This is how Snap is fostering the future of augmented reality
... Dominguez, who has spent her career popularizing virtual and augmented reality and wearable tech, is helping to build a developer community interested in using AR in increasingly ambitious domains, including education, information, and gaming. To this end, she’s helped roll out several tools in 2022, including Custom Landmarkers, which let third parties tie their Snapchat lenses to specific real-world locations, and Lens Cloud, a suite of cloud-based services for speeding AR creation.
A few hundred content creators also have access to the latest version of Snap’s Spectacles smart glasses, which incorporate dual 3D waveguide displays to weave AR right into the world people see before them....
See the full story here: https://www.fastcompany.com/90764936/sophia-dominguez-snap-most-creative-people-2022
18 Best Open-World Games That Support VR
1 Modbox
In the rush of VR integration, not a lot of games take into account how fun the technical sandbox formula is with new hardware. Where apps like Kingspray and Tilt Brush push the artistic envelope, Modbox is sort of a breakout experimental system on-par with what Garry's Mod was to PC users in the early 2000s.
Modbox allows players tools to create and explore with their own game mechanics in an open sandbox, with several pre-made examples that give players a fun experience with their friends, including an asymmetrical titan-battle mode.
See the full story here: https://gamerant.com/best-open-world-games-virtual-reality-vr/
The iRobot Deal Would Give Amazon Maps Inside Millions of Homes
... Those Roombas work in part by using sensors to map the homes they operate in. In a 2017 Reuters interview, iRobot CEO Colin Angle suggested the company might someday share that data with tech companies developing smart home devices and AI assistants.
Combined with other recent acquisition targets, Amazon could wind up with a comprehensive look at what’s happening inside people’s homes. ...
“People tend to think of Amazon as an online seller company, but really Amazon is a surveillance company. That is the core of its business model, and that’s what drives its monopoly power and profit,” says Evan Greer, director of the nonprofit digital rights organization Fight for the Future. “Amazon wants to have its hands everywhere, and acquiring a company that’s essentially built on mapping the inside of people’s homes seems like a natural extension of the surveillance reach that Amazon already has.” ...
See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/amazon-irobot-roomba-acquisition-data-privacy/?ck_subscriber_id=1646162133&utm_source=convertkit&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Amazon+Mapping+Your+Life%20-%208721407
Why the future of connected IoT in homes is child-centric
- AI-enabled IoT devices in homes shape and will shape the individual and societal development of the youngest generation.
- Matter – the upcoming interconnectivity standard – will enable diverse IoT devices to connect in homes while their inherent risks will affect children the most and put age-appropriate design requirements and standards to the test.
- Measures such as pretraining AI systems with synthetic data und using large open source databases are components that could form essential pillars in a child-centric IoT governance framework.
See the full story here: https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2022/08/why-the-future-of-connected-iot-in-homes-is-children-centric/
MSG Sphere’s Immersive Sound Technology to Debut in New York
When Las Vegas’ $1.8 Billion MSG Sphere opens, one of the venue’s calling cards will be its cutting-edge concert audio system, dubbed Sphere Immersive Sound. While the venue won’t open until the second half of 2023, concertgoers will be able to experience Sphere Immersive Sound much sooner, thanks to a new permanent installation of the technology inside New York City’s Beacon Theatre. The new system will make its debut on August 19 and 20, 2022, with a pair of acoustic concerts by Trey Anastasio. ...
The Beacon’s installation will be based around five arrays inside the venue, arranged to direct sound throughout four sections—orchestra, loge, lower balcony and upper balcony. ...
With approximately 17,500 seats—including 10,000 “immersive seats”—and a scalable capacity up to around 20,000 guests, MSG Sphere at The Venetian will employ a multi-layered audio system equipped with more than 160,000 speakers that will utilize the beamforming technology. The venue will also feature a variety of multi-sensory technologies such as immersive seating, scents and changing temperatures. ...
Museum of the Future launches first ‘Future Heroes’ Summer Camp
... From using artificial intelligence and machine learning to identify and classify species of birds to exploring different forms of art and getting to grips with Minecraft education by tapping into coding and understanding the fundamentals of sustainability, the camp has something for everyone. This is in addition to the interactive and immersive experiences at the Museum of the Future. The young pioneers will get to see the museum in a unique and exclusive way. Exploring the museum’s different themes in much more depth, they will get the chance to dive deep into all the technical aspects of the exhibits.
Acting Head of Programming at the Museum of the Future, Maryam AlAwadhi said, "With the new school year around the corner, now is the perfect time to sharpen your child’s skills, re-ignite their curiosity and grow their love for learning with our first-ever series of fun, engaging, entertaining and educational workshops. No environment is more stimulating or conducive to creativity and imagination than the Museum of the Future. ...
See the full story here: https://www.zawya.com/en/life/entertainment/museum-of-the-future-launches-first-future-heroes-summer-camp-jchui69n
Forever young, beautiful and scandal-free: The rise of South Korea’s virtual influencers
...She is "able to do everything that humans cannot ... in the most human-like form," Sidus Studio X says on its website.
That includes raking in profits for the company in the multibillion-dollar advertising and entertainment worlds. Since her launch in 2020, Rozy has landed brand deals and sponsorships, strutted the runway in virtual fashion shows and even released two singles.
And she's not alone. ...
Sometimes, Sidus Studio X creates an image of Rozy from head to toe using the technology, an approach that works well for her Instagram images. Other times it superimposes her head onto the body of a human model -- when she models clothing, for instance. ...
Older generations might consider interacting with an artificial person somewhat odd. But experts say virtual influencers have struck a chord with younger Koreans, digital natives who spend much of their lives online. ...
"We communicated like friends and I felt comfortable with her -- so I don't think of her as an AI but a real friend," Lee said. ...
He added that as Rozy grew more popular, the company landed more sponsorships from luxury brands such as Chanel and Hermes, as well as magazines and other media companies. Her ads have now appeared on television, and even in offline spaces like billboards and the sides of buses. ...
Among the world's most famous virtual influencers are Lil Miquela, created by the co-founders of an American tech startup, who has endorsed brands including Calvin Klein and Prada and has more than 3 million Instagram followers; Lu of Magalu, created by a Brazilian retail company, with nearly 6 million Instagram followers; and FNMeka, a rapper created by music company Factory New, with more than 10 million TikTok followers.
But there's one major difference, according to Lee Eun-hee, a professor at Inha University's Department of Consumer Science: virtual influencers in other countries tend to reflect a diversity of ethnic backgrounds and beauty ideals. Virtual humans elsewhere have a "uniqueness," while "those in Korea are always made beautiful and pretty ... (reflecting) the values of each country," she added. ...
See the full story here: https://www.cnn.com/style/article/south-korea-virtual-influencers-beauty-social-media-intl-hnk-dst/index.html
