3dRudder, an innovative technology company, leader in delivering solutions to virtual reality motion issues, announces today the 3dRudder Blackhawk, a new foot motion controller for PC Gaming and VR, to be honored with a 'CES Innovation Award' in the "Computer Accessories" product category and presented for the first time at CES 2018 in Las Vegas.

The 3dRudder Blackhawk represents the next evolution in the product line and offers a newly redesigned device providing added functionalities. It fully really takes the space limitations out of the room-scale VR experience. Users control their motion intuitively with their feet while sitting, leaving the hands free to grab hand controllers and maximize the immersion while playing games.

TwoEyes Tech is a startup that has developed a binocular 360-degree field-of-view VR camera that captures images using two pairs of fisheye lenses arranged 65 millimeters apart, just like the eyes of a human, thus allowing for a more comfortable VR experience. TwoEyes Tech, a member company of the K-ICT Born2Global Centre, made sure that the VR images it produces mirrors human eyesight by taking the standard distance between human eyes into consideration when capturing the images. As a result, the images show a three-dimensional representation of the world as people see it. In only one filming session, the VR camera captures 360-degree 3D video that can be viewed on VR headsets, smartphones, computer monitors, and 3D TVs. The videos, in full HD, 3D, and red-cyan mode, can be converted from and into 180-degree and 360-degree content, meaning that a single recording can be converted into six different types of content.

Moreover, filming with the camera is quite easy. When held horizontally, the camera records in binocular mode; when held vertically, it records in monocular mode. The recordings it produces can be viewed immediately on a smartphone or uploaded to social media.

BARONKASE LIQUID is an all-metal Micro-ATX body that supports ATX motherboards with a solid metal handle at the top making it an ideal solution for a portable VR-ready PC. It features the Captain 120EX AIO liquid cooling system incorporating a specially designed flow indicator which makes the flow rate of the coolant clearly visible. It supports a full sized ATX mainboard, which is achieved by allowing the PSU to be mounted at the top of the case towards the front and bringing power to the PSU with an extension cable provided. Full length graphics cards can also be fitted by removing a name plate on the back panel. The integrated RGB lighting system allows simultaneous color changing of different parts of the system including flow indicator, water block, SSD shroud and LED strip. One illuminated 2.5" drive bay is vertically oriented so it can be clearly seen through the side window.

At a press conference held in their global headquarters in Beijing, Pico officially revealed the Pico Neo as the world's first mass-produced standalone VR device with six degrees of freedom (6DoF) for both head and controllers. In addition, the company also revealed its expanded B2B VR Enterprise Solutions Program and first details of the Pico Zense, an all-new sub-brand with its first set of Time of Flight (TOF) depth sensor solutions and camera modules.

PICO NEO: THE WORLD'S FIRST MASS-PRODUCED VR STANDALONE WITH 6DoF HEAD TRACKING AND 6DoF CONTROLLER TRACKING
The Pico Neo is Pico's latest generation of standalone VR headset. It features the Qualcomm Snapdragon 835 Mobile VR Platform, adopts all-in-one ID design, uses lighter and more breathable cloth material, and is equipped with 3K high definition display, high-speed 4GB RAM, 64GB UFS2.0 ROM, supporting 256 GB expanded storage.

Vancouver-based startup BioInteractive Technologies Inc. has developed TENZR: the only accurate, hands-free, camera-free, wrist-worn gesture recognition controller for VR AR. For the last three years the company has focused on developing an easy to use, comfortable, accurate, and reliable gesture recognition wearable that will help replace current mobile VR AR controllers. This innovative product will provide a more immersive experience to users by freeing the hand from holding bulky button-based controllers. TENZR's new design is aimed at developers and early adopters that are interested in building and interfacing with systems that have Bluetooth connectivity. Its new design is comfortable, easy to use, and has a similar form factor to Fitbit Charge.

Elliott Myers and the team behind the Roto VR chair are pleased to announce that developer kits of their ground-breaking interactive Roto VR Chair - Roto VR, are rolling off the production line and beginning to ship to development studios worldwide. Roto VR will begin shipping to consumers in February, 2018.

"The team have been working around the clock to get Roto VR final and shipment ready" commented Elliott Myers, CEO and creator of Roto VR "We've taken our time to ensure a top quality final product and I'm thrilled to confirm that units are beginning to ship, we will move to full production and all consumer orders will be fulfilled in early 2018. We're super hyped because we know Roto VR will usher in a new era of unparalleled 360 VR immersion - and it's affordable."

We're pleased to announce that Fallout 4, the legendary post-apocalyptic adventure from Bethesda Game Studios and winner of more than 200 'Best Of' awards, is available now worldwide in virtual reality on the HTC VIVE. Fallout 4 VR is a true, full-length open-world game, offering an unparalleled amount of VR content for players, including the complete core game with all-new combat, crafting, and building systems fully re-imagined for virtual reality.

As the sole survivor of Vault 111, players enter a world destroyed by nuclear war and must rebuild the Wasteland and determine the fate of its residents. Within the massive world, players can interact with hundreds of locations, characters, and quests, all while collecting, upgrading, and building thousands of items in the most advanced crafting system ever. In addition, an all-new graphics and lighting engine brings the Wasteland to life like never before. From the blasted forests of the Commonwealth to the ruins of Boston, every location is packed with dynamic detail.

AMD today unveiled its big annual driver releases for its consumer-graphics Radeon line, and the professional-graphics Radeon Pro and FirePro lines. The BAR (big annual release) for the latter is titled AMD Radeon Pro Adrenalin Edition 17.12.1 WHQL, and introduces a slew of new features that add value to the company's FirePro and Radeon Pro graphics cards. Since its 2016 BAR (Radeon Pro Crimson ReLive), the company's regular driver updates for enterprises achieved a predictable cadence of the 2nd Wednesday of the 2nd month of each quarter, capped off with a big annual release in December, besides prioritized 24x7 support. This, AMD claims, has been well received by its customers.

With the Radeon Pro Adrenalin Edition, AMD is expanding its software in four key directions - Pro Render, Pro Settings, New Driver Options, and Virtualization. It also chronicles driver releases over 2017 have gradually increased performance levels by up to 16 percent compared to last year's big annual release. AMD expanded the feature-set of ProRender, its in-house and highly modular 3D rendering engine for CAD designers and 3D artists, including its support for Maxon Cinema 4D; interactive viewport de-noising for Blender; a new Game Engine Importer extension that can import geometry and materials in real-time from SolidWorks to Unreal Engine; accelerating VR ports of popular games and professional 3D scenes; and a set of additional features such as PBR Shader for Blender. The drivers also add macOS support for Maya and Blender, which will be implemented "soon," along with support for 2018 releases of 3DSMax and Maya.

HTC Corporation, a pioneer in innovative, smart mobile and virtual reality (VR) technologies, today announced that its highly-anticipated premium standalone VR headset for the China market, the VIVE FOCUS, will be available for pre-order at 12:00 a.m. on December 12th (Beijing time) in most of China's major online stores (i.e. Vive.com, JD.com, Tmall.com) and offline sales channels (i.e. Gome, Suning). Initial customer deliveries are expected in January 2018.

"Two years ago, we delivered the first room-scale PC VR solution to the world; today, we're extremely excited to be, once again, the first to bring 6DoF 'world-scale' VR experiences in the form of the VIVE Focus to the VR market," said Alvin Wang Graylin, China Regional President of VIVE, HTC. "The combination of advanced capabilities, usability and comfort in an affordable package is unmatched in the current market. This signals the beginning of VR's entry into the mass consumer space in 2018."

Shuttle Computer Group, Inc., one of the world's leading designers of small form computers, announces a new and powerful cube-sized computer, its SZ270R9, designed for advanced home and portable gaming, along with virtual reality applications. Unlike other PCs, once set, users can overclock with the Turbo button for the quickest, most realistic action. In spite of its small size, it has an impressive expansion capability and storage capacity. With lots of interior space, the SZ270R9 supports large-format dual-slot graphics cards; users can install up to four 2.5" or 3.5" hard drives and two m.2 bays. It also supports Intel's new Optane Memory to improve data processing and system speed.

"This is the ultimate gaming PC, power packed with an external design that looks like you're ready for battle," said Robert Garcia, channel manager, Shuttle Computer Group. "And when you press the overclock button, watch out! You'll be the winner for sure."

VR development specialists Perilous Orbit and Cherry Pop Games announced today that a huge new update for SportsBar VR is now available for download. SportsBar VR 2.0 offers cross-play support for Steam, Oculus Home, and Sony's PlayStationVR platforms, along with new features and gameplay modes. Pool, darts, air hockey and more are all part of the experience, along with some "less than standard" games, like epic trick shots, bottle throwing contests, and other sorts of unique VR-themed fun in an environment where nobody gets hurt and nobody has to clean up!

Sports Bar VR was the first VR title to reach Steam's Global Top 10, reach Sony's top ten PSVR sellers list, score an unprecedented 97% rating on Steam, and 2.0 is going to bring even more of what those fans loved! To celebrate the launch, Sports Bar VR 2.0 is on sale on for a limited time on PC platforms and is a free update to existing users on all platforms.

Varjo ("shadow" in Finnish, pronounced "Var-yo") Technologies today brought unprecedented levels of Virtual Reality and Mixed Reality (VR/XR) realism a step closer for professional markets through its new development partner program. The company's first public technology demonstration occurred at one of the world's leading startup events - Slush. Global brands including 20th Century Fox, Airbus, Audi, BMW, Technicolor and Volkswagen will now be collaborating with Varjo to optimize the company's human-eye resolution VR/XR Bionic Display for their respective business sectors. The company's recent $8.2m Series A round, led by EQT Ventures (with new, additional funding of $6.7m from Tekes, the Finnish funding agency for innovation) has enabled Varjo to begin the early access program for its partners as well as ramp up R&D capabilities.

Varjo will start shipping Alpha Prototypes to its first technology partners before the end of the year. Beta Prototypes will begin shipping to existing and new partners in the design, engineering, simulation and entertainment sectors during Q1 2018, allowing the next wave of VR/XR innovators to join the 'Resolution Revolution'. The partners will provide feedback on product experience, features and usability, and combine their industry insights and expertise with Varjo's product development.

So much of the discussion around autonomous driving has naturally focused on the car as a mode of transportation, but as driverless cars become a reality, we must start thinking of the automobile as a new type of consumer space. In fact, we have barely scratched the surface in thinking about the way cars will be designed, the interaction among passengers, and how passengers will spend time while they are riding and not driving. In this respect, autonomous driving is today's biggest game changer, offering a new platform for innovation from in-cabin design and entertainment to life-saving safety systems.

Advancing what's possible in autonomous driving, today at the Los Angeles Auto Show, Intel announced a collaboration with entertainment company Warner Bros.* to develop in-cabin, immersive experiences in autonomous vehicle (AV) settings. Called the AV Entertainment Experience, we are creating a first-of-its-kind proof-of-concept car to demonstrate what entertainment in the vehicle could look like in the future. As a member of the Intel 100-car test fleet, the vehicle will showcase the potential for entertainment in an autonomous driving world.

At last, the long wait is over. The best Virtual Reality game of Gamescom 2017, according to Elite Gamer, is now available on Steam. Elevator… to the Moon! takes players on a wild ride in a dilapidated lunar elevator. Players are tasked to fix their odd space vehicle while off-kilter and loudmouthed president of the world, Doug-Slater Roccmeier yells at them for not following every instruction to the point. Take the trip to its end, where dark and horrible mysteries on the moon are just waiting to be uncovered. Elevator… to the Moon! is no one trick pony. After you've finished the storyline, there is a perplexing alternate ending to experience, many achievements to unlock and fun little secrets to be discovered. As you can see, there is enough action going on to satisfy your lust for entertainment for quite a while.

Tripwire Interactive, developers of the award-winning Red Orchestra and Killing Floor franchises, announced today that Killing Floor: Incursion is now available for HTC VIVE and is available for purchase on Steam for $39.99 USD. In addition to today's launch on Steam, a new downloadable content update is now available to current owners of Killing Floor: Incursion on Oculus Rift. The update highlights include a new Hardcore difficulty setting, Katana weapon, leaderboards, achievements, and the exciting new "Holdout" game mode, which finds players defending a random location in one of the game's maps against increasingly deadly hordes of Zeds in a frenetic, arcade-like action experience.

In Killing Floor: Incursion, players must take on the role of an elite Horzine Security Forces soldier as they team up with allies to fend off the horrific Zed hordes using an array of weapons including guns, blades and more. Players will be able to freely explore as they move throughout the environment, scavenging for weapons and ammo while searching for the best locations to fight the monster onslaught. Battle in diverse environments from creepy farmhouses to high-tech facilities through Horzine Security Forces missions and unlock the secrets of the Zeds' origins.

The Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) today announced a major update to its Display Identification Data (DisplayID) standard. The new version 2.0 of this universal display standard simplifies connecting and configuring modern display products, including PC monitors, consumer TVs and embedded displays (e.g., display panels within laptop and all-in-one systems). The result is a best-in-class plug-and-play experience. Advanced capabilities supported include 4K-and-higher resolutions, high dynamic range (HDR), augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR), and refresh rates of 120 Hz and above.

The DisplayID standard was originally launched in 2009 to enable the widely adopted Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) standard to keep up with newer-generation display technologies. However, with the EDID standard nearing the end of its effectiveness, a standard with new standalone structures, unencumbered by legacy architecture, is needed to properly and efficiently communicate modern display capabilities, thus ensuring an optimal user experience for future display technologies.

HTC, a pioneer in innovative, smart mobile and virtual reality (VR) technologies, today held its VIVE Developer Conference 2017 (VDC2017), where it announced VIVE WAVE, a VR open platform and toolset that will open up the path to easy mobile VR content development and high-performance device optimization for third-party partners. 12 hardware partners, namely 360QIKU, Baofengmojing, Coocaa, EmdoorVR, Idealens, iQIYI, Juhaokan, Nubia, Pico, Pimax, Quanta and Thundercomm, announced their support for the integration of Vive Wave as well as the VIVEPORT VR content platform into their future products. Vive Wave is a clear step forward in bringing together the highly fragmented mobile VR market that has growth up in China the last several years. It saves tremendous efforts by allowing developers to create content for a common platform and storefront across disparate hardware vendors. Over 35 Chinese and global content developers have already built VR content optimized for Vive Wave, with 14 showing live demos at the event. Vive also unveiled the VIVE FOCUS, its highly anticipated premium standalone VR headset for the China market that is also based on the Vive Wave VR open platform.

LG demonstrated their prototype VR headset at the Game Developer Conference earlier this year. It was widely known as the LG VR HMD, since it lacked a proper name at the time. Mobiel Kopen, a very popular Dutch publication, later discovered a LG filed patent revealing the device's name to be the UltraGear. LG's UltraGear headset, just like the HTC Vive, employs Valve's SteamVR tracking technology. Both headsets even share a similar controller design. However, LG has implemented two 3.64" OLED displays into the UltraGear, which features a 1440 x 1280 resolution and an impressive 90 Hz refresh rate to beat out both the HTC Vive and Oculus Rift headsets. But LG's innovative flip-up design is the real differentiating factor here. The concept is to give users the option to lift the front of the headset when they want to exit the VR world.

Croteam and Devolver Digital have launched Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE to complete an unbelievable run of premiere VR releases this year including Serious Sam VR and The Talos Principle VR. The VR remaster of Croteam's best-selling shooter is available on Steam with a 10 percent discount for all users plus an additional 10 percent off for users that own the standard Serious Sam 3 [store.steampowered.com/app/567670/].

Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE is a virtual reality action shooter, a glorious throwback to the golden age of first-person with true VR locomotion support, online cooperative mode, and versus deathmatch. Serving as a prequel to the original indie and Game of the Year sensation, Serious Sam: The First Encounter, Serious Sam VR 3: BFE takes place during the Earth's final struggle against Mental's invading legions of beasts and mercenaries.

TPCAST, the first to market a wireless Virtual Reality (VR) solution for Head-Mounted Display (HMD) announces the launch of its Consumer Edition Wireless VR Adapter supporting the HTC VIVE. The TPCAST adapter will be available for pre-order through the primary web and retail stores throughout the US and Canada.

The TPCAST wireless adapter is a breakthrough in the field of VR, solving one of the most significant physical obstacles - the cumbersome wiring between the PC and the headset. The wireless adapter is a small device attached to the top of the Vive HMD replacing the cables connecting the PC video and USB to the headset. The adapter provides users an immersive VR experience including full-range motion capabilities without any impact on video quality and resolution. The adapter works perfectly with graphics intensive applications and with user extreme movement, without adding delay or affecting the experience quality. The Adapter includes a battery that powers the HMD, allowing up to 5 hours of operation.

The keyboard is one of the most basic and most used input devices that exist. It's also very useful in the virtual reality realm, since many applications require user input. For this same reason, Logitech has been working alongside HTC to develop a virtual keyboard for VR users. Their efforts have given fruits, and Logitech has officially announced their Bridge SDK. Users are required to purchase a Bridge developers kit which costs $150. The kit comes with a Logitech G gaming keyboard, a small accessory to attach the Vive Tracker to the keyboard, and the necessary software. As you may notice, the Vive Tracker is purchased separately, so that will set you back another $99.

Once everything is hooked up, the Bridge software will position a virtual keyboard over the physical one. Users can then see their hands and type on the keyboard without having to take off their VR headset. The only catch is that you must use the Logitech keyboard as models from other manufacturers aren't supported. However, Logitech does allow users to customize the virtual keyboard to some extent. They can change the keyboard's appearance, the font's size and colors, or highlight and hide the different keys.

CCP Games today announced that Sparc, the energetic competitive virtual reality game currently available on PlayStationVR, is coming to Oculus Rift and HTC Vive headsets on PC on November 16th. Sparc's unique full-body experience is only possible in virtual reality, where players' VR equipment becomes their sports gear.

Players on PlayStation 4 and PCs will be able to compete against each other seamlessly. In Sparc, players connect online to compete in fast-paced and physical one-on-one gameplay, using motion controllers to throw projectiles across the court at their opponent while dodging, blocking or deflecting incoming shots.

HTC has launched a VR gaming bundle which aims to bring incredible value for gamers that want to dip their feet in the VR world without the hassle of buying individual components. The bundle, which includes a Vive VR room scale solution (with the headset and a pair of controllers), a Founder's Edition NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070, and a copy of Fallout 4 VR, is being sold for $799. It's a "while supplies last" type of bundle - and unfortunately for the rest of the world, will only be available in the U.S. market.

This is an extremely interesting bundle for the price HTC is asking - the company is quoting a $999 retail value for the bundle ($599 for the Vive room scale solution, and around $400 for the GTX 1070), which amounts to $200 savings. Add to the fact that this is as plug and play a solution as it gets, and the fact that the GTX 1070 is a very competent card in VR workloads, and this really does translate as an interesting, inspired take on expanding the market for VR. A shame it's only available for U.S. residents, though. The rest of the world feels left out.

TPCast has been hard at work on creating a usable way to untether users' VR experiences, which is arguably one of the most important steps for full immersion. I expect nothing to be more immersion-breaking than pivoting to respond to fire from your rear, and consequently getting jumbled up in wires and falling towards your thousand-dollar PC and VR equipment. As such, untethering is essential to really give users the degrees of freedom we need to fully experience virtual reality worlds. To satisfy demand for their upcoming Vive wireless upgrade kit, the company is opening up shop in Silicon Valley no less. The new office will handle marketing, sales, and customer service for North American customers.

TPCast has been selling these "untethering" kits on China for almost a year now, and have since started accepting orders for the European market in September. The company expects to launch their product in Europe come November, but final launch for the North American market is still a cloudy, unannounced subject. If you have an Oculus Rift, the company is also designing a wireless adapter for that particular headset, though there's currently no news on when that one will be available.

Starbreeze AB (NQSE: STAR A, STAR B) and Acer Inc. (TWSE: 2353, LSE: ACID) announce today that a new capitalization plan has been agreed for the StarVR Corporation - the joint venture for marketing and sales of the StarVR Virtual Reality (VR) headset. Under the new agreement, Acer will inject USD 5 million into the joint venture and increase its interest to 66.7%. Starbreeze will be relieved from its remaining capital commitment of USD 7.5 million and its interest will be 33.3%.

The joint venture, originally announced 25 June 2016, was created with a capitalization plan of up to USD 25 million to be shared equally between Starbreeze and Acer through capital injections on a set schedule. As of today, a total of USD 10 million has been injected into the company in equal amounts by the two parties. Under the new arrangement, Acer will provide a capital injection of USD 5 million into the joint venture. No further capital injections have been agreed, but the parties are proceeding in their support of the joint venture. As majority owner Acer will be able to facilitate future financing for StarVR Corporation should further capital needs arise.