philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Cinerama Dome Tribute Revisits Marquee Moments in Augmented Reality

The developers of ReplayAR released an augmented reality video that highlights the renowned venue by virtually projecting old photographs from the past onto the real-life Cinerama Dome of today. 

Closer to home, ReplayAR will soon be releasing a new augmented reality history tour of greater Los Angeles, allowing local Angelenos a chance to revisit memorable moments from LA's past.

ReplayAR, an augmented reality technology startup company founded in Burbank, is currently working with it's partners towards the full realization of their patented technology: connecting their users to form a global real-world AR social network.

"Seeing AR photos of my son growing up in our home is a timeless experience" said ReplayAR co-founder Brandon Martin, "It's not just for historical events. It's also a great way to capture and replay personal memories right at home where they happen, like your own virtual scrapbook."

ReplayAR's historical exploration of the Cinerama Dome and other video installments of their "AR Time Capsule" series can be found on their YouTube channel and at ReplayAR.com. A single-user version of the ReplayAR augmented reality app is available for free on the App Store for iOS and Play Store for Android.

See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cinerama-dome-tribute-revisits-marquee-moments-in-augmented-reality-301269693.html

Pay attention to India’s future of A.I.

The researchers learned, for instance, that Indian investors participated in A.I.-related deals in the country worth an estimated $1.2 billion from 2015 through 2019. During that same time period, U.S. financers were estimated to have invested $858 million into Indian companies that specialize in A.I., underscoring the significance of  U.S. funding in India’s A.I. ecosystem. Chinese investors, by comparison, only invested an estimated $159 million into Indian A.I. companies during that timespan.

A misunderstanding that some Americans may have about India and A.I. is that the two countries may be heavily competing for A.I. talent, whereas “the fact is, it is more an avenue of cooperation between India and the U.S. then an avenue of conflict,” Chahal said.

...“There is more hope than fears as of now,” she said regarding Indian technologists coming to the U.S.

See the full story here: https://fortune.com/2021/04/13/pay-attention-to-indias-future-of-a-i/

Big Tech’s guide to talking about AI ethics

50-ish words you can use to show that you care without incriminating yourself.

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Now they’ve developed a new vocabulary to use when they want to assure the public that they care deeply about developing AI responsibly—but want to make sure they don’t invite too much scrutiny. Here’s an insider’s guide to decoding their language and challenging the assumptions and values baked in.

accountability (n) - The act of holding someone else responsible for the consequences when your AI system fails.

accuracy (n) - Technical correctness. The most important measure of success in evaluating an AI model’s performance. See validation.

adversary (n) - A lone engineer capable of disrupting your powerful revenue-generating AI system. See robustness, security.

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See the full article here: https://www.technologyreview.com/2021/04/13/1022568/big-tech-ai-ethics-guide/

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

University of Chicago Debuts First U.S. Quantum Accelerator

The Washington Post reports that the accelerator program, based at the University’s Booth School of Business, will invest $20 million over the next 10 years to help “up to 10 quantum startups a year.” Each chosen startup will receive “$50,000 grants, access to lab and office space and close mentoring by science and business faculty members.”

It also reveals that, “the Duality accelerator is hoping to leverage the physics and engineering expertise from its university partners, and from the nearby Argonne and Fermi national labs, to support commercial ideas bubbling up from PhD students and others.” An earlier startup program at the University supported Grubhub and Venmo.

See the full story here: https://www.etcentric.org/university-of-chicago-debuts-first-u-s-quantum-accelerator/#more-158673

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

No more Mozart? Americans streaming habits reflect what life will sound like after the pandemic

Mainstream sources of entertainment are back as people prepare for reentry into society after the yearlong isolation of COVID-19

But before they ditch their sweatpants and kiss their “pandemic pets” goodbye before spending their first workdays without them, they’re rehearsing what life might feel — and sound — like in a world with few COVID restrictions.

In doing so, they’re listening to fast-paced electronic and rap songs by artists like Lil Nas X, Jacob Collier and The Weeknd and watching office comedy shows like NBC’s  CMCSA, -1.40% “30 Rock,” according to data from TasteDive, a recommendation engine. They’re also listening to “99% Invisible” a podcast about urban architecture and infrastructure.

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Adults, meanwhile, are taking a break from classic novels like Leo Tolstoy’s “Anna Karenina,” as well as Michelle Obama’s autobiography, “Becoming,” which was one of the most read books during lockdowns last year, according to data from The New York Public Library.

Instead, Americans are reading murder mysteries like “The Guest List,” by Lucy Foley, and travel books according to TasteDive.

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See the full story here: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/americans-are-turning-to-lil-nas-x-and-30-rock-to-prepare-for-the-roaring-20s-life-after-the-pandemic-11617970047