Huffington Post Acquires VR Company, Creates HuffPost RYOT (Video)

Arianna Huffington announced this morning that the Huffington Post has acquired the virtual reality and immersive storytelling company RYOT.

“Together, we’ll be able to build on HuffPost’s video offerings to bring an entirely new range of experiences to our global audience, from virtual reality to full-length films and 360°,” Huffington wrote. “As anyone who’s ever experienced VR on a headset or 360 video on your phone knows, the possibilities are powerful.”

The Huffington Post founder says that RYOT “brings all the tech know-how that make these experiences possible.”

Also Read: CNN Takes Viewers Back to 1986 With VR, Studio Re-Creation of Challenger Explosion

Huffington said it’s hard to explain with words what RYOT can bring to the table, and suggests readers check out the short film “Body Team 12.”

“I couldn’t be happier to welcome RYOT to the HuffPost family, and I’m so excited about our future together — covering news events, leading cultural conversations on a global scale, and going beyond raising awareness to making a difference in people’s lives,” Huffington wrote.

The HuffPost released a promotional video with RYOT CEO and co-founder Bryn Mooser to announce they are joining forces. Check out the preview above.

These Virtual-Reality Films at Tribeca Hint How Far VR Can Go (Photos)

Short film "Sens" is the first project to adapt a graphic novel into a virtual reality.
Joan E. Solsman
"Sens" leads viewers on a black-and-white journey, in which the point of view alternates between exploring a strange landscape through the main character's eyes and floating above the character, watching him do things like grip an edge of a cliff.
Sens
"Deep VR" combines a underwater fantasy world with a specialized belt the viewer wears around the waist, which monitors deep breathing. You control your movement in the experience by breathing in and out deeply, causing an initial rush of oxygen to the brain followed by a Zen-like meditative calm as you continue to play.
Joan E. Solsman
"Deep VR" is set in an underwater seascape, and is meant to explore the ways in which VR can change our relationship with both body and mind.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a virtual-reality tale that takes viewers on a journey with a fantasy beast. At the Tribeca Film Fest's main hub, the creators bring viewers into hut before immersing them in the experience.
Joan E. Solsman
"The Turning Forrest" is a fully computer-generated movie, but the creators combined the viewing of it with a rumble pack that viewers wear to feel percussions that match the action.
BBC R&D / VRTOV
"Notes on Blindness" is a VR film that images the internal visions of John Hull, who -- after losing his sight in 1983 -- began recording an audio-diary documenting his discovery of “a world beyond sight.” His original recordings form the basis of this interactive experience, which uses real time 3D, virtual reality, and binaural sound to explore the interior world of blindness.
"Notes on Blindness"
"6X9: An Immersive Experience of Solitary Confinement" attempts to explain the effects solitary confinement of prisons, people who spend 22-24 hours a day in their cells, with little to no human contact.
Joan E. Solsman
"6x9" put virtual-reality viewers inside a cell, to hint at how the sensory deprivation prisoners live with can cause psychological damage.
Guardian