Note From The Editor To understand the impact that virtual and augmented reality technologies is having on travel and tourism, you need to step back and look at what’s going on in all recreation related industries. When you hear Apple is designing AR capabilities into their much-anticipated iPhone 8; when you see that Google and IMAX are joining forces to create a totally new movie experience; when Tinder announces that they are building AI and AR into their app; when the NFL and NBA are using the technology --Pay Attention. AND, when you have the largest travel market in the world announce VR is now a core part of marketing across tens of thousands of travel agencies and tens of millions of consumers, that sound you hear should be a very loud bell! We’re here for you! Read on!
China Tourism Administration, HTV Vive To Launch VR Tourism Platform China Money Network China National Tourism Administration has teamed up with HTC Vive, a virtual reality headset developer backed by HTC Corporation and Valve Corporation, and a Chinese online travel company to launch a virtual reality-enabled digital travel platform. The China VR Tourism Cloud Data Service Platform will allow users to experience travel destinations in the form of VR using Vivepaper, a hybrid AR-VR model called Augmented Virtual Reality that gives users enriched virtual experience with added realism. READ MORE
iPhone 8 tipped to have front side 3D camera, paving way for augmented reality news.com.au
The new iPhone could boast a game changing 3D camera and allow for facial recognition and augmented reality applications according to new leaks. KGI Securities’ top Apple analyst, Ming-Chi Kuo, claims the front camera on the new OLED iPhone will have a “revolutionary” infrared module that can sense the 3D space in front of it. The combination of the front camera and a 3D sensor would allow iPhone users to generate a 3D selfie and create digital avatars of themselves to be used in augmented reality. READ MORE
What Google & IMAX are cooking up in virtual reality Pantagraph.com
IMAX Corporation (NYSE: IMAX) is the acknowledged industry leader in the premium large theater format and has built its reputation on the continuous innovation of its digital movie camera and high-performance laser projection system. With that expertise, it should come as no surprise that when Alphabet's (NASDAQ: GOOG) Google decided to enter the field of virtual reality, it partnered with IMAX to develop the best "cinema-grade virtual reality (VR) camera." IMAX is providing a crew of engineers and technicians that will collaborate with Google to develop a high-resolution camera from scratch to address the unique challenges presented by virtual reality. READ MORE
How Virtual Reality Is About to Transform the Travel Industry inc.com VR has obvious value when it comes to entertainment. But its best use may lie in tourism. 2016 is set to be the year of virtual reality: Familiar names like Facebook, Google, Sony and Samsung are all vying for the attention of mainstream audiences across the globe. And while these VR headsets are getting headlines for revolutionizing the worlds of medical training, gaming, cinema, and journalism, it's the tourist industry that could be transformed if used to its full potential. READ MORE
Tinder wants to bring Artificial Intelligence into their dating app Outerplaces.com
Even though Tinder released a fake promo for "TinderVR" last month, a spoof on connecting people through a couple's virtual reality headset, they have some very real plans to bring new technology into their dating app. Sean Rad, the founder and newly appointed chairman of Tinder, announced the company's actual plans to include AI and augmented reality in upcoming years. READ MORE
Sotheby’s launches virtual reality surrealist paintings Telegraph.co.uk
As 2D paintings, they are striking enough. But fans of four key surrealist works can now step inside them for the first time, as Sotheby’s launches virtual reality paintings. The auction house has become the first to commission designers to create a 360 degree experience, translating the original paintings into a lived experience through Occulus Rift headsets. Visitors will be able to see Dali’s horse and cart trot past them, while Magritte’s lion growls gently as is prowls around them. READ MORE
See the ancient world through virtual reality Smithsonian.com
Have you ever stood in front of historic ruins—the Parthenon, say, or one of Britain’s many ancient castles—and closed your eyes, imagining what the scene before you would have looked like centuries ago? Thanks to virtual reality, seeing ruins as they looked in their heyday is becoming possible. It may even be a game changer for the ways we visit ancient cities like Jerusalem or Paris. READ MORE
Soon Virtual Reality Will Let Everyone Attend Super Bowl NBCnews.com
Houston's NRG Stadium seats around 72,000 screaming maniacs when it's hosting a football game, as it will on Super Bowl Sunday. But those with their butts in the seats will account for less than one percent of Americans watching the game, most of whom will be planted somewhere in front of a TV, a bowl of guacamole well within reach. But what if they could be there, too? Or come, as close to being there as possible, while avoiding the bathroom lines and price gouging that go along with attending any pro sporting event? That's the promise of virtual reality, which has invaded the sporting world like a blitzing linebacker over the past few years. READ MORE
Watching live sport, concerts and movies in virtual reality Theherald.com.au
Virtual reality is coming. In fact, it’s already here. But it’s going to become a whole lot bigger and better. In the not too distant future, sports fans will be able to watch their favorite teams using virtual reality. Virtual stadiums will mimic the real thing, boosting the thrill of watching live sport from your couch. The experience of watching a movie will evolve. Viewers will feel like they’re inside the movie itself. A virtual concert, too, will feel like the real thing, without the lineups for the bar and bathroom. How about a holiday in virtual reality? Fancy a trip to Hawaii without the plane trip and airport hassles? (Sounds crazy doesn’t it, but this is where things are headed). Mind you, a trip to Hawaii for an hour or two after a long, hard day at work sounds pretty attractive. READ MORE
