Virtual Reality has dipped its toes into the consumer market, but now we're ready to be blown away by the next step. At MWC, we'll see it.
Virtual Reality: In 2017 it's going to be on the tip of everyone's tongue. At Mobile World Congress 2017 it's going to steal the show.
Virtual Reality has the world excited. Games will become more immersive by the size of an entire universe. Demonstrations will go from static, 2D representations, to encapsulating, participatory 360° worlds to be explored. New forms of entertainment will come from the technology that can currently only be imagined, and new possibilities of ways of living will be opened up to us all. What's more, these new possibilities will largely come on a mobile platform, as 98% of VR headsets sold last year were for smartphone devices.
The Mobile World Congress is fast approaching, and after an incredible year of technological advancements in machine learning and artificial intelligence we enjoyed in 2016, we are excited to see what this year's Mobile World Congress has to show us. VR broke out at last year's event, and this time around we're bracing ourselves to be completely blown away by what will be on show. Here are some of the exhibitors and themes with some of the most interesting projects to look out for at the Congress.
5 Reasons Mobile Technology Is Taking Over The World
The vast majority of VR headsets sold last year was the cheap and cheerful Google Cardboard, but Samsung's Gear led the race of the heavier duty headsets on the market.
The Future of Sports Entertainment
We've all been there. You're watching a huge sporting event you've been looking forward to for a long time, and a critical moment arrives to change the game completely; perhaps Leo Messi makes an incisive pass to cut the opposition's defense open and break the deadlock, or Tom Brady somehow finds a way out of the crowded pocket to deliver the ball to Rob Gronkowski in the open backfield. We watch these seemingly impossible plays and wonder how did these geniuses manage to find that moment of perfection, when to us watching on the screens it looks like they had nowhere to go.
Wouldn't it be great if we could watch the play again, but from the angle that Messi had when he was looking for the perfect pass? Or from Brady's perspective as he had to dodge two or three gigantic men doing everything in their physical power to jump on him, before eventually locating some open space to throw to a receiver?
LiveLike VR are a company specializing in bringing the VR technology to the world of sports entertainment, in an array of different manners. Their founder, Andre Lorenceau, will be speaking at Mobile World Congress 2017 on the future of sports entertainment, and how brand new ways of enjoying the game will enter the market in a few short years.
Virtual Reality: A New Way to Interact
In a virtual universe, how does one interact with a software that is surrounding them? When wearing a virtual reality headset, how do you click on buttons and options, and navigate your way through a software? These questions are basic in nature, some of the first things that VR will have to answer before it can develop further, yet it remains that these are questions that need answers.
At the forefront of this battle is the Swedish company Crunchfish, who are developing two products in particular to augment the development of this new technology. Crunchfish are building solutions that will allow users to interact in a 'Touchless' manner, using hand gestures. The camera on your mobile device hooked up to the headset will allow convenient interaction from long distances thanks to the technology.
Together with this, their award-winning aBubbl® technology will bring people in the real world together more easily with this augmented reality technology. With the aBubbl® software, you can connect with others and broadcast to other headsets easily, making it a very useful tool for networking and collaborative meetings, among other things.
VR Backhaul Solutions - Developing The Optics
The Fraunhofer Heinrich Hertz Institute is a world leader in research and development of mobile and optical communication networks and systems as well as processing and coding of video signals. Their idea is to "put science into action," and in doing that, they are on the cutting edge of one of the world's most exciting current-day technologies.
https://www.hhi.fraunhofer.de/fileadmin/Videos/Jobs_und_Karriere/HHI-Fraunhofer-Imageclip_V2.mp4
The Fraunhofer HHI will be showing off their latest developments in the processing of virtual reality video at the Mobile World Congress 2017. They will be showcasing “Tile Based HEVC Streaming for VR,” and the world is looking forward to seeing where they can bring this new form of media consumption. The Institute are also highly active in the 5G market, and will be displaying their Software Defined Radio (SDR) demo at the Congress.
Mass adoption of a new reality
galigu is an Israeli company that is working at making the technology of Virtual Reality a pleasure for everyday consumers to enjoy. Their team of software engineers and user-experience visionaries share the goal of creating the most enjoyable experience possible when it comes to the world of VR.
According to their website, galigu are looking to "Revolutionize the way people experience VR," by "Making high-quality VR content accesible and tangible for all." It is a young company with a young idea, but given the right nurturing and development could turn into one of the most exciting and enjoyable prospects at the Congress.
