More than 20 universities sign on to the Open Source Virtual Reality Academia program

OSVR’s open standard for virtual reality gets even more support, this time from leading universities worldwide.

The Open Source Virtual Reality organizers announce that more than 20 universities and institutes have signed on to its OSVR Academia program. Announced last month, the program provides 10 free Hacker Dev Kits and access to the OSVR source code to eligible universities with full virtual reality labs, and institutions such as Virginia Tech and Vienna University of Technology have been quick to sign on. The software platform the group has built around an open standard for virtual reality input has seen industry wide support since its January launch, with almost 40 industry partners signing on such as input device manufacturers Virtuix and LeapMotion and game developers Techland (Dying Light) and Gearbox Software (Borderlands).

OSVR includes open-source, hackable VR hardware, and a supporting software framework is compatible with a wide range of VR devices and engines. The University of California at Berkeley, Johns Hopkins University, University College London, and about 20 other universities have joined the program.

The group says that additional universities are still being added, and that applications are being accepted at its website.