OSVR EXTENDS REACH TO CHINA THROUGH PARTNERSHIP WITH CHINESE SOFTWARE GIANT qihoo 360
OSVR supported content to be made available to 800 million Chinese user base, Hacker Development Kit to be shipped to China later this year.
SHANGHAI, CHINAJOY – Organizers of Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR), a platform designed to set an open standard for virtual reality devices, today announced its official partnership with Qihoo 360, one of the largest app stores in China. With an 800 million app store user base, OSVR is now set to extend the reach of its global content partner network into China.
OSVR IN CHINA
With the launch of official support in China, virtual reality content and hardware developers will now be able to take advantage of the software platform to extend the reach and compatibility of their technology to an ever expanding list of global VR hardware and software.
“China’s appetite for virtual reality is growing very rapidly. There are hundreds of VR developers looking for ways to increase the reach of their content and grow their virtual reality technology further.” Says Min-Liang Tan, Chief Gamer & CEO of Razer. “OSVR’s goal is to help accelerate the development of VR in China by helping developers to support an ever growing variety of VR hardware on a local and global scale and to collaborate with the best of the best in the industry.
PARTNERSHIP WITH QIHOO 360
Qihoo 360 is a leading internet and mobile platform company in China with a user base of more than 800 million. They specialize in antivirus software, web browsers and a mobile assistant application. Revenue is generated through micro transactions and online advertising.
With OSVR’s support, Qihoo 360 will be building a VR store to discover and download VR content, effectively bringing OSVR content to their 800 million users. In addition to this, both partners will be working closely together to support VR game and content developers in China, providing development hardware, software SDKs and content distribution for OSVR supporters to help VR gain mainstream adoption.
“We believe Open Source Virtual Reality (OSVR) is the future of VR. With OSVR we’ll be able to provide our user base with a more extensive range of virtual reality games and content for our store’” Says, Mr. Weihua Tao, General Manager of 360 Mobile Assistant Division. “The content will also be compatible with multiple headset technologies allowing us to support the needs of individual users. As the China VR headset market grows larger, we can also scale our hardware support through OSVR so we are always up to date.
Other Partnerships:
Other Chinese partnerships gained in the effort to provide VR development support in China include:
Inlife-Handnet Co.Ltd is focused on the R&D of innovative technologies and solutions in virtual reality, 3D intelligent interactive, 3D image collecting and processing. As one of the most influential 3D technology enterprises, they have advanced 3D acquisition and 3D display technology and are always innovating
KatVR is a manufacturer of VR input devices, they are looking forward to the OSVR partnership in order to share their project with other developers in order to create more interesting technology for the virtual reality industry. Their locomotive peripheral, the KAT WALK is an omni directional treadmill designed to be as unrestrictive as possible while giving the user 360-degrees of continuous movement.
LingVR is a Chinese VR headset company that has designed a mobile HMD for 3rd party smartphone use and an all-in-one HMD with built in mobile hardware. They also run a mobile app store that provides local and global cinematic VR content and third party VR apps.
VR-China is the oldest VR community in China. It is the place where Chinese developers and enthusiasts come together to share projects, collaborate, and keep up to date on VR developments in China and around the world.
Ximmerse develops virtual reality hardware based on mobile visual computing and inertial tracking research. They explore the possibilities of human computer interaction and aim to create cutting-edge technologies and products for better VR experiences.
OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE IN CHINA
The official OSVR website is now available in simplified Chinese (www.osvr.com/cn-zh) through which developers, universities and research labs can apply for the following programs:
Official Supporter Program:
While the OSVR SDK is available for free, those who join the supporter program will receive the following benefits:
- Priority allocation for a free Hacker Development Kit when it ships to China later in the year.
- Access to the OSVR network of supporters for collaborative and technical support.
- Access to the OSVR support portal to help with integration.
- Promotional and marketing support for their products.
Academia Program:
The OSVR Academia Program is designed to help universities and research institutes set up a full VR lab for virtual reality research or educational purposes. Due to the platform’s open source nature, the software can be experimented with to aid in learning.
About OSVR:
OSVR™ is a software platform designed to set an open standard for virtual reality input devices, games and output to provide the best possible VR game experience. Supported by industry leaders, the OSVR framework unites developers and gamers alike under a single platform. Plug in. Play Everything.
For the full list of OSVR supporters go to www.osvr.com.
Like OSVR on FB: https://www.facebook.com/OpenSourceVR.
Follow OSVR on Twitter: https://twitter.com/OpenSource_VR .
Press Contacts:
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