist Seurat's 1884 masterpiece inspired both Stephen Sondheim's 1984 stage production "Sunday in the Park with George" and a famous scene from 1986's "Ferris Bueller's Day Off." – UPLOADVR

Startup Dreamscape Immersive will open a VR multiplex in Los Angeles' Century City in September. Viewers will use untethered headsets so they can move freely around the theater space and interact with each other and with both real and virtual objects. Dreamscape co-chairman says, “Today, audiences can see movies in theaters in three formats: 2D, 3D, and IMAX. Dreamscape establishes the Fourth Platform, VR." Variety says that since Dreamscape Immersive emerged "out of stealth" this morning, not much is known about the company apart from a long list of deep-pocketed backers, including filmmaker Steven Spielberg. – VARIETY

The Mobile Crane Simulator combines an Oculus headset with a modular rig to greatly reduce the cost of training. The system, from Industrial Training International and Serious Labs, Inc, will debut at the ConExpo Event this March in Las Vegas. The designers chose the Oculus for its comfort and portability, but the set-up supports OpenVR, allowing it to potentially also work on the Vive. (The "mobile" in the device's name refers to a type of crane, rather than to mobile VR.) – ROAD TO VR

A retired Kansas law enforcement agent and a group of aviation scientists have come together to generate large-scale VR recreations of crime scenes. Not long before retiring, Kansas Bureau of Investigation Agent David Klamm and his fellow officers captured 60 3D scans of a bloody crime scene at a local lawn mower factory. Once he was teaching at Wichita State, Klamm met a group of aviation scientists who introduced him to the university's 39 foot long VR "cave," allegedly the biggest in the world, designed for recreations of business jet interiors. Using the 3D crime scene scans Klamm's team took, the lawn mower factory shooting was the basis for the first of a series of large-scale reproductions that detectives (and, possibly, jurors) can walk through. – WICHITA EAGLE

Stanford University has introduced "The Idea of Virtual Reality," a freshman introductory seminar on the "past, present, and future" of VR. The class uses Google Cardboard to access VR videos, and discussions include ideas of immersion and desensitization. The instructor is Matthew Wilson Smith, a professor of German and theater studies. He says, "We're spending time looking at the history of VR, going back to the 19th century and through the 20th, although it even has roots all the way back to Plato and his allegory of the cave." – STANFORD DAILY

At the Virtual Reality and the Metaverse forum, user calebdgr8 asks, "How does someone with no experience break into the field and learn about virtual reality in hopes of someday starting a business around it?"

mishefe responds, "Where are you from? There are definitely VR / Unity / game dev classes in tech-dominant cities like the ones in the Bay Area, etc."

Coitus_king says, "If I were you I'd watch a bunch of videos on YouTube about VR and its various applications. Be prepared to watch a lot of videos because it probably won't be enough without actually having a VR to play around with yourself. Also I'd pick up learning how to code because that will help with any sort of VR technology as of right now."

fa_nyak agrees, adding, "If you're interested in developing vr apps/games and have no experience, you probably want to learn some C# or Javascript programming basics and then dive into some tutorials on Unity game development. It'll probably take several months (if not a year or two) of study/practice, but if you enjoy this stuff, it's absolutely worthwhile. Once you know one programming language, learning others will be a million times easier, as they're generally all very similar. This is all assuming that what you want to do is make software for VR. Maybe you're more interested in the business side, or hardware development? You didn't really say what you're wanting to do. Figuring that out is the best first step!"

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