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Is this what the “metaverse” looks like?

Jun 1, 2022
“Marketplace” host Kai Ryssdal takes a guided tour of a virtual world.
Kai Ryssdal explores a simulated conference room using a virtual reality headset.
Screenshot/Marketplace

Are we ready for an augmented reality future?

Feb 7, 2022
Snap, Snapchat's parent company, turned a profit for the first time this quarter.
Though the technology for widely-used augmented reality glasses isn't quite there yet, companies are certainly working on it.
Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images

Big Tech is starting to invest heavily in the metaverse

Feb 2, 2022
Competition is heating up in the fledgling space.
An immersive environment like the metaverse offers new ways to work — and purchase goods.
Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP via Getty Images

Businesses tap virtual reality to train workers

Aug 21, 2019
VR training is being used to prep workers for Black Friday, for warehouse safety issues and to improve communication.
At Farmers Insurance in Los Angeles, Jessica DeCanio demonstrates how claims adjusters use virtual reality to train for the field.
Meghan McCarty Carino/Marketplace

How virtual reality might help surgeons master new medical devices

Jun 3, 2019
In-person support by sales reps and manufacturers might soon be a thing of the past.
In a simulated exercise, third-year orthopedic surgery resident J.P. Wanner practices making repairs to a dislocated hip on Osso VR's virtual reality platform. Vanderbilt University Medical Center is among a dozen institutions test piloting the technology.
Blake Farmer

What needs to happen for movies to work in virtual reality?

May 1, 2019
The Tribeca Film Festival is giving filmmakers and fans a chance to try VR experiences.
A viewer uses a virtual reality headset at the Tribeca Film Festival.
Stephanie Hughes / Marketplace

Oculus was supposed to bring virtual reality to the masses. What happened?

Mar 13, 2019
"Having the best technology is not always a winning formula," author Blake Harris says.
Oculus Rift virtual reality headsets at the Westfield London shopping center in 2015.
Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images

For public good, not for profit.

"Ready Player One" creator on balancing fantasy and reality

Mar 27, 2018
Unplugging from the virtual world is essential, author Ernest Cline says.
Director Steven Spielberg, left, and writer Ernest Cline attend the Warner Bros. Pictures “Ready Player One” presentation during Comic-Con International 2017 in San Diego, California.
Kevin Winter/Getty Images

What will the holidays look like in 2030?

Will late holographic family members join us around the dinner table?
NOEL CELIS/AFP/Getty Images