Latest news with #VR
SoraNews24
16 hours ago
- Health
- SoraNews24
VR found to restore severe short-sightedness in Japanese study
Soon your mom might yell at you to stare at those darn video games more. It's been suggested before that use of VR devices can have a positive effect on eyesight, but so far this has largely been from anecdotal evidence. Quite frankly, it does feel like wishful thinking that something fun can actually be good for your physical condition too. However, a recent study done at Kwansei Gakuin University's Graduate School of Science and Engineering has shed more light on this subject. Their paper, presented at Interaction 2025, showed that playing a specially designed VR game made significant improvements in vision under certain circumstances. The researchers had a group of 10 people without any overarching eye diseases play the game over six weeks at different intervals and measured the effect it had on their vision. The game was a simple target shooting one, in which players used their controllers to aim and shoot at circular targets that get pushed further back when hit. This makes players practice looking both up close and far into the distance. ▼ Unfortunately, that time Mr. Sato married an anime dreamboat in VR, the depth perception was very limited and he saw no improvements in vision. But what he did gain was much more precious. Even with some participants playing as infrequently as once every three days, all of them showed improvement in vision compared to their ability before the study. More interestingly, the test subjects with moderate to severe myopia (short-sightedness) prior to the test saw a more significant improvement in line with their frequency of playing, but those with only mild myopia did not see such impressive results. The reason for this is not certain but one possible cause is pseudomyopia, which has the same symptoms as short-sightedness but is caused by straining the eyes, often due to staring at screens too long. Pseudomyopia can progress to real myopia if untreated, but is reversible with eye training, like alternating between staring up close and far away or looking at stereoscopic images. So, it is possible that the subjects who saw the biggest improvements were only having the pseudomyopia components of their bad eyesight reversed, whereas those with only a modest improvement were suffering from the more permanent condition of real myopia. This is also a possibility because of the fact the subjects were all young students taken from the school's information sciences course and likely spend a lot of time in front of computers. But even if it is only treating pseudomyopia, which is an increasingly common ailment in this digital age and treating it can still ensure long-term eye health in young people. The fact that VR can have at least that much of an effect on people's vision generated a fair bit of optimism in online comments. 'What the?! This is amazing! I'll buy VR if this is released.' 'It does make you see in 3D, so maybe it really can help.' 'A doctor on YouTube said myopia cannot be reversed, so what's going on?' 'This won't help people with genetic short-sightedness because their eyes are naturally misaligned.' 'It makes sense since it forces you to focus. They say even the 3DS had benefits.' 'Recovering your eyes through video games feels like a dream.' 'It sounds like people who only recently became short-sighted have a chance.' The researchers say more work is needed to further verify these results and determine if this is simply remedying pseudomyopia or if benefits to regular myopia are occurring as well. Mark Zuckerberg and Sony really ought to be shoveling money at these researchers, because I'm pretty sure I'd buy a VR device if this turns out to be true as well. After all, the choice between paying a few hundred bucks to play video games and paying a few thousand for someone to use a deli slicer on my eyeballs so they can shoot lasers at them isn't a choice at all. Source: Interaction 2025, MoguLive, My Game News Flash Top image: Pakutaso Insert image: ©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Gizmodo
a day ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
The Zuck and Luckey Reunion Enshrines Big Tech's Dude Bro-ification
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Palmer Luckey, the original founder of Oculus VR who has since become a military contractor, weren't on the best of terms for many years. After all, Zuck is the one who fired Luckey after he helped establish Meta's entire VR business. That's now water under the bridge. There's major money to be made in military tech, but Zuckerberg and Luckey—two nerds who made billions off their consumer products—are also bound tight by their newfound ultra-masculine, Trump-supporting personas. On Thursday, the pair declared they were hitching themselves back together after their initial nasty divorce and subsequent lawsuit nearly a decade ago. Luckey's military contracting company, Anduril, and Meta announced they were going to make 'the world's best' AR and VR technology for the U.S. military. This initial project is dubbed 'EagleEye' and, according to The Wall Street Journal, will be some kind of 'rugged' VR system that could detect enemy soldiers or drones. The Oculus founder added that he and Zuck had been working on several projects 'for a while now.' That could include a joint bid for a U.S. Army contract worth approximately $100 million, according to the WSJ. It's a real match made in murder. Microsoft had worked hard on a similar project called HoloLens that was supposed to provide soldiers with individual XR goggles. After years of development, initial tests back in 2022 went so poorly soldiers said the devices gave them motion sickness, adding, 'The devices would have gotten us killed.' Microsoft killed off its consumer-level HoloLens last year, but the company expected to do more tests of its XR devices this year. The Journal reported Aduril has replaced Microsoft as the leading vendor for military VR. Big tech companies see dollar signs, and it's no wonder they're so eager to claim a slice of the military-industrial complex pie. Luckey has long been a supporter of President Donald Trump. His donations to a pro-Trump group and his public endorsement of the U.S.-Mexico border wall were deciding factors in his ouster from Facebook. Luckey all but confirmed it in a recent TED talk where he said he was fired from the company for 'donating $9,000 to the wrong political candidate.' There is a lot of money to be made in military contracts. Elon Musk, whose company Starlink is a major U.S. contractor, isn't the only CEO who has buddied up close to Trump for the sake of access and new potential deals. Zuckerberg, alongside the CEOs of several major tech firms from Google to Amazon to Apple, donated millions of dollars for Trump's inauguration and stood behind the wannabe authoritarian while he was sworn in. All these companies have multi-billion ties to the Pentagon, though tech giants like Google and Amazon try to keep their ties out of the limelight. So what's changed with Meta? The CEO of Andruil—a company name he ripped from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings series—has long been an ardent Trump fan, but shortly after the election, Zuckerberg had his moment to finally come clean about his displeasure with all things having to do with diversity, equity, and inclusion—or DEI. The once-tweedy, nerdy Zuck has tried to transform his look as he's become a big fan of martial arts. He said on Joe Rogan's podcast that he believes the workplace needs more 'masculine energy,' which in the end just means he will kill funding for nonprofits and schools that he doesn't think fit in his new worldview. The arms dealer's slicked-back mullet and soul patch framed by his typical Hawaiian shirts, cargo shorts, and sandals don't exactly gel with Zuckerberg's masculine makeover. The connection between the pair of wannabe warmongers is more than skin deep. Luckey has been outspoken of his love for the 'warriors' of the U.S. military. In past posts to X, Luckey identified himself as a 'warrior' since he helps provide the 'tools of violence.' The bad blood between Luckey and Zuckerberg wouldn't survive the pair's transformation into their new 'warrior' identities. Yes, the contracts are lucrative enough to salve any lingering wounds, but the push into arms tech isn't driven merely by seeing dollar signs in the eyes. Both are committed to building a society that puts value on weapons and the armed forces above people. Perhaps they hope they'll both get a seat on the lead tank at Trump's fascist-flavored military parade next month.
Gizmodo
2 days ago
- Business
- Gizmodo
The PlayStation VR2 Bundle With Horizon Call of the Mountain Has Never Been Priced Lower Than Now
If you've been putting off your first venture into the world of Virtual Reality gaming — probably because the costs have been known to be on the steep side — your excuse just left the building. Amazon has bundled the PlayStation VR2 headset and controllers with the great VR game Horizon Call of the Mountain and for a limited time it's at its lowest price ever, just $349. See at Amazon To give you an idea of just what a massive deal this is, it's been almost exactly 2 years since this bundle was first released, and its original price was $600. We can see maybe taking a pass on it at that point, but now that it's just $349, it's probably time to join the ranks of the VR gaming enthusiasts. Huge Improvement The original PlayStation VR headset was revolutionary, to be sure. But it was also a little on the heavy side, with some reviewers complaining of neck fatigue from wearing the headset. The first VR headsets also took some critical knocks for inducing motion sickness and having less than stellar graphics. The PlayStation VR2 addressed those concerns and more — it has four times the resolution of the original, with two OLED displays delivering 4K images at a crisp 120 frames per second to help ward off any motion issues. There's also 3D Audio Immersion with dynamic adjustment, so even small sounds move with the motion of your head. (It's similar to music delivered with Spatial Audio.) The VR2 headset also uses intelligent eye tracking that takes your real-life expressions and facial movements and transfers them onto your VR avatar during game play. All told, it's by far the most immersive VR gaming experience to date. Feel the Difference You'll see and hear the improvements of the PlayStation VR2 in the headset, but you'll feel it most in the new, updated VR2 Sense hand controllers. These upgraded controllers have haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, precision tracking, and finger-touch detection. They're also lightweight to keep you from wearing out during a long gaming sessions, and the sensations linking what you see in VR with what you feel from the controllers creates incredible realism. Your first foray into ultra-realistic PlayStation VR2 gaming will come in the form of Horizon Call of the Mountain when you use the download code that comes bundled with the headset and controllers. Once you get a feel for coordinating your headset images with your hand controllers, it's a safe bet you'll be going back to the PlayStation library for more incredible VR gaming. So if you've been eyeing the PS VR2, this is the lowest price we've seen—don't miss it. See at Amazon
Daily Record
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Record
Netflix Virgin River fans torn over 'dupe' as some quit after one episode
Fans of Virgin River have been left in debate over a huge new Netflix hit which has been adapted for the small-screen. Netflix Virgin River fans have been left feeling 'torn' over a new TV show to hit the streaming giant. Whilst some have said the new show, which has been hailed as a 'dupe', is worth the watch, others confessed they quit after just one episode. Ransom Canyon landed on Netflix last month. The romantic western TV series is based on the books written by Jodi Thomas, which follows the lives of those in a small Texas town, as opposites fight for their land, their legacies and those they love. But although it's already been a hit with some, Virgin River fans aren't sold. Taking to discussion platform Reddit, one fan opened up the floor to debate on the Netflix series after being recommended to tune in. They wrote: "Under advisement of the VR community I started Ransom Canyon and now I know that you all can't be trusted lol. I quit after one episode and I don't think I'll return." Detailing their reasoning, they continued: "One: RC gives major soap opera vibes. I know the later seasons of VR have gotten soapy but they eased us into it - the respectful way. "Two: The two main characters in RC have zero chemistry. I know there's a back n forth on if they'll get together but I truly hope the answer is NO. They could never compare to Jack & Mel. By episode one I knew they were meant to be." Others soon took to the comments section to agree, as one noted: "Same here. Watched half of the first episode and that was it for me. Nothing even close to VR." Another similarly added: "I watched it because I thought it was Yellowstone-ish and it turned out to be not that. It was anticlimactic and mediocre." "I was recommended RC by at least 5 people telling me if I liked Yellowstone I would like it. I forced myself to get to episode 3 and I just couldn't do any more. It wasn't believable to me! I couldn't get into it!," quipped someone else. Although others were quick to defend Jodi Thomas' novel on the small-screen, as one Virgin River fan said: "I enjoyed ransom canyon a little too much actually" "I watched RC too. Love it!," wrote another. Someone else said, "I enjoyed Ransom Canyon and hope we get another season. Virgin River has soap opera vibes too but I enjoy it also." Ransom Canyon is available to watch now on the streaming platform. It blends a modern Western saga with a classic 'will they or won't they' romance. The show revolves around three ranching families in a fictional Texas town who are struggling to protect their land and way of life. At its core is the blossoming romance between the stoic rancher Staten Kirkland (played by Josh Duhamel) and his longtime friend Quinn O'Grady (played by Minka Kelly).
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Uni course aims to tackle violence against women
A new university course, the first of its kind in Wales, will use virtual reality in an effort to tackle violence against women. VR headsets are one project which will be developed by Swansea University's masters in gender, power and violence, which starts in September. It is estimated about 3,000 crimes of violence against women and girls are recorded in Wales and England each day. Johanna Robinson, Wales' national adviser on violence against women and girls, welcomed the course, adding: "The dynamics of abuse are layered and complex and it is vitally important that people working with victims and survivors are fully informed." The National Police Chiefs Council have declared violence against women and girls a "national emergency" while the World Health Organization called it a global public health pandemic. Senior lecturer Kelly Buckley, one of those behind the course's creation, said public conversation on the issue had "never been louder" and the university hoped to ensure "we use knowledge and evidence and theory and data to make sure we're responding in the right way". Woman, 31, made will fearing husband would kill her Concerns women's equality is 'going backwards' Millions more counted as domestic abuse victims as definition widens It is hoped the VR headsets project on the course could be used by student police officers during training. By hearing a victim's story in this way, the idea is it would make them conscious about subtleties such as body language and how they respond, which can influence a survivor's willingness to talk openly. Megan Salter, who helped develop the project, said VR did a "really good job" of allowing trainees to experience "what it might be like to respond to a domestic violence case but in a safe environment". The 21-year-old post-graduate student has been working with trainee police officers on the VR tool to ensure responses to victims are conducive to tackling the problem. VR scenarios have all been created based on experiences and input from survivors of abuse or assault. "It helps people notice things that they wouldn't want to happen, both from the victim's point of view and the police officers," added Ms Salter. Swansea University has worked with Simulation and Immersive Learning Centre, Dyfed-Powys Police and Aberystwyth University to create the headsets that will be developed on the new degree. Ms Buckley wants students on the course to help develop projects that have practical applications and real-world impact. The UK government has pledged to halve incidents of violence against women and girls within a decade and was one of Labour's top general election pledges. Ms Robinson, the Welsh government's national advisor, said: "The virtual reality tool is an excellent way of raising awareness and understanding." Susie Hay is head of research and evaluation at Safe Lives and works with organisations across the UK to transform the response to domestic abuse. "There is a tapestry with lots of different threads which enable us to work towards ending domestic and sexual violence," she said. "This course is one really valuable thread in that space, however looking at that whole picture also feels really important." Although the number of graduates will initially be small she thinks the effects will be felt across the country through a "radiating impact".
