Abu Dhabi uses world’s largest augmented reality screen to promote UAE
Abu Dhabi used the world's 'largest augmented reality (AR) screen' to promote the UAE capital as a world-leading holiday destination. The Department of Culture and Tourism - Abu Dhabi (DCT - Abu Dhabi) bagged a Guinness World Record after its marketing campaign utilised the famous 40-foot digital billboard known as Piccadilly Lights in the heart of London and transformed it into an interactive AR experience.
Aside from breaking a world record, the screen was designed to allow passers-by to play a starring role in the experience. Al Shaiba said: "By standing near the fountain in the square, people are captured by the hi-tech, on-site audience camera, transporting them to some of Abu Dhabi's most famous attractions - think family-friendly indoor theme park Ferrari World Abu Dhabi, wildlife haven Sir Bani Yas Island, and the stunning Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque - on the screen. Each one of the capital's landmarks has been brought vividly to life in London using innovative 3D AR overlays."
The interactive activation played at 10 minutes to the hour, every hour, for two weeks until December 8. The campaign also offered people a chance to win a trip to Abu Dhabi with Etihad Holidays.
See the full story here: https://www.khaleejtimes.com/uae/abu-dhabi/abu-dhabi-uses-worlds-largest-augmented-reality-screen-to-promote-uae-
Augmented Reality Is Helping Undo the Euro-Centric Version of U.S. History
When Glenn Cantave was in first grade, his teacher asked the class to color in an illustration of Christopher Columbus’ three famous ships: the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa María.
Like so many other schoolchildren, he memorized the names of the boats and learned that Columbus first set sail for the so-called New World in 1492. But it wasn’t until many years later that he would learn what happened once Columbus landed off the coastof the island that is now Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Columbus acted as a cruel dictator, enslaving countless indigenous inhabitants and forcing them to work on plantations and in gold mines. Those who resisted were brutally killed. Cantave — whose family is from Haiti — didn’t learn anything about Columbus’ brutal legacy in his Long Island public school classroom. Whoever wrote the curriculum apparently didn’t think it was important.
That’s part of the reason Cantave and Idris Brewster later co-founded an educational advocacy group called Movers and Shakers NYC. The nonprofit “uses augmented reality to highlight underrepresented narratives." One of their first efforts was creating augmented reality (also known as AR) content that reveals the full scope of Columbus’ legacy.
The New York City-based company develops AR material to bring tech and history directly to the public by working with communities, museums, and schools. They offer a range of programming, from a project depicting alternative monuments to one that allows young people to experience a holographic protest. All of their work focuses on lifting up marginalized voices and bringing important, often overlooked, history to life, especially the stories of people of color, women, and queer and trans people.
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With support from Verizon's Innovative Learning initiative, Movers and Shakers is slated to introduce its 5G AR programming to 100 under-resourced schools by 2021. They kicked off the effort this school year in Cleveland, Ohio.
See the full story here: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/augmented-reality-history-movers-shakers
Augmented Reality Apps Account for Over Half of the Top 10 Most Downloaded Apps of 2019, Report Says
If there's any lingering uncertainty as to the mainstream viability of augmented reality, a list of the top mobile apps and games of 2019 serves to dispell those doubts.
Of the top 10 most downloaded apps of 2019 according to app analytics service App Annie, six include augmented reality features.
Also appearing in the top ten are apps from Chinese developers, TikTok from ByteDance at number four and Likee (iOS | Android) from YY, Inc. at number seven.
In addition, App Annie has released a top apps and games of the decade report, and the results are similar to the 2019 charts. Four out of the top five most downloaded apps tout AR features, with Facebook Messenger and Facebook retaining the top two spots, Instagram landing at the fourth spot, and Snapchat claiming fifth place.
See the full story here: https://next.reality.news/news/augmented-reality-apps-account-for-over-half-top-10-most-downloaded-apps-2019-report-says-0217906/
Facebook’s New Data Source: Virtual Reality
By contrast, virtual reality is one of the few areas of the new, data-focused hardware race that Facebook has a clear edge in. Adoption of VR headsets is still far behind smart speakers and wearables like fitness trackers and smartwatches. But Oculus devices are currently the company's strongest asset in the hardware-focused data frontier, and virtual reality's huge untapped potential means it's a market investors should keep an eye on.
See the full story here: https://www.fool.com/investing/2019/12/22/facebook-has-an-interesting-new-source-of-data-vir.aspx
The First ‘Virtual Reality’ Chanukah Comes to Brooklyn
Tech Tribe, an affiliate of Chabad Young Professionals that crafts events and experiences for young Jews in technology and digital media under the leadership of Rabbi Mordechai and Chana Lightstone. Tech Tribe will hold its annual Chanukah event on Monday, Dec. 23, at YokeyPokey, a Virtual Reality (VR) Club in downtown Brooklyn. The event will feature an educational 360-degree VR experience of the Chanukah story, complete with traditional oil-based foods such as latkes and jelly doughnuts.
The story behind the VR experience is one that underscores the synergy between Chabad emissaries and their community members.
The program is made up of five parts. First, participants will watch an educational 360-degree video on the history of Chanukah. Dreidel-spinning and Latke-making games add a real-life element to the traditional experiences. Next comes the quest for pure olive oil, where participants find themselves surrounded by ruins with the goal of finding a jug of oil.
Passionate about Chabad’s quest to merge technology with Judaism, Ben said “Chabad Centers like Tech Tribe deserve to be celebrated. Connecting Judaism and technology is a great concept, being that there are so many people that have an interest in both.”
See the full story here: https://www.chabad.org/news/article_cdo/aid/4593122/jewish/The-First-Virtual-Reality-Chanukah-Comes-to-Brooklyn.htm