VR industry leaders to launch world’s first VR bundle for innovation and research

VR First, a global initiative for enabling VR/AR innovation, will launch the first VR bundle for academic purposes consisting of hardware, services and support/mentorship by key industry organisations.

VR First’s Academic Purpose VR Bundle is being made available in partnership with Intel, HTC Vive, Leap Motion, CDWG, Futuremark, MixCast, SpringboardVR and Senses Global.

The news of the collaboration was announced at the VRX Conference & Expo in San Francisco on Friday December 8, with the intention of the bundle to allow academic institutions and science parks to engage with immersive technologies and grow their VR/AR labs.

Created to lower entry barriers for students, developers, entrepreneurs and researchers to access the latest VR/AR technologies, the bundle includes the likes of HTC Vive’s VR headset with accessories such as the Vive Deluxe Audio Strap and Vive Tracker, as well as education-related content through the Viveport store. 

Full details of what’s included in the bundle can be found here.

Education and academia are pushing the forefront of what’s possible in VR today

"Starting early 2018, we will add further hardware devices and software solutions to the academic bundle. By that, VR First also expands the addressable market for partners through global academic and developer reach," said Ferhan Özkan, CEO of VR First.

"Education and academia are pushing the forefront of what’s possible in VR today," added Daniel O’Brien, GM US, Vive. "VR First has created a bundle of hardware and software that serves academic needs, educational requirements and increases the accessibility HTC Vive globally. We’re happy to support their efforts to bring VR to more educational institutions." 

Added Frank Soqui, general manager for VR at Intel: "As the core innovators of technology, Intel is constantly working on new ways to incentivize VR/AR development on a global scale. It is only right that we cooperate with VR First, IEEE and other industry and network partners to strengthen early adoption and reiterate our shared commitment to the democratization of VR/AR innovation."