Disney Developing Augmented Reality System Capable of Virtually Lighting Real-World Objects
A new Disney invention could eliminate traditional lighting, moving lighting effects to an augmented reality viewer.
The “Introducing Real-time Lighting Effects to Illuminate Real-world Physical Objects in See-through Augmented Reality Displays” patent application (US 2021/0097757 A1) published April 1, 2021 sheds some light on the invention. A shader and a light source generator are used to apply virtual illumination to physical objects viewed through an augmented reality (AR) display.
This system is able to map three dimensional objects in the real world. The shader identifies points on the object; those are the vertices. Those vertices are then connected to create numerous polygons, mapping the real-world object for the computer.
A computer-generated lighting source is then applied to the polygons identified by the shader. The rendered scene lighting is displayed on top of the real-world objects through the AR screen.
See the full story here: https://wdwnt.com/2021/04/disney-developing-augmented-reality-system-capable-of-virtually-lighting-real-world-objects/
The Sandbox Attracts Strategic Gaming & Silicon Valley Partners to build Virtual Lands in its NFT Metaverse
Uken Games, Bill Lee, Ken Howery, Galaxy Interactive, Tyler Winklevoss, Gemini Frontier Fund, Nifty Gateway, Avenged Sevenfold, and others entered into strategic partnerships to acquire LAND and build experiences in The Sandbox’s NFT-based metaverse
The Sandbox, a subsidiary of Animoca Brands and the leading decentralized social metaverse platform, announced that it has added multiple partners from the NFT, investment, and music industries to its growing list of partners. As with previous partners, the new entrants have joined in The Sandbox’s virtual real estate by acquiring LAND NFTs in the open metaverse and committed to building experiences across the metaverse. To celebrate the new partners, The Sandbox will launch a new LAND sale on April 14 that allows players to purchase choice spots near partner LANDS.
The involvement of the partners announced follows the beta launch of The Sandbox’s NFT marketplace, which gives anyone the opportunity to earn SAND, The Sandbox’s utility token, by monetizing voxel-based NFT creations created with the dedicated software VoxEdit. Each NFT can be used inside the game platform in the future or used to build custom game experiences. LAND NFTs are the main gateway to publishing games in The Sandbox, as the platform prepares for opening its first public beta for players later this year. The Sandbox was recently featured by the Wall Street Journal and CNBC as a pioneer in the space.
“The Sandbox is revolutionizing gaming by empowering users to build, own, and monetize their gaming experiences in a virtual world that is decentralized,” said Tyler Winklevoss, Co-Founder of Gemini Exchange. “We plan to extend our existing platforms into The Sandbox and develop unique experiences on our properties that advance our mission of empowering the individual through crypto.”
See the full story here: https://europeangaming.eu/portal/latest-news/2021/04/12/90247/the-sandbox-attracts-strategic-gaming-silicon-valley-partners-to-build-virtual-lands-in-its-nft-metaverse/
Fruit carts flying over MacArthur Park: How you can see LACMA’s first AR monuments
“LACMA × Snapchat: Monumental Perspectives” aims to illuminate untold stories and little-known histories from around Los Angeles. The site-specific works — viewable on the Snapchat app — add to the national conversation aroundrepresentation and historical accuracy in monuments, murals and other public works of art. When the viewer looks through their device at the location the work is set in, the digital art appears onscreen.
LACMA Director Michael Govan said in the project announcement that the AR monuments “are not only relevant to issues of today — Los Angeles, civic space, community — but also to the medium of art, opening doors to new ways of thinking about art in both physical and virtual spaces.”
The project will premiere more virtual monuments in 2021 and in years to come.
See the full story here: https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/story/2021-04-13/lacma-snapchat-ar-monuments-los-angeles
Tom Cruise and Russia Want to Shoot Movies in Space, but These VR Filmmakers Got There First
Since January 2019, Felix & Paul, the VR studio launched by Montreal-based virtual realitydirectors Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphael in 2013, have been assembling 360-degree footage shot on handmade cameras by 10 astronauts from a revolving crew.
With more than 200 hours of footage to date, the material has so far fueled the first two episodes of the four-part VR series “Space Explorers: The ISS Experience.” The result, co-produced by Time Studios, provides the most advanced way to date for audiences — at least, those in possession of VR headsets — to experience what it’s like to live in zero-gravity in the 21-year-old space station, which orbits 250 miles above the surface of the Earth. ...
This summer, they expect to go one step further, by collaborating with astronauts on a spacewalk for five days of filming in the dark, perilous vacuum outside the station. The Felix & Paul team have developed a complex process of developing equipment for the shoot and coordinating with the astronauts from the ground. “When you work in an environment like this, you really cannot improvise,” Lajeunesse said.
See the full story here; http://Tom Cruise and Russia Want to Shoot Movies in Space, but These VR Filmmakers Got There First
‘New’ Amy Winehouse song created by AI to raise mental health awareness
The track – entitled Man, I Know – was made as part of the Lost Tapes Of The 27 Club, a project raising awareness around mental health.
The project from non-profit organisation Over The Bridge focuses on music stars who, like Winehouse, died at the age of 27. This includes artists such as Kurt Cobain and Jimi Hendrix.
According to the Lost Tapes website, an AI algorithm listened to melodies and lyrics from the late stars.
The algorithm “learned from the music, then generated a string of all-new hooks, rhythms, melodies, and lyrics”.
An audio engineer then used these to create the new music.
See the full story here; https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/amy-winehouse-song-ai-awareness-100656766.html
Bieber and BTS label HYBE invests in AI
When pop art King Andy Warhol was alive, he transformed the way the art world authenticated art. That’s because Warhol was on a mission to paint like a machine which led him to allow his assistants to help with production. There came a point he was signing pieces that his assistants had produced. And this transitioned into the assistants stamping the artwork with his signature in his absence.
In a similar vein, HYBE has plans to use its artists to generate cash, without them ever needing to be present. Imagine the potential, if it can train AI to know the artists’ voices for future use in video games, audiobooks, podcasts, dubbing adverts or animations. Cartoons are a big part of K-pop culture and could be expanded to its artists in other genres.
That’s the power inherent in AI and it’s got the capacity to become a money-printing machine.
See the full story here: https://www.valuethemarkets.com/2021/04/09/bieber-bts-big-hit-entertainment-investing-artificial-intelligence/
Study Shows Benefits of Virtual Reality in Measuring Memory
The research evaluated how participants compiled increasingly difficult grocery lists from recipes by eliminating ingredients already “on hand” in virtual kitchen cabinets.
“This work fills a gap in our field. Some researchers are beginning to simulate the reality of a particular everyday task or job training scenario with VR [virtual reality],” said Krawczyk, who is also deputy director of the UT Dallas Center for BrainHealth. “On the other end of the spectrum, researchers are interested in this very controlled type of memory task. Our study fits in between, because it’s realistic and relevant to daily life, but it’s also sufficiently controlled as a scientific study should be, with careful elevation of cognitive demand. So we’re able to learn about working memory as well as daily life.”
...“Indeed, how someone approaches a task and makes it efficient may be more important to their performance than their raw ability to maintain information in memory.”
See the full story here: https://news.utdallas.edu/health-medicine/virtual-reality-memory-2021/
