SoftKinetic Celebrates New Oculus Rift Development Kit With ReachVR Challenge

BRUSSELS, Oct. 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- SoftKinetic®, the world's leading provider of 3D vision and gesture recognition solutions, today announced its advanced technology now supports the new Oculus Rift Development Kit 2. SoftKinetic's sophisticated 3D vision technology, in conjunction with the Oculus Rift DK2, allows developers to create exciting, out-of-the-box virtual reality experiences using their hands for natural interaction and without the need for any additional controllers. SoftKinetic is hosting the ReachVR challenge, open to developers interested in creating unique and cutting-edge content using the Oculus Rift DK2 or any other VR headset with a camera powered by SoftKinetic's DepthSense® technology.

SoftKinetic's Time-of-Flight (ToF) DepthSense camera and tracking middleware iisu® allow the user to physically engage with their hands and fingers recreated in 3D, rather than use a standard hand model. The technology offers natural manipulation of objects and the environment as in the real world, in a wide variety of light conditions and with virtually no lag. In order to fit perfectly to the Oculus Rift DK2, SoftKinetic created a 3D model of a bracket which can easily be downloaded or ordered from www.softkinetic.com/ReachVR and mounted to the Oculus Rift to support the DepthSense camera. SoftKinetic also offers developers a full software package including Unity3D samples.

"At SoftKinetic we've focused on creating sophisticated 3D technology that supports the complex needs of augmented and virtual realities, and the Oculus Rift has been an important part in elevating the user experience and making it more accessible," said Mike Nichols, vice president of content & applications at SoftKinetic. "We're excited to have created the ReachVR challenge to encourage developers to design unique VR experiences that continue to shine a light on the vast capabilities in this exciting space."

SoftKinetic's ReachVR challenge is available to developers who have access to the Oculus Rift or any other VR headset as well as a camera powered by SoftKinetic's DepthSense technology, available for purchase at www.softkinetic.com/store or via www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00EVWX7CG. The winner will be chosen based on the best use of DepthSense technology, the best sense of body awareness in VR and the best production value. The winner will receive a full access pass worth up to $1,495 to one of the following GDC conferences of his or her choice: GDC 2015 (San Francisco), GDC Europe 2015 (Cologne) or GDC China 2015 (Shanghai), as well as one iisu Pro 3.6 Perpetual commercial license valued at $1,499.

Challenge submissions will be accepted through November 15, 2014. For further details on the ReachVR challenge rules, to freely download the bracket model, the middleware and tools, go to www.softkinetic.com/ReachVR.

SoftKinetic will demonstrate its technology and use with the Oculus Rift during the Virtual Reality Meet Up at the Silicon Valley Virtual Reality Meet Up at the Hacker Dojo in Mountain View, California at 6:30 pm on Friday, October 10, 2014, as well as at the Paris Virtual Reality Meet up on Wednesday, October 15, 2014.

About SoftKinetic
SoftKinetic's vision is to give everyone the freedom to control, explore and enjoy the entire digital world through the most natural and intuitive user interfaces and machine interactions. SoftKinetic is the leading provider of gesture-based platforms for the consumer electronics and professional markets, including interactive digital entertainment, consumer electronics, health care, digital signage, and medical systems. The company offers a complete family of 3D imaging and gesture recognition solutions, including patented 3D CMOS time-of-flight sensors, modules and cameras (DepthSense® family of products, formerly known as Optrima product family), multi-platform and multi-camera 3D gesture recognition middleware and tools (iisu® family of products) as well as games and applications from SoftKinetic Studios.

For more information on SoftKinetic please visit www.softkinetic.com. For videos of SoftKinetic-related products visit SoftKinetic's YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/SoftKinetic.

Press contact:
Natalee Gibson
Incendio International
Tel: +1-720-323-5382

SOURCE SoftKinetic