“Step To The Line”: How Prison Is Helping Oculus Expand VR’s Horizons

April 20, 2017 Good morning! One of the things that virtual reality is especially good at is immersing viewers in situations they’d never be able to experience themselves. Traditional film can do that too, but VR brings you in deeper, and that’s why some refer to it as an ideal empathy tool. That’s why [Oculus has launched its VR for Good film series](, and tomorrow at the Tribeca Film Festival, it will debut Step to the Line, the 10th film in the series, which profiles Defy Ventures, a nonprofit that trains some of the country’s toughest prisoners in entrepreneurship. Defy has achieved impressive results, with recidivism rates of about 3%—compared to more than 60% on average for most prisoners. And the new film allows viewers to see, up close, how Defy is working its magic. -- [D]([aniel Terdiman]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [“Step To The Line”: How Prison Is Helping Oculus Expand VR’s Horizons]( Oculus and entrepreneurship program Defy Ventures are using motivational exercises and groundbreaking VR films to change lives on both sides of the prison wall --------------------------------------------------------------- [Don’t Hate Facebook Spaces VR, Or Take It Too Seriously]( No, it isn’t Oculus’s killer app. Yes, it’s weird. And that’s fine. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Now WeWork Wants To Build Out Your Office And Run It For You]( WeWork execs say they will start offering a suite of on-site services to help big companies act more like lean startups. --------------------------------------------------------------- [You Might Be Genetically Predisposed to Procrastination]( Procrastination evolved as a survival mechanism to avoid conflict, but you can change course. --------------------------------------------------------------- [At Flatiron Health, Doctors And Developers Work On Cracking The Code For Better Cancer Treatment]( At the Google-backed tech company, physicians and engineers work side by side to improve workflow in oncology clinics—and help fix America’s broken health care system. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Prescriptions For Fresh Produce, And Other World Changing Ideas In Food]( Learn about the winner of the food category of Fast Company’s 2017 World Changing Ideas Awards–and the other innovative finalists. --------------------------------------------------------------- [With Facebook’s New Tool, You Can Easily Make Your Own 360 Videos In VR]( The 360 Capture SDK will allow developers to let their users capture real-time video from within VR games and other experiences. --------------------------------------------------------------- [How Facebook’s Hardware Lab Helped Build The VR Industry’s Most Advanced Camera]( It’s the first commercially available product to emerge as a collaboration between Facebook’s Area 404 and other parts of the company. --------------------------------------------------------------- [How An Offbeat Video Game Got 100 Japanese Bands To Write Its Soundtrack]( Tucked inside this bizarre game is an unprecedented collaboration between industries. --------------------------------------------------------------- [This Startup Is Building A Fitness Tracker For The Planet]( Using enormous amounts of satellite data, Descartes Labs wants to track everything that’s changing on Earth’s surface–from deforestation to transportation to agriculture. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Netflix’s “Girlboss" Script Is As Bankrupt As Sophia Amoruso’s Nasty Gal]( The new show, based on the book of the same name, doesn’t live up to the hype. Share this newsletter [Share]( http%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Ffastcompany%2Fstep-to-the-line-how-prison-is-helping-oculus-expand-vrs-horizons [Tweet]( http%3A%2F%2Fmailchi.mp%2Ffastcompany%2Fstep-to-the-line-how-prison-is-helping-oculus-expand-vrs-horizons) [Forward]( Did someone forward you this email? [Subscribe here!]( Too many emails? [Change your subscription preferences here.]( You're receiving this email because you opted in on our website. [update your preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all Fast Company emails]( Mansueto Ventures, 7 World Trade Center, New York, NY 10007-2195