This AR Lightning App Is Insanely Well-Made
What would it feel like to wield the power of lightning? It’s a question we’ve all asked ourselves at some point in our lives (at least I have anyway). Well wonder no more as Olivier Goguel, CTO at HoloForge Interactive, has created an experimental demo that gives you the power to play with AR lighting using your bare hands.
The experimental demo was built using the Unity game engine and is powered by iPhone with LiDAR, which currently includes the iPhone 12 Pro, iPhone 13 Pro, iPad Pro 11-inch (2nd and 3rd gen), and iPad Pro 12.9-inch (4th and 5th gen). It appears that by tapping your fingers together you can create a ball of lighting which can be shot forward with a simple flick of the wrist. ...
Goguel’s experimental demo is free to download via Github.
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/this-ar-lightning-app-is-insanely-well-made/
ACUTE ART PRESENTS ‘VISIONS’ EXHIBITION IN SINGAPORE
‘visions’, acute art’s ongoing outdoor exhibition in singapore, brings together augmented reality works by ten contemporary artists, including cao fei, olafur eliasson, KAWS, precious okoyomon and tomás saraceno, among others. curated by daniel birnbaum, artistic director of acute art, the interactive exhibition also features a newly-commissioned set of AR works by singapore artist ho tzu nyen titled ‘language’, which explores philosophical and political themes. ‘visions’ opened as part of the 10th annual singapore art week and the national gallery of singapore’s light to night festival, and will remain on view until march 31, 2022. visitors can explore the AR artworks with accompanying soundscapes along the gallery’s facade with the civic district as their backdrop.
‘the thematic thread in “visions” is the sense of wonder. there is something spectral, yes ghost-like, about the works,’daniel birnbaum tells designboom. ‘they remain invisible to the naked eye, but seen through the phone they can become quite overwhelming.’ previously the director of the moderna museet in stockholm, birnbaum has been director and curator of acute art since 2019. together, they translate the creative vision of renowned international artists into virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) or mixed reality (MR) artworks that viewers can engage with from anywhere around the globe. ...
See the full story here: https://www.designboom.com/art/visions-interview-daniel-birnbaum-curating-acute-art-ar-exhibition-singapore-02-08-2022/
Sony and ‘Gran Turismo’ developer to showcase AI collaboration
... At a glance, this AI system might be something similar to the Forza Drivatar system at Xbox. This machine learning AI-system controls cars in player’s games by having them emulate their friends and other drivers from around the world, so players can race with people without having to physically have them in their game. ...
See the full story here: https://www.nme.com/news/gaming-news/sony-and-gran-turismo-developer-to-showcase-ai-collaboration-3156615
OPINION: Deepfakes are getting better and opening new possibilities
Many fans are already speculating why Luke looked so much better than in “The Mandalorian,” and many are turning to the possibility that Disney hired YouTuber Shamook. Shamook is famous for his deepfake fixes on YouTube and episode six looked much like his work.
Despite whether they hired him or not, Disney learned from last time and continued to push the boundaries of what was once thought impossible — which begs the question, will other companies continue to follow them? ...
Moments like these have the potential to be so emotional, that companies would be fools to not consider it. We have seen deepfake and CGI technology evolve so much over the years, that it now becomes a question of when the right time is to resurrect or de-age our favorite characters. ...
See the full story here: https://unothegateway.com/opinion-deepfakes-are-getting-better-and-opening-new-possibilities/
Virtual Reality Statistics 2022
PhilNote: lots of statistics in the article.
Nearly 1 in 3 consumers own an AR/VR device, and 15 percent will buy such a device in 2022: As per a 2022 GroupM Annual Survey on Consumer Attitudes Towards Technology, 32 percent of respondents said they own an AR or VR device, and another 15 percent added they were looking to buy a device in this category in the next 12 months.
More than 1 in 3 US consumers would rather buy AR/VR devices from Apple: Even though Apple is yet to launch a VR headset, it has a large number of loyalists. Roughly 33 percent of respondents to an said the preferred an Apple-provided headset as their first choice, followed by Google at 20 percent. Meta’s Quest is still the first choice for less than 10 percent of buyers.
Social VR users spend over 3 hours a day in VR: According to a Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2021 survey, those engaging in social VR experiences spend over 3 hours a day in virtual reality. Interestingly, 75 percent said they maintain less physical distance between themselves and those they meet in VR than in real-world surroundings.
See the full story with more statistics here: https://www.xrtoday.com/virtual-reality/virtual-reality-statistics-2022/
Foo Fighters to Perform Virtual Reality Concert on Super Bowl Sunday
The Foo Fighters are going virtual.
The band is set to perform a virtual reality concert after the Super Bowl on Sunday at 11 p.m. ET — or whenever the football game finishes — on Horizon Venues, a VR app available on the Meta Quest headsets. ...
Though listeners will be able to watch the concert on the Foo Fighters’ and Meta’s social media pages, users who access the concert from their Meta Quest headsets on the Horizon Venues app will be able to create their avatars, customize their outfits, interact with other fans and play games in the virtual concert lobby. ...
See the full story here: https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/foo-fighters-vr-concert-super-bowl-sunday-1235028323/
Apple buys startup that makes music with artificial intelligence
... Technology developed by AI Music can create soundtracks using royalty-free music and artificial intelligence, according to a copy of its now-defunct website. The idea is to generate dynamic soundtracks that change based on user interaction. A song in a video game could change to fit the mood, for instance, or music during a workout could adapt to the user’s intensity. ...
While relatively small, the deal is one of the tech giant’s few acquisitions in the past year. Apple’s last reported purchase was also for a music company: Primephonic. That startup ran a classical music streaming service that Apple intends to turn into an app tied to Apple Music this year. ...
See the full story here: https://www.livemint.com/companies/news/apple-buys-startup-that-makes-music-with-artificial-intelligence-11644278429572.html
Meta moves to tackle creepy behaviour in virtual reality
... Meta has now announced a new feature, Personal Boundary, which begins rolling out on 4 February. It prevents avatars from coming within a set distance of each other, creating more personal space for people and making it easier to avoid these unwanted interactions.
It stops others "invading your avatar's personal space", said Meta.
"If someone tries to enter your Personal Boundary, the system will halt their forward movement as they reach the boundary." ...
See the full story here: https://news.yahoo.com/virtual-reality-creepy-behaviour-abuse-140447911.html
