Dawn Of Generative Celebrities: NVIDIA’s New Technology Weaves Magic
For a good 14 seconds (from 1.02.41 to 1.02.55), Huang’s virtual replica spoke to the audience while introducing the CPU designed for terabyte-scale accelerated computing. Last week, the graphics processor company revealed in its blog postthat it leveraged the power of Omniverse to pull this stunt off without anyone’s notice.
... According to former journalist and NVIDIA’s chief blogger Brian Caulfield, a project like this typically takes a team months to complete and weeks to render. However, Omniverse enabled the animation to be completed by one animator and rendered in less than a day. ...
See the full story here: https://analyticsindiamag.com/dawn-of-generative-celebrities-nvidias-new-technology-weaves-magic/
Even North Korea Is Using VR & AR In The Classroom
During the Fourth Plenum of the Seventh Party Central Committee meeting in 2019, Kim Jong Un ordered North Korean institutions to begin using new technologies as part of their learning curriculums, including artificial intelligence, digital chalkboards, and computers. Apparently, this initiative also includes immersive technology.
According to a report by Choson Sinbo (The People’s Korea), a pro-North Korean newspaper based in Japan, a “model” elementary school located in the capital city of Pyongyang has employed new communication technologies as part of its learning curriculum. This includes VR headsets and several interactive AR experiences.
See the full story here: https://www.virtualrealitypulse.com/edition/daily-apple-samsung-2021-08-17?open-article-id=19993280&article-title=even-north-korea-is-using-vr---ar-in-the-classroom&blog-domain=vrscout.com&blog-title=vrscout
Val Kilmer Recreated His Speaking Voice Using Artificial Intelligence and Hours of Old Audio
[PhilNote: it sounds like the controversy around Val's voice in the documentary is off the mark.]
Val Kilmer marked the release of his acclaimed documentary “Val” (now streaming on Amazon Prime Video) in a milestone way: He recreated his old speaking voice by feeding hours of recorded audio of himself into an artificial intelligence algorithm. Kilmer lost the ability to speak after undergoing throat cancer treatment in 2014. Kilmer’s team recently joined forces with software company Sonantic and “Val” distributor Amazon to “create an emotional and lifelike model of his old speaking voice” (via The Wrap).
“I’m grateful to the entire team at Sonantic who masterfully restored my voice in a way I’ve never imagined possible,” Val Kilmer said in a statement. “As human beings, the ability to communicate is the core of our existence and the side effects from throat cancer have made it difficult for others to understand me. The chance to narrate my story, in a voice that feels authentic and familiar, is an incredibly special gift.”
...The AI-recreation of Kilmer’s voice was done after “Val” was made and is not featured in the documentary. The voice of Kilmer’s son, “Palo Alto” actor Jack Kilmer, is featured in the documentary to narrate the words of his father.
See the full story here: https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/val-kilmer-recreated-speaking-voice-210041795.html
Rendever Awarded $2M NIH Grant to Research Impact of Virtual Reality on Aging Population
– Rendever, a Boston-based virtual reality (VR)platform built to help seniors overcome social isolation through shared experiences, announces that it has been awarded a $2M Phase II Grant from the National Institute on Aging (NIA), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
– This grant will fund a registered multi-site clinical trial, in conjunction with the University of California Santa Barbara, to further Rendever’s continued research on the effects of VR on seniors. The focus of the research is to evaluate the impact of VR-based virtual family engagement for seniors and the differences in effect across various levels of cognitive impairment (MCI, mild to moderate AD/ADRD).
The Phase II Grant builds on Rendever’s previously awarded Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Phase I Grant to measure the impact of Rendever’s engagement platform. The initial pilot data confirmed the positive impact that virtual family engagement has on both residents and their family members living at a distance. Residents experienced decreased negative emotions and feelings of isolation, increased positive emotions and engagement with their family members, and overall improved quality of life. Family members reported similar mental health benefits along with significant decreases in caregiver guilt after using Rendever’s VR platform with their loved ones.
See the full story here: https://hitconsultant.net/2021/08/18/rendever-virtual-reality-on-aging-population-research/#.YR0uRS1h2t8
What AI researchers can learn from the self-assembling brain
In his book The Self-Assembling Brain, Hiesinger suggests that instead of looking at the brain from an endpoint perspective, we should study how information encoded in the genome is transformed to become the brain as we grow. This line of study might help discover new ideas and directions of research for the AI community.
The Self-Assembling Brain is organized as a series of seminar presentations interspersed with discussions between a robotics engineer, a neuroscientist, a geneticist, and an AI researcher. The thought-provoking conversations help to understand the views and the holes of each field on topics related to the mind, the brain, intelligence, and AI. ...
Therefore, our genome contains the information required to create our brain. That information, however, is not a blueprint that describes the brain, but an algorithm that develops it with time and energy. In the biological brain, growth, organization, and learning happen in tandem. At each new stage of development, our brain gains new learning capabilities (common sense, logic, language, problem-solving, planning, math). And as we grow older, our capacity to learn changes.
See the full story here: https://bdtechtalks.com/2021/08/16/self-assembling-brain-book/
Los Angeles-Based Artificial Intelligence Company Pinscreen Announces the Hiring of Leading Digital Artist Anda Deng
Deng will develop high-fidelity 3D digital assets for the integration with machine learning pipelines for next generation visual effects. Pinscreen’s customers include major Streaming companies, and Adapt Entertainment, which are exploring the use of cutting edge AI for the creation of photorealistic humans in high-end movie production. Novel effects, include language translation of foreign films, as well as photorealistic face replacement of stunt actors with celebrities.
Deng will develop 3D avatar assets for Pinscreen's proprietary AI-based human digitization system as well as neural face rendering solution paGAN to improve the realism of next generation immersive telecommunication systems. Pinscreen's customers include NTT Docomo, and Yahoo! Japan.
Deng's unique skills include his 3D modeling and simulation skills for real-time digital humans and hair, as well as his in-depth knowledge in Unreal Engine and the integration of 3D assets with complex real-time graphics environments.
Contact:
Hao Li
CEO & Co-Founder, Pinscreen, Inc
917-514-6980
See the full story here: https://www.wfmz.com/news/pr_newswire/pr_newswire_entertainment/los-angeles-based-artificial-intelligence-company-pinscreen-announces-the-hiring-of-leading-digital-artist-anda/article_a4e25172-b8e1-5600-b267-e7bc96116cd0.html
There’s a Blind Spot in Augmented Reality, and the Clarifying Lens of Crypto Is the Prescription, Here’s Why
Back in 2018, when I met face-to-face with then Magic Leap chief content officer Rio Caraeff, I really had only one truly burning question on my mind: Where are you guys with blockchain tech as it relates to the AR cloud? It's a question that many in the AR space are either unprepared to answer, or reticent to address due to secret projects still in development.
For this reason, if you're tracking Facebook and its activities around the Oculus Quest, Spark AR Studio, and coming Ray-Ban smartglasses, and you aren't also tracking its involvement in Diem, you're missing a large part of the story. Facebook understands that the key to the future of the AR cloud (or the metaverse) is in having an influential hand in how digital transactions and objects are handled.
Likewise, companies including Amazon, Microsoft (despite a shift to a partner model), Snap (via its StreetCred acquisition), and others are waking up to the fact that blockchain technology can no longer be ignored as a vital piece of our digital infrastructures, walled garden or not.
See the full story here: https://next.reality.news/news/opinion-theres-blind-spot-augmented-reality-and-clarifying-lens-crypto-is-prescription-heres-why-0384826/
Red 6 lands contract to put augmented reality on a T-38 training jet
For the first time ever, a U.S. Air Force T-38 will be outfitted with an augmented reality training system that allows it to dogfight against simulated Russian and Chinese fighters projected inside the pilot’s helmet. ...
The ATARS system comprises a custom, full-color augmented reality headset designed to be worn with a standard HGU-55 helmet used by F-15 and F-16 pilots. ...
Although Red 6 is a relative newcomer to the world of military procurement, the company has garnered the interest of Air Force leaders and defense contractors.
Its board is led by Mike Holmes, the former four-star general who led Air Combat Command, and includes members such as Will Roper, the service’s top acquisition official during the Trump administration. Lockheed Martin’s venture capital arm also provided an investment of undisclosed value in June 2020. ...
See the full story here: https://www.militarytimes.com/training-sim/2021/08/16/red-6-lands-contract-to-put-augmented-reality-on-a-t-38-training-jet/
Facebook to Expand Planned Undersea Cable Network in Africa
Facebook Inc. and some of the world’s largest telecommunications carriers, China Mobile Ltd. and MTN Group Ltd., are set to build a wider-than-earlier planned giant sub-sea cable in Africa.
The undersea cable sector is experiencing a resurgence, with Facebook and Alphabet Inc.’s Google behind about 80% of recent investments in transatlantic links. ...
The companies plan to add the Indian Ocean island countries of Seychelles and Comoros, as well as Angola and a new connection to Nigeria, according to a statement released on Monday. This is in addition to a recently announced link to the Canary Islands and would bring connection-landings to 35 in 26 countries. ...
2Africa is expected to come into operation by 2024 and will deliver more than the combined capacity of all sub-sea cables that are currently serving Africa, according to the statement. ...
