Virtual

Imagine you are in a virtual reality (VR) environment beside a drinking fountain and want to drink water from it. While you could lean and drink water, you were unlikely to feel anything. That is set to change. Researchers at a private institution in the US have found a way that allows people to feel the sensation of the water touching their lips in the so-called Metaverse. Simply put, it means users of their device can now feel even kissing sensations, among many others. Lips are surprisingly sensitive. The researchers…

Tesla announced the expansion of its virtual power plant (VPP) powered by its Powerwall to several new states and regions in Australia. Australia, and especially South Australia, has had a lot of power issues over the years as it retires aging infrastructure and tries to manage a high penetration of renewable energy, which destabilized energy markets due to the inconsistency of the power supply. Tesla first got involved by supplying its Powerpack in a large energy storage project owned by Neoen that became known…

What's the best VR headset you can buy in 2021? Thanks to Covid, this is a question that many people have been asking, and as it turns out, your options are pretty limited. That led to my trying out the Oculus Quest 2, to see if I could figure out if this standalone VR headset from Facebook can provide enough of an escape in a world that's still far from normal.Strap on a headset, controllers clutched in your palms, and you are transported to a whole new virtual world, where a play area is defined and games are at your…

If combining NFTs with the medical industry doesn’t sound the most logical, this report from BuzzFeed News will likely confirm your skepticism. An NFT project called MetaDocs assigns doctors / influencers, like Dr. Pimple Popper, to (somewhat unsightly) cartoon personifications of themselves, which users can then purchase to gain access to one-on-one conversations, question-and-answer sessions, or DMs. But despite MetaDocs’ goal of cutting the “red tape” that comes with gaining access to doctors, the MetaDocs…

Virtual RAM is no longer foreign to the world of smartphones. While the feature has been long in action for PCs, it’s only recently that we are seeing its widespread use on smartphones. Phone manufacturers use multiple marketing terms to advertise the feature on their phones, but it is basically the same thing every time. Midrange phones introduced the Virtual RAM feature first, but it is slowly coming to high-end phones as well. But what is Virtual RAM? Here’s an explainer to help. What is Virtual RAM? The term…

Meta is set to open its first physical store where shoppers can try out and buy virtual reality headsets and other gadgets as the company plots a course to take its highly touted metaverse mainstream.The 1,550-square feet Meta Store at the company's Burlingame campus in California opens on May 9, and will feature demos for its Quest 2 VR headset and video calling device Portal, as well as smart glasses it produces with Ray-Ban, Meta said on Monday.The devices, except for the Ray-Ban glasses, will be available for purchase…

Meta is testing new tools that will allow creators to sell virtual items and effects within Meta's social virtual reality app, Horizon Worlds. The new feature is rolling out to a select number of creators in the US and Canada where Horizon Worlds is currently available. Creators selling items will see a Commerce tab and gizmo within the app's Create mode. Additionally, Meta is testing a creator bonus programme in the US, where creators are paid for building worlds that attract the most time spent. Creators will be paid…