Facebook’s FRL Research department is working a pair of augmented reality glasses that will change how wearers hear as well as see.
The primary pitch for the new technology involves using an array of microphones in the frame of the glasses to focus on a person as they’re speaking. The glasses could then identify the source of the sound you’re trying to hear and use a combination of hardware and software solutions to isolate it from background noise. The final result isn’t unlike what you might expect from a hearing aid.
By adding glasses and AI to the mix, Facebook hopes to give users more specific control over what sounds make it through and which ones get suppressed.
The company still doesn’t have any specific info about when—or if—any of this will ever hit the market in one of its gadgets, but we’ll hear more about Facebook’s VR ambitions at the Oculus Connect conference starting on September 16th.
Geology is a very spatial science and can require a lot of 3-D visualization. Simple physical models (not to mention rocks) have long been used to aid teaching about things like faults or crystalline mineral structure. But these things can be surprisingly costly and occupy a surprising amount of storage space.
Ars talked to Martin Pratt about his work as part of a Washington University in St. Louis group that is developing apps for classes, both for specialized devices like Microsoft’s HoloLens and for the phones most students already have.
While completing a Ph.D. in seismology a few years ago, Pratt had taken an interest in data visualization along the way. He took on the challenge to work on creating AR apps, starting with one (iOS only) that allows users to explore up-to-date USGS earthquake data in three dimensions rather than just a 2-D map. You can much more easily understand the geometry of a tectonic plate boundary this way, or even explore the pattern of foreshocks and aftershocks around an earthquake.
See the full story here: https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/09/augmented-reality-could-be-the-geology-classrooms-killer-app/
PhilNote: a 1 1/2 minute video showing tools for measuring your own IPD (Inter Pupil Distance) for VR and AR head mounted displaces.
https://www.amazon.com/vdp/0a33dcfed73640cf9202102a31def39c
The drive-in industry, once a mainstay for movies, is now catering to all types of performances, from music, to comedy to the circus, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to keep venues closed.
See the full story here: https://www.axios.com/drive-in-events-see-huge-uptick-thanks-to-country-music-e09a7436-5c8b-4645-94b4-a67810999720.html
War has an unchanging nature. War is violent, interactive, and fundamentally political. War’s character, by contrast, changes, and reflects how technology, law, ethics, and many other factors influence combatants’ use of violence to create political outcomes.
The evolving nature of information technology and its use by militaries may change the character of war. If and when this takes place, competence in and even mastery of some previous ways of war will become less relevant. Failure to lead the next change to the character of war could result in the U.S. military’s advantages in training, resources, and technology quickly diminishing or disappearing altogether.
Information Technology and the Character of War
Napoleonic warfare found agrarian societies pitting their armies and, at its pinnacle, most of their resources against one another. Similarly, World War II showed the devastation that industrial nations could produce. The four possibilities below explore how information technology may affect the character of war.
Autonomy
Software’s Acceleration of Adaptation
Infrastructure as a Weapon System
Individualization of War and Politics
... the effects of a new type of technology are only fully revealed when two well-developed forces fight each other, creating emergent effects that cannot be predicted by viewing the forces in isolation. No-one knows the system behavior that will emerge when information age forces fight each other.
See the full story here: https://warontherocks.com/2020/09/yet-another-article-about-information-technology-and-the-character-of-war/
When Galaxy’s Edge opened it not only added jobs but it changed how theme park land based on intellectual property would be looked at for years. Now people visiting the Disney theme parks will expect to be fully immersed in a story that they’ve only been able to watch in movies. They will also expect that every detail they have ever imagined or made up in their head will be seen right in front of them as they walk through the gates of a park. The sheer amount of detail and storytelling inside Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge has lead to Walt Disney Imagineering having to take on the go big, or go home mentality when it comes to designing and building new lands. Avengers Campus, the newest land expansion at the Disneyland Resort is no different.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2020/08/29/how-star-wars-galaxys-edge-changed-ip-based-theme-park-lands-forever/#41d8207a630c
Binance, a global distributed ledger blockchain cryptocurrency exchange, is partnering with Oasis Labs, a data privacy software company, to launch the CryptoSafe Alliance to help combat cryptocurrency fraud.
The CryptoSafe Program is a decentralized system powered by the Oasis Network and the Oasis Labs privacy software development kit, Parcel. Alliance members will access real-time intelligence and reports on hacks, scams and other malicious incidents privately and without having to share sensitive industry or user data with competitors.
“The formation of the CryptoSafe Alliance is a representation of Binance’s commitment to building a more resilient crypto industry for everyone in the ecosystem,” said Binance Chief Executive Changpeng Zhao. “Together, we can make a concerted effort to safeguard the global cryptocurrency community through collaboration and open data sharing.”
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/megandubois/2020/08/29/how-star-wars-galaxys-edge-changed-ip-based-theme-park-lands-forever/#41d8207a630c
For the first time in his career, the 43-year-old future Hall of Famer is turning to virtual reality to help get extra reps as he attempts to get up to speed with Bruce Arians' offense before the Buccaneers open their 2020 campaign.
Arians has used STRIVR Virtual Reality Training since he coached the Arizona Cardinals, and for a quarterback like Brady who looks for any advantage he can get, it's no wonder he is diving head-first into a new training method.
See the full story here: https://sports.yahoo.com/tom-brady-falling-love-bucs-163415468.html
During OC6 in September 2019, Facebook introduced Facebook Horizon — a “social experience where you can explore, play and create in extraordinary ways.” Users were invited to join a beta group until recently when the platform decided to expedite the process of having people on the waitlist actually test the experience.
One of the many features of Horizon is being able to engage in games like mini golf, escape rooms, and paintball. Another notable emphasis is on world-building. What does this mean for brands and marketers? A new way to interact with and engage audiences. For example, they’d have the option to build a world for consumers to participate in a scavenger hunt that leads them to discount codes for free items. More generally, they could have the option to shoot ads directly within Horizon and use the avatars of fans as extras — giving them a first-hand look and direct involvement in the product they’d buy.
See the full story here: https://socialmediaweek.org/blog/2020/09/how-facebook-is-normalizing-virtual-social-interaction/
SAMSUNG CSC
The training facility, which is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021, could encompass up to 12 bakery “students” per class.
One of the key ingredients in the Pinecrest success recipe is San Francisco-based Scope AR (Scopear.com), a global leader in augmented reality solutions and a recognized pioneer in utilizing AR for industry support and training. Utilizing Scope AR’s WorkLink Platform, Pinecrest bakers will wear Microsoft’s HoloLens 2 (Microsoft.com) mixed reality device preloaded with all of Pinecrest’s mouth-watering recipes.
Then, with a color-coded baking system that Miami-based non-profit Piece of Cake Bakers (Pieceofcakebakers.com) — another part of the success recipe — has used to train people with disabilities, Pinecrest’s bakers will be able to visualize each step in creating the wide range of pastries and other foods for which the family-owned bakery is famous.
See the full story here: https://communitynewspapers.com/featured/bakery-to-use-augmented-reality-to-train-adults-with-disabilities/
Binance, a global distributed ledger blockchain cryptocurrency exchange, is partnering with Oasis Labs, a data privacy software company, to launch the CryptoSafe Alliance to help combat cryptocurrency fraud.
