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Oculus Quest

More Amazing Oculus Quest Hand-Tracking Demos Show Yo-Yos & Nightmares

Yet more amazing Oculus Quest hand-tracking demos have surfaced online over the past week.

Last week we covered a bunch of new demos from developer Daniel Beauchamp, who showcased Quest hand-tracking used for finger skating and more. Since then, Beauchamp revealed two more impressive videos. The first is for this VR yo-yo demo:

As you can see the string of the yo-yo is attached to the user’s virtual finger, allowing them to perform realistic tricks and get tangled up. Even without the weight of a yo-yo in-hand, this looks like it would be more intuitive than doing the same actions with a Touch controller.

Next up is this decidedly freakier demo, in which the tips of each finger are replaced with… smaller hands mirroring the same movements.

It reminds us of a scene from the Dr. Strange movie. Extending all of the fingers creates a strange and somewhat disgusting pattern. Honestly, we’re kind of glad we haven’t seen this one in VR ourselves; we’re not sure we’d be able to sleep afterwards.

We’re not just talking new demos from Beauchamp this time around, though. Holoception creator Dennys Kuhnert also revealed a pretty incredible demo this week, which looks a little like a Quest version of the Aperture Hand Lab demo for the Valve Index controllers.

It’s a pretty amazing bit of work; by mirroring the user’s arm movements and adding in physics, the user is able to shake hands with their virtual doppleganger and even play a game of rock, paper, scissors.

Facebook still hasn’t opened up hand-tracking for release in apps in the Oculus Store, but there are plenty of interesting games that utilize the feature over on SideQuest. We’ll keep covering any cool Quest hand-tracking demos we find, so check back!

Quelle:

https://uploadvr-com.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/uploadvr.com/new-quest-hand-tracking-demos/?amp

7. März 2020 0 comment

Knowledge Software/Apps

Oculus Quest Hand Tracking Game Has You Solving Puzzles By Throwing Your Dismembered Hand

A proof-of-concept shows how hand tracking technology is bringing new possibilities to VR gaming.

Daniel Beauchamp is Head of Virtual and Augmented Reality at Shopify. He’s also an avid VR developer working on some of the most unique projects for the Oculus Quest using the headsets’ newly-implemented hand tracking functionality. If you take a look at his Twitter, you’ll find a multitude of demos showcasing the wide range of possibilities afforded by hand tracking. This includes everything from finger and shadow puppets to finger-controlled skateboarding.

His most recent project, however, is by far the most bizarre one yet. In a video posted to Twitter earlier today, Beauchamp shows off a proof of concept using Google Blocks in which players use a dismembered hand in order to navigate puzzles. The video shows a POV of Beauchamp stuck behind bars; in the background, a red button sits on top of a desk just across the room. He closes his right hand into a fist, makes a throwing motion, and suddenly his hand flies through the bars and across the room, landing below the desk just shy of the button. Still in control of his severed appendage, Beauchamp then uses his fingers to creepily scale the desk—a rather unsettling sight at first—and make his way to the button which he then activates, opening the cell doors and completing the “puzzle.”

It’s a concept that’s been played around with before in the past. Lucas Rizzotto, the developer behind the award-winning social experience Where Thoughts Go, developed a limb-swapping puzzle experience as part of a 24-hour challenge at MIT hackathon back in 2017. The demo had players changing limbs to navigate various puzzles and enemies, including a flying projectile hand which could be fired at buttons and various other triggers. Still, Beauchamps’ proof of concept appears to be one of the first VR experiences to marry hand tracking technology with detachable limbs. With the right creative mind, who knows what kind of mind-bending puzzles one could create.

As previously stated, Beauchamp has already teased numerous proof-of-concept projects which make excellent use of native hand tracking on Oculus Quest. My personal favorite is a Techdeck-inspired fingerboard experience in which Beauchamp uses his middle and index fingers to control a VR skateboard as he grinds rails and performs heelflips.

For a better idea of what Oculus Quest hand tracking has to offer, check out our post breaking down the top five hand-tracking games you can play for free on Oculus Quest right now.

Quelle:

Foto: Danielle Beauchamp

Oculus Quest Hand Tracking Game Has You Solving Puzzles By Throwing Your Dismembered Hand

6. März 2020 0 comment

Examples

Ford and Bosch Utilizing VR in Mach-E Training

Ford Motor Company and tech supplier Bosch have partnered to create a virtual reality training program for the Mustang Mach-E. This new program will allow technicians to learn how to service and maintain the all-electric vehicle without needing access to a physical model. In addition to teaching technicians how to perform diagnostics and services related to the Mach-E’s high-voltage system, virtual reality acts as an ongoing training tool that provides opportunities to pick up niche skills in the future. “The virtual reality training solution is about new technology that builds efficiency,” said Geoff Mee, director of operations for Bosch in the company’s Friday press release. “By improving the diagnostic process, technicians are able to perform maintenance and make repairs faster and more easily.” Ford is the first in the automotive industry to adopt Bosch’s program for its service technician powertrain repair course. Bosch arrived at proof of concept for their automotive repair training via virtual reality in 2019. Both Bosch and Ford make use of Facebook’s Oculus Quest headset, which allows organizations to scale their virtual reality applications. Companies like DHL, Johnson & Johnson, and Farmers Insurance have also adopted the Oculus for Business. The headset provides access to training in low-resource areas, safe training in risky fields, and collaborative work at all distances.

Dave Johnson, the director of Ford service engineering operations described the process, saying, “Technicians will be immersed in a simulated and gamified world, meaning they won’t need to rely on actual Mustang Mach-E vehicles to learn about …

Quelle:

https://www.aedaily.net/en/posts/ford-and-bosch-utilizing-vr-in-mach-e-training/

5. März 2020 0 comment

Hardware Knowledge

Oculus Quest’s hand-tracking now turns on when you’re not using Touch controllers

https://youtu.be/JWjMacQnWJo

Hand-tracking now activates automatically on Oculus Quest when you aren’t using the Touch controllers.

The feature is the biggest change in the new v13 software update to Quest headsets, which is rolling out over the week. Facebook added experimental controller-free hand tracking for Quest in December. It enables you use your hands in the open air to interact with VR content rather than through Touch controllers. This is done through advanced computer vision algorithms powered by machine learning.

But until now, the feature had to be activated manually from the main menu each time, at which point you’d place down your Touch controllers and see your hands. To re-enable Touch controllers, you had to either disable the feature or reboot the headset.

The v13 update introduces an option to have hand-tracking enabled automatically whenever you place down your Touch controllers, and disable automatically when you pick them back up again. This significantly reduces the friction of using the experimental feature, and means that when you put on your Quest to quickly view or try something out you’ll instantly see your hands.

The option is enabled by default if you’ve enabled hand-tracking. We’re not quite sure why you’d want to turn it off, but you can find it in the “Experimental” tab of the Settings if you do.

The Oculus Store still doesn’t seem to be accepting updates for controller-free hand tracking, so you can still only use the feature in the built-in system apps. That’s of course unless you download content from SideQuest, the unofficial alternate store for Quest content.

Apps using the hand-tracking SDK can declare that they support both controllers and hand-tracking. This means you can actually switch between the two during games, not just in the menu. We tested this out with Tea for God (available from SideQuest) and found it works.

This could enable games which ask you to switch between controllers and hands for different sections based on what works best — provided the Oculus Store policies allow for this kind of mechanic.

Quest firmware v13 is rolling out this week. If you don’t have it already, try leaving your headset on standby connected to both power and Wi-Fi.

Quelle:

Oculus Quest’s hand-tracking now turns on when you’re not using Touch controllers

10. Februar 2020 0 comment

Knowledge Research

Gleechi VirtualGrasp Automates Virtual Hand-Object Interactions And Animations

A virtual reality software company, Gleechi, revealed a new technology they call VirtualGrasp, which automates the programming of hand interactions in VR. It allows you to easily grasp and interact with any object that has a 3D mesh “without the need of physics or manual collider assignment.”

Gleechi demonstrated the technology in a new video, embedded above, which shows a VirtualGrasp demo running on the Oculus Quest, using the Quest’s experimental controller-free hand tracking. In one part of the video, the user demonstrates picking up a screwdriver. Despite the unusual shape of the object, the VirtualGrasp demo shows the user gripping it in several ways, including by the handle and just the very tip itself.

While the demo above is running on the Oculus Quest, Gleechi tells us that VirtualGrasp is being worked on with a range of different hardware types, including Touch controllers and haptic gloves. This will allow the technology to be easily implemented in different scenarios, not requiring one particular set up or piece of hardware.

According to Gleechi CPO David Svee, the technology originates from research that allowed robots to pick up objects in real time, and is now being applied to virtual hands and virtual hand animation. The aim is to reduce the number of manual animations required when implementing hand interactions in VR, and provide an easy solution to automate object interaction to work with any 3D mesh when using virtual hands.

Gleechi also claims that VirtualGrasp provides a more accurate and immersive level of hand animation when interacting with objects, which could be particularly useful in certain fields that require a high level of accuracy, while also reducing the amount of manual animations that need to be produced.

More information can be found on Gleechi’s website.

Quelle:

https://www.virtualrealitypulse.com/?open-article-id=12796263&article-title=gleechi-virtualgrasp-automates-virtual-hand-object-interactions-and-animations&blog-domain=uploadvr.com&blog-title=uploadvr

5. Februar 2020 0 comment

Knowledge Research

Months After Its Expected Launch, the ‘Oculus for Business’ Program is Still “Available Soon”

Back at the end of April, 2019, Oculus introduced “the new Oculus for Business” program, an enterprise-focused program which would see Oculus headsets sold with customized software aimed at large scale device management and business and commercial use-cases, along with specialized support and warranties. While the company expected the program to launch in the Fall of 2019, the Oculus for Business program is still not open for business.

If you’re an enterprise looking to use VR to enhance your business, you may have come across the Oculus for Business program. Through it, Oculus pairs the Quest headset for $1,000 with specialized software, licenses, and support for large scale enterprise deployments.

The official site presents the program as ripe and ready for enterprise needs, but for anyone except select pilot partners, the program has been “available soon” for months following its expected Fall 2019 launch. For businesses hoping to integrate VR into their organization, that’s months of frustrating uncertainty.

When we reached out to the company, Facebook gave us a status update but still wasn’t able to be any more specific than “soon” regarding open availability of the Oculus for Business program.

“We recently completed beta with a closed group of customers and ISVs, and the feedback was overwhelmingly positive. This month we’re continuing a gradual rollout to additional customers in the order with which they purchased and as hardware becomes available,” a Facebook spokesperson said. “Oculus Quest is currently backordered, and we’re working hard to replenish stock. We plan to continue with release to everyone, including new customers, soon.”

While other companies have had enterprise programs in place for some time, the slow and uncertain rollout of Oculus for Business continues a trend which has earned Facebook a reputation for being obtuse to the needs of enterprise VR customers outside of hand-picked high-profile organizations.

That extends to which Oculus hardware Facebook even offers through the Oculus for Business program. If Rift S or Oculus Go are the best fit for your business, you’re out of luck; Quest is the only option, making ‘Oculus Quest for Business’ a more fitting name.

Facebook will sell Rift S and Go in bulk with an enterprise license, but key enterprise-focused features—like remote device management, provisioning, kiosk mode, and more—are only available on Quest. Oculus had planned to offer Go as part of Oculus for Business, but said it dropped the headset based on pilot feedback.

HTC on the other hand—which has long touted its Vive Enterprise program alongside a turnkey VR arcade platform—offers enterprise features across its entire line of products, both PC and standalone.

Speaking with Facebook about the Oculus for Business program, the company pointed us to both the Enterprise Use Agreement which governs the program, and the Hospitality Entertainment Combination Addendum, which further details limitations and responsibilities for business-to-consumer use-cases like VR arcades and attractions. The latter, interestingly, forbids companies from “implementing any custom co-location functionality” (ie: two users sharing the same physical space for a multiplayer experience), a capability which, to our knowledge, Oculus has not made available to developers since demonstrating it more than a year ago.

Quelle:

Foto: Image courtesy Facebook

https://www.virtualrealitypulse.com/?open-article-id=12824866&article-title=social-ar-vr-workspace–spatial–secures–14m-series-a-financing&blog-domain=roadtovr.com&blog-title=road-to-vr

3. Februar 2020 0 comment

Knowledge Research

This Oculus Quest Mixed Reality Apartment Is Straight Out Of Minority Report

Oculus Quest hand-tracking turns one apartment into an XR playground.

Remember that scene in Minority Report where Tom Cruise’s character cycles through a bunch of important police data by swiping his hands across a massive holographic display? Imagine having that same type of interactivity while sitting on your couch; or your dining room table; hell, maybe even your toilet.

XR wizard Greg Madison, an interaction designer for spatial computing, has made science-fiction a reality by turning his own home into a mixed reality playground using the Oculus Quest.

In a short video posted yesterday to Twitter, Madison shows off a custom-built VR environment layered perfectly over his real-world apartment. This means the virtual table in his dining room could actually be leaned on; the sofa in his virtual living room is, for all intents and purposes, a real sofa.

However, these are no ordinary pieces of digital furniture. VR should be better than reality, and Madison’s project definitely fully embraces that ideology. Like an early-2000’s science fiction film, several of the chairs, tables, and other amenities of Madison’s mixed reality apartment feature various interactive displays that can be controlled via the Quest’s built-in hand-tracking.

In the video, Madison can be seen navigating a tabletop version of Google Maps paired to his dining room table, scrolling through sheet music above an electronic keyboard, interacting with the Bigscreen app on the living room TV, and scrolling the web from the comfort of an armchair.

Given the Quest’s generous guardian-boundary limit, it’s encouraging to see developers continue to build VR experiences that take advantage of this exciting technology. We recently covered the alpha release of an ambitious location-based shooter for the Quest that pushes the boundaries of standalone VR. Hopefully, Madison motivates Oculus, as well as other VR developers to continue exploring the Quest’s potential as a mixed reality, location-based platform.

Quelle:

Feature Image Credit: Greg Madison

This Oculus Quest Mixed Reality Apartment Is Straight Out Of Minority Report

28. Januar 2020 0 comment

Hardware Knowledge

Smart Fabric Technology Brings Touch Haptics To The Oculus Quest

The glove-like accessory allows standalone VR users to feel virtual objects.

In January of 2018, BeBop Sensors debuted its Forte Data Glove at the annual Consumer Electronics Showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, during which the company showcased its “smart fabric” technology simuating the sensation of touch while in a virtual space; put simply, the high-tech gloves allow users to “feel” virtual objects while immersed in a VR experience.

Since that debut, BeBop Sensors has been working non-stop on its enterprise-friendly haptic technology. The latest iteration of its one-size-fits-all Forte Data Glove can now be combined with the Oculus Quest controllers, integrating BeBop’s hand tracking technology with the Quest’s 3D tracking. Together, these two tech systems — along with BeBop Sensors SDK, allow you to experience force, location, size, weight, bending, twisting, and various other presences across any size, resolution, and geometry in VR.

According to Bebop Sensors, the latency between your real-world actions and what happens in VR is virtually unnoticeable. When you move your fingers or reach out to grab an object, the response time between the real-world and the virtual world is just under 6 milliseconds, all thanks to fast sensor speeds clocking in at 160Hz and six full-range haptic actuators.

Splash a lake in VR and you’ll feel the water on your fingertips as soon as they touch the surface; strum a guitar and the notes will instantly ring out.

For the sake of convenience, the gloves themselves fit into a small bag and can be connected to a system via Bluetooth or USB in a matter of minutes. Featuring a unique open palm design, the gloves are breathable and can be cleaned more easily than other haptic gloves. The internal sensors are also waterproof, protecting them from sweaty palms developed during intense VR sessions; an especially useful addition considering the device’s 15-hour battery life.

BeBop Sensors’ Forte Data Gloves could be a potential game-changer for multiple industries within the immersive technology sector, from enterprise and entertainment, to eSports and social VR. Imagine being able to high-five someone in RecRoom and actually feel their hand on yours, or the vibrations of a bottle as you break it over the head of an enemy in SUPERHOT VR.

However, the main purpose of the Forte Data Glove, according to BeBop Sensors, is to reshape how companies approach enterprise training. As more and more industries continue to explore VR/AR technology in workforce training – the expectation of what learners will experience in the virtual world is growing.

CLO’s and training managers have seen the benefits of training through VR and AR. With the help of immersive technology, employees are not only retaining more information in shorter periods of time, but they’re also making less costly mistakes, both minimal and life-threatening. The more realistic the simulation, the more effective the training.

Those are big wins for everyone involved.

Beyond some basic vibrating, the Quest’s Touch controllers, and all consumer-ready VR controllers for that matter, still lack a realistic sense of touch feedback. BeBop Sensors Forte Data Glove could actually bring that missing layer to VR.

The gloves are already being used by multiple Fortune 500 customers for training, medical trials & rehabilitation, robot & drone control, VR CAD design & review, and much more.

BeBop Sensors products have won the Red Herring Award, the TIME Magazine Best Inventions Award, the IDTechEx Wearable Award, the Frost & Sullivan North American Technology Innovation Award, and the Gartner Cool Vendor Award.

Quelle:

Smart Fabric Technology Brings Touch Haptics To The Oculus Quest

Feature Image Credit: BeBop Sensors

30. Oktober 2019 0 comment

Hardware Knowledge

Quest Will Likely Get a Digital IPD Indicator via Software Update

Oculus Quest includes an IPD slider on the bottom of the headset which adjusts the distance between the lenses for ideal alignment with the user’s eyes, which is important for visual comfort and clarity. Since launch however, there’s been no way to know the actual width of the IPD setting, leaving users to mostly guess if they’ve set it correctly. However, Quest actually has the capability to measure its own IPD setting, and a future software update is likely to expose this information to the user.

It’s only been a few months since the launch of Quest, but the headset has already seen a range of improvements added via software updates. Passthrough+, for instance, recently rolled out, greatly improving the headset’s passthrough view with lower latency and more accurate visuals. The headset is soon to get both hand-tracking and PC tethering capabilities too. A future update is also likely to add an IPD indicator to make it easier to set the correct distance between lenses to maximize visual fidelity and comfort.

Quest IPD Indicator

At Oculus Connect last month during a Quest demo, I noticed that upon adjusting the IPD slider, a small pop-up appeared over my view which specified the current IPD width in millimeters. The readout updated as I moved the slider, allowing me to easily dial into my known IPD of 64mm.

A digital readout like this is common among other headsets which have hardware IPD adjustments, but it doesn’t yet exist in the consumer Quest. This week an Oculus spokesperson confirmed to Road to VR that the company is considering adding the feature, though they didn’t have any concrete information on when we might see it.

How do we know that this is likely to come via a software update rather than a hardware tweak? Looking at teardown photos of Quest shows that the headset’s IPD slider already includes the necessary electronics to measure its setting. This would make sense, as ideally the headset should be aware of the IPD setting so that it can adjust the rendered image accordingly (as an offset IPD can impact the sense of scale that comes from 3D visuals).

Why an IPD Indicator is Important

Though it’s possible to move Quest’s IPD slider, without a readout of the current setting, users are mostly left to guess if they’ve got the setting right since there’s really nothing to compare it to. Manually setting your IPD with no means of calibration is really difficult; even if you get close (say, within 5mm of your actual IPD), this can still notably effect visual fidelity and comfort.

On Quest it is possible to get a calibration screen, but it’s a clunky process and still not a particularly reliable way to get the correct IPD setting. Not having a reliable means of determining and replicating the correct setting is especially a pain when passing the headset around to others; not only is it difficult to guess where to put the setting for each user, you’ll ultimately need to dial it back in for yourself when you’re done. With a readout you could easily return the IPD to a known value.

Measuring Your IPD

Actually determining your own IPD measurement is still a clunky process in itself, and one that isn’t likely to get easier until eye-tracking hardware finds its way into more headsets. Short of asking for a precise measurement next time you visit the eye-doctor, you can also use a ruler and mirror to measure your own IPD, or ask a friend to hold a ruler close to your eyes and measure the distance between the center of each pupil.

In headsets of the future we could expect automatic IPD measurement and adjustment which would make this all much more seamless.

Quelle:

Quest Will Likely Get a Digital IPD Indicator via Software Update

Whitepaper (German) – Institute for Immersive Learning

29. Oktober 2019 0 comment

Examples

Johnson & Johnson to usher in a new age of surgical training with Oculus VR

Oculus Connect 6 keynote, Johnson & Johnson revealed plans to help train surgeons using Oculus VR.

With the portability of Oculus Quest, Johnson & Johnson is helping to usher in a new age of surgical training by utilizing virtual reality. By partnering up with Oculus and Osso VR, the Johnson & Johnson Institute is working to bring virtual reality training to surgeons all around the world.

The news was shared during today’s opening keynote for Oculus Connect 6 and honestly, the number speak for themselves. According to a study held by the Imperial College London, 83% of surgeons who completed training in virtual reality were successful in moving to active labs, while 0% of those trained in traditional training methods were successful in completing their labs.

Johnson & Johnson working with Oculus is of course just one of many outlets that Oculus has used to explore helping businesses through virtual reality. In the VR for business video that we’ve included above, users can get a glimpse at some of the various things that Oculus is doing to help businesses push things further by putting virtual reality at their fingertips.

Oculus Business will help companies like Johnson & Johnson realize their visions in ways that haven’t been possible before virtual reality. This is already evident in Johnson & Johnson’s progress so far, which has proven that surgeons who take time to learn the procedures in a virtual environment learn better than those in the traditional learning process.

It’s really great to see businesses taking virtual reality and using it to push their own techniques forward. Johnson & Johnson have created a fantastic little system to help train surgeons up in even better ways, and it will be intriguing to see how they put it into action all around the world. We will, of course, be keeping an eye out for any additional information surrounding these innovations.

Quelle:

https://www.shacknews.com/article/114154/johnson-johnson-to-usher-in-a-new-age-of-surgical-training-with-oculus-vr

1. Oktober 2019 0 comment