*By Tracey Cheek*
In the virtual-reality world, "Mission Impossible" is possible after all.
VR start-up Nomadic has partnered with VRWERX and Paramount to create a "tactile" experience for the "Mission Impossible" movie franchise that will allow users to interact physically with the virtual world of the movie.
Doug Griffin, CEO of Nomadic, joined Cheddar Tuesday to describe the "escape room"-style experience.
"The special part is you can physically engage with that virtual world so it really feels like you're a part of it," Griffin said.
This experiential version of "Mission Impossible" will be exclusively available at Nomadic's new VR center at Pointe Orlando in Orlando, Fla. ー near Disney and Universal ー in the Spring of 2019.
While Griffin's latest VR ventures are in entertainment, he sees potential for the technology in a variety of fields.
"I think there's a lot of opportunities, in particular education. Imagine you could as a kid walk through ancient Athens and see what it was like," said Griffin. "The opportunity to learn and experience something that cannot be real is very powerful, a lot of people call it the ultimate empathy machine."
Griffin said that VR can be a major money-saver for the military and even help improve the quality of life for patients in medicine.
"There's some really great use cases for people in the medical field. For instance, there's groups that are helping burn victims manage their pain by building VR experiences that sort of pull them away from that and put them in snowy environments."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/mission-impossible-coming-to-virtual-reality).
President Donald Trump has fired one of two Democratic members of the U.S. Surface Transportation Board to break a 2-2 tie ahead of the board considering the largest railroad merger ever proposed.
Ford is recalling more than 355,000 of its pickup trucks across the U.S. because of an instrument panel display failure that’s resulted in critical information, like warning lights and vehicle speed, not showing up on the dashboard.
Nvidia reported a 56% increase in second-quarter revenue and a 59% rise in net income compared to a year ago.
The Rev. Al Sharpton is set to lead a protest march on Wall Street to urge corporate America to resist the Trump administration’s campaign to roll back diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives. The New York civil rights leader will join clergy, labor and community leaders Thursday in a demonstration through Manhattan’s Financial District that’s timed with the anniversary of the Civil Rights-era March on Washington in 1963. Sharpton called DEI the “civil rights fight of our generation." He and other Black leaders have called for boycotting American retailers that scaled backed policies and programs aimed at bolstering diversity and reducing discrimination in their ranks.
President Donald Trump's administration last month awarded a $1.2 billion contract to build and operate what's expected to become the nation’s largest immigration detention complex to a tiny Virginia firm with no experience running correction facilities.
Netflix CEO Ted Sarandos claims audiences don't want to watch Netflix movies in theaters, but that seems not to be the case recently.
Chipmaker Nvidia is poised to release a quarterly report that could provide a better sense of whether the stock market has been riding an overhyped artificial intelligence bubble or is being propelled by a technological boom that’s still gathering momentum.
Cracker Barrel said late Tuesday it’s returning to its old logo after critics — including President Donald Trump — protested the company’s plan to modernize.
Low-value imports are losing their duty-free status in the U.S. this week as part of President Donald Trump's agenda for making the nation less dependent on foreign goods. A widely used customs exemption for international shipments worth $800 or less is set to end starting on Friday. Trump already ended the “de minimis” rule for inexpensive items sent from China and Hong Kong, but having to pay import taxes on small parcels from everywhere else likely will be a big change for some small businesses and online shoppers. Purchases that previously entered the U.S. without needing to clear customs will be subject to the origin country’s tariff rate, which can range from 10% to 50%.
Southwest Airlines will soon require plus-size travelers to pay for an extra seat in advance if they can't fit within the armrests of one seat. This change is part of several updates the airline is making. The new rule starts on Jan. 27, the same day Southwest begins assigning seats. Currently, plus-size passengers can pay for an extra seat in advance and later get a refund, or request a free extra seat at the airport. Under the new policy, refunds are still possible but not guaranteed. Southwest said in a statement it is updating policies to prepare for assigned seating next year.
