OSVR Confirms Pre-order Date for Hacker Development Kit; Launches Content Discovery Platform
Software platform reveals 65 new supporting companies including Legendary VR and NVIDIA’s Gameworks VR
BERLIN (IFA Europe 2015) – Organizers of Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR), an open software and hardware platform for virtual reality, today announced development of the Hacker Development Kit (HDK) v1.3 and related preorder date for the public on October 1, 2015.
It was also announced that the OSVR content discovery platform has launched in anticipation of the new HDK release. It is available for VR enthusiasts, developers and interested consumers now through OSVR.org. The platform features a fast-growing list of curated content ranging from 360-degree media to VR games from across the OSVR supporter network. It additionally provides a list of VR stores that contain OSVR-supported content, including the following:
- Boondogl
- Itch.Io
- Qihoo360
- Razer Cortex
- Steam
- V
- Vrideo
- WearVR
Curated content will rotate frequently to give all partner content equivalent exposure.
Interested parties may visit the platform here: http://www.osvr.org/featured.
Hacker Development Kit v1.3 Pre-Orders:
The HDK v1.3 will be made available to all for pre-order on the 1st of October with shipping later that month.
V1.3 improves upon v1.2 with a new optics module that maintains the HDK’s highly acclaimed picture quality while expanding on the eyebox to allow for sharper images without the need for Independent Adjustment lenses (IPD). It will also have individual eye focus for personalized use without glasses.
Major Software Updates
Driven by continued investments from its core team alongside a productive community of contributors, the OSVR software platform continues to grow and offer a complete set of capabilities for VR application developers. Some of the recent enhancements include:
OSVR Render Manager, allowing optimal low-latency rendering on any OSVR-supported device.
Currently supporting Gameworks VR, NVIDIA’s technology for VR headsets and games, the OSVR Render Manager provides:
- Direct Mode—the NVIDIA driver treats VR headsets as head mounted displays accessible only to VR applications, rather than a typical Windows monitor that your PC shows up on, providing better plug and play support and compatibility for VR headsets.
- Front Render Buffering—enables the GPU to render directly to the front buffer to reduce latency.
- Context Priority—provides headset developers with control over GPU scheduling to support advanced virtual reality features such as asynchronous time warp, which cuts latency and quickly adjusts images as gamers move their heads, without the need to re-render a new frame.
“Our work with NVIDIA is a key step towards achieving our goal of providing developers with a comprehensive infrastructure that allows creating high-performance VR and AR experiences regardless of the particular operating system, HMD platform, game engine or input peripherals”, says Yuval Boger, CEO of Sensics. “OSVR allows the VR/AR community to create exciting experiences without being locked in to any single vendor”.
Support for other graphics architectures are currently in development
OSVR Performance Profiler
Utilizing ETW – Event Tracing for Windows – the OSVR performance profiler allows optimizing application performance by identifying performance bottlenecks throughout the entire software stack.
Event Tracing for Windows (ETW) is an efficient kernel-level tracing facility that lets you log kernel or application-defined events to a log file and then interactively inspect and visualize them with a graphical tool
ABOUT OSVR:
OSVR™ is a software platform designed to set an open standard for virtual reality input devices, games and output to provide the best possible VR game experience. Supported by industry leaders, the OSVR framework unites developers and gamers alike under a single platform. Plug in. Play Everything.
For the full list of OSVR supporters go to www.osvr.org
Like OSVR on FB: https://www.facebook.com/OpenSourceVR.
Follow OSVR on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenSource_VR .
PRESS CONTACTS:
[email protected]
# # #
APPENDIX: NEW OSVR SUPPORTERS:
The OSVR partner network has grown in size since the last update with 65 new companies bringing the total number of supporters to 230
A4VR is a one- stop creative agency specialized in key ready virtual reality solutions. As a specialist in all areas of VR application and 360 ° content A4VR has its own motion capture studio, a 360 ° film production, 3D VR graphics department, recording studio, event – specialists and a unique interdisciplinary Innovation Unit. In their nearly 200 m ² sized VR LAB they research and develop new solutions and products around Virtual Reality, in cooperation with several universities and OSVR.
Aboard the Looking Glass is a science fiction game about dimensional time and a rescue mission gone awry, developed by Henry Hoffman
Aerys develops the Minko Engine which allows developers to build desktop, web and mobile 3D applications. It’s free and open source. Minko targets HTML5, iOS, Android, Windows, OSX and Linux. They provide everything you need to develop cross-platform applications. With a single C/C++11 code base, your 3D now targets more screens than ever! You can also integrate the Minko Engine with existing native/web apps.
The Bar L'Atelier is a living place, a rallying point between digital and human, covering several services aimed at stimulating socialization, individual skills improvement, social and professional life:
Basemark is worldwide leader in benchmark development. Basemark has started development of industry standard VR benchmarks and are committed to support OSVR.
BCAA has been developing interactive tailor made solutions for 10 years, their team is now building a VR framework to support this and will be using OSVR as a solution to integrate VR hardware and software.
BlueFrog Robotics developed Buddy, the first ever companion robot accessible to everyone.
It is supported by a new open platform based on Android and made with UNITY3D IDE.
Bnome is a Belgian IT SME specialized in the study and implementation of customize IT solutions. VectionVR, their product is a cost effective motion simulator engineered to work with a VR headset to power immersion and the physical feeling of acceleration.
Box provides a secure cloud based platform for content storage and collaboration. Developer APIs empower creative teams to load content from Box into their own applications, including secure storage for user data and web/mobile viewers for more than 100 file types.
Boost VC is an emerging technology accelerator located in Silicon Valley. Boost VC invests in early stage VR companies.
CaptoGlove is a new VR peripheral leveraging the power of your hand; a virtual glove usable in past, present and future PC games.
Climax Studios are believers in VR and released their first title, Bandit Six, in March. The sequel Bandit Six Salvo was announced at E3 2015 and will be available later in the year. Climax is also working on unannounced projects that will be available on the OSVR software platform.
DailyVR World it is a project which was born of a need that exists in the field of functional rehabilitation for neurological injury. Their team uses new technologies such as virtual reality to aid in this.
DeepStreamVR is pioneering VR games to help improve the quality of life based on a decade of research that indicates VR can help relieve pain, reduce stress and build resilience.
Ergoneers supports businesses with D-Lab3, an extensive software platform for behavioral research and Dikablis, a high end head mounted eye tracking-system. D-Lab3 supports integrated data acquisition, for example via audio, video, physiological data and of course eye-tracking. Ergoneers is located in Germany and has a US subsidiary in Portland, Oregon.
Fallen Planet Studios is the creator of the successful VR Horror Experience, Affected. They look forward to bringing future titles to OSVR and to support the open source nature of this product.
FIERY THINGS is a small London/Munich based indie game studio that, among other things, develops VR games/experiences. One of them is a survival horror VR experience called “Gooze”, which is based on a real location.
Fire Panda is a Virtual Reality development studio creating exciting and innovative VR Content, Experiences and Games. They are proud to work with some of the most talented people exploring everything VR can offer. They are experienced in VR Storytelling and building experiences that immerse viewers in new, exciting worlds.
F/LAT – Free/Libre Art and Technology is a Research Lab and Community hub for artists and others to share and develop tools in mixed media and transdisciplinary arts. We focus on Open Source and Libre Software and Hardware to ensure the greatest possible freedom for the future, to use and modify the tools we use and build.
Glue Engine is the first game engine for everyone. No programming skills needed. Our Mission is to make game development very easy for professional developers, casual developers and regular users that never created a game before.
Hendesehane is a technology development company located in Ankara, Turkey. Hendesehane Nefes represents Hendesehane's VR and Robotics product line. The product line is created for providing low latency wireless operation to the modern HMDs and USB peripherals created for Virtual Reality, Augmented Reality and Mixed Reality.
Immersive Entertainment is a software development company focusing on the creation of next-generation Virtual Reality Entertainment Content that bridges the gap between videogames and movies, providing a superior level of immersion, emotional engagement and realism.
Infinity Augmented Reality (Infinity AR) provides a revolutionary software platform that makes the digital eyewear experience a reality. The Company is the first augmented reality software platform to connect universally with digital eyewear, smartphones and tablets, integrating multiple devices into one platform.
inMotionVR combines gamification together with psychosomatic mechanics to make sure the user gets maximum engagement through VR with the movement he or she is experiencing. We believe that using a combination of gamification and VR will enable optimized therapy for a wide variety of physical and mental issues.
itch.io is an open indie game marketplace. It's a platform for independent developers of all sizes to upload, distribute, and sell their content with absolutely no barrier to entry. At over 16,000 games it's also a great place to find something new to play.
Jimbomania is an independent simulation and visualization developer, committed to open standards and software for all.
Kraken Realtime is a company specialized in interactive 3D visualizations and simulations. They create immersive training tools using haptic systems to completely immerse the trainee in his future work environment.
Legacy Games is a publisher and developer of PC and mobile games, including AR, VR, and other emerging platforms. We work with major partners and licensors such as HP, Intel, Lenovo, CBS, A&E, the BBC, and Crayola.
Legendary VR is focused on creating premium VR experiences and will bring content to the OSVR platform in the future. Legendary VR supports the open nature of this platform and looks forward to the growth and development this platform will bring to the VR industry and audience.
Mindemia is technology and consultancy firm that has been doing VR development since 2013.
Minecrift is an open source total VR conversion for Minecraft that is aiming for all of the main VR platforms. OSVR support is a necessity going forward.
Motion Reality, Inc. (MRI) manufactures virtual tactical training simulators for use by the military and law enforcement. Trainees enter the system and navigate through an endless variety of scenarios meant to challenge their tactics and clearing techniques while addressing their use of force continuum. MRI's live motion capture, modern game engine, full physics and haptic feedback blend to provide the most realistic training possible.
Narayana games is currently working on a standing to room-scale VR experience called Holodance – a spatial, rhythmic, audio-visual experience of pure ecstatic joy!
Neomancer LLC continues its tradition of bringing and applying cutting edge technology to its clients by joining the OSVR partnership as part of the team to commercially introduce HMD and wearable computing to the NYSE and NYMEX back in the late 90s; followed by one of the first demonstrations of interactive surface computing at a Museum of Modern Art installation, With a rich past in both VR hardware and software development, Neomancer looks forward to the new renaissance of VR through the leadership of OSVR.
NeuroDigital Technologies provides stunning Software and Hardware solutions for Fun & Serious games using Virtual Reality. They have developed Gloveone, a wireless haptic feedback device that lets Touch & Feel virtual reality!
Oasis VR is reimagining the arcade as a platform and marketplace. The platform will consist of a premium holistic system that that maximizes the user’s 1:1 interactions with the virtual world. The marketplace will be comprised of physical store fronts that host developers' premium content and provide easy access to that content for consumers.
Omnifnity, Omnideck 6 enables you to perform natural instinctive movement, in any direction, within the virtual world – walking, running, jumping, and even crawling, are all possible. New dimensions of immersion for simulation training are now opened up; physical and psychological factors can be induced to affect the user’s behavior.
Overpower Studios is an independent hardcore games studio based in Belo Horizonte, Brasil. They created Scorching Skies for iOS and now are focusing on Aces High, an immersive innovative MOBA-Air Combat hybrid.
Q42 creates software for the web, mobile and the internet of things. They are 61 nerds programming from offices in The Hague, Amsterdam, and Mountain View together with companies like Google, Philips, the Rijksmuseum and the Dutch State Lottery
realities.io is an independent company that recreates interesting places for VR Sightseeing and aims for photorealistic scenes and broad HMD support.
One Unify a subsidiary of Unify Holdings Pte Ltd has a mission towards building a smart city powered by the intelligence-of-things to enable predictive automation.
RJ360VR is a startup that provides virtual reality solutions, the company has grown exponentially and has launched many VR projects.
CEOs Pet Software is a small indie studio from Berlin working on their debut VR game. S.P.Y. Robot is a unique mix of stealth, hacking, puzzle and action elements.
Schell Games is aggressively pursuing VR and AR for both entertainment and educational gaming, and are quite intrigued with the possibilities for OSVR.
Selvz’s SmartVR Platform is white label solution that makes it easy for enterprise customers to create, distribute, and monetize their VR content guide and experience for the desktop and mobile VR.
Serious Simulations was founded to provide professional trainers of dangerous and complex tasks a complete suite of mixed reality training products to improve performance. The company designs and manufactures individual and small group immersive simulators where human motion is the primary interface for the experience. Display technology is key to the experience, and the company currently has the widest FOV, high resolution, VR display in a wireless package.
SpheresVR craft amazing immersive experiences that take you to another world, time and place. Their clients are in tourism, retail, heritage and immersive cinema.
Surprise Attack Games is an indie games label that publishes remarkable games from independent developers.
Surreal is the first fully immersive virtual world designed for state of the art VR and beyond
Pixelboom created an immersive Star Wars experience called Tatooine VR.
Terranovita Software created, BouncerVR a virtual reality arcade game for PC, Mac. You control a shield with your vision. Collect colored resources to charge your abilities and to attack, but beware! The enemy can bounce your attacks back at you
Tiny Bull Studios is an indie developer based in Turin, Italy. The team is working on Blind, a VR adventure in which players need to rely on sound and echolocation to escape a mysterious mansion.
Toxic Games, established in 2010, is a UK-based games developer founded by former classmates. The team began development of Q.U.B.E. as a student project in 2009 and sought out investment from independent game dev veterans, Indie Fund. All three core team members are game designers and have been able to bring Q.U.B.E. to fruition without any programming expertise. Thanks to the encouragement of academic mentors and industry execs, and with the help of Indie Fund, Toxic Games went from student hobbyists to independent developers upon graduation from University.
TREEHOUSE specializes in virtual reality content creation for education, primarily focusing on a K12 audience. TREEHOUSE partners with education aggregators to develop a supplemental curriculum using VR tools. With arms in live-action content creation, Quest Based Learning (QBL), and passive animation TREEHOUSE is the first VR content licensing company operating exclusively in the K12 educational space.
Ultrabox is a small company based in the UK, with a focus on developing and supporting entertaining content that's beyond the ordinary.
Unibrain technologies is a small group of passionate programmers trying to help develop OSVR as a platform, and create new solutions to the problems posed by upcoming and existing VR tech.
Vicator is a content creation company using state of the art Virtual- and Augmented Reality technologies. We develop immersive and interactive applications for smartphones and head-mounted devices, both tethered and untethered.
VR Nerds is working on different topics concerning VR on www.vrnerds.de which is at the moment Germanys biggest Virtual Reality Showcase, they blog about the latest VR news, game reviews, soft- and hardware.
VR Philippines is a community of VR developers and enthusiasts in the Philippines dedicated to promoting the advancement and widespread adoption of virtual reality technology in the Philippines.
VRARlab is deals with research and development of virtual and augmented reality projects. They created the project “Hauhet”.
vrAse is the biggest revolution the Smartphone has ever seen; the first high quality VR&AR case, which enables the user to experience the smartphone like never imagined before.
Vrideo is the world's most fully built-out immersive video platform. Our website, mobile apps, and VR apps allow content creators to distribute and consumers to stream immersive video across the universe of VR and non-VR devices.
Woojer developed a patented, wearable haptic technology that enables users to literally FEEL the sound. The addition of haptic sensation to the audio of AR/VR, instantaneously catapults the immersive experience by recapturing the emotional dimension lost when using headphones.
XAP Electronics designs and makes innovative products and electronic systems for motor racing, their products include steering wheels for the racing world. They are currently working on a VR simulator.
YoutopiaVR is a social world that is bringing together all of the things that make VR great. Current features include a social panoramic YouTube player, Street View, and a distribution system that enables downloading and launching other experiences from within the social world.
YouVisit is a VR company that empowers businesses and institutions to create and distribute immersive virtual experiences that both engage and convert their target audiences.
