TiVo merges with technology licensor Xperi in $3 billion deal
Earlier this year, TiVo said it was preparing to split itself into two — a product and IP business — in order to make itself more attractive to buyers. Today, the company announced those plans have been put on hold as it has instead merged with technology licensor Xperi Corporation, in a $3 billion deal. The merger will see each company’s IP licensing and product businesses integrated with one another, then operated as separate units. This will allow the newly combined company to sell off one of those units to a strategic buyer at a later date.
The combined company will be called Xperi and will be headquartered in San Jose, California. It will continue to sell entertainment services under the TiVo brand, alongside Xperi’s own premium DTS, HD Radio, and IMAX Enhanced brands.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/19/tivo-merges-with-technology-licensor-xperi-in-3-billion-deal/
Museums Have Yet to Embrace Augmented Reality. But Microsoft Wants to Help Them Use It as a Tool for Education and Social Justice
Lasting roughly 15 minutes, which is not long but not short either, the device overlays holographic images on top of the 3D model, with audio detailing the history of the object and the site itself. At one point, the device overlays the entire gallery space with a holographic copy of the abbey of the church, digitally transporting you into the architectural space. The experience overall is enjoyable and informative.
This visualization of Mont-Saint-Michel is interesting as a hint of how AR might enter into traditional museum outreach and education initiatives in the future. But it is only a hint—and the leading edge will be using the technology not just for education, but also “for good.”
Recently, the Knight Foundation awarded five art institutions $750,000 to share in the creation of “experimental projects that explore new ways to engage audiences through immersive experiences.” Knight partnered with Microsoft to allow these institutions to access its AI technology and receive coaching from AR/VR experts. The five organizations are the American Museum of Natural History, New York; the Museum of the Moving Image, Queens, New York; the Museum of Art and Design at Miami Dade College; the Japanese American Museum in San Jose; and the Colored Girls Museum, Philadelphia.
See the full story here: https://news.artnet.com/exhibitions/microsoft-ar-vr-art-museum-1737159
Films connect generations at Senior Coastsiders
While the virtual reality experience was new and thrilling for most, the content shown on the viewers was a serious matter. In conjunction with media companies Participant Media and Condition One, Senior Coastsiders presented two virtual reality segments from “This Is Climate Change,” a four-part series directed by Danfung Dennis and Eric Strauss.
The cross-generational event gathered a handful of students from the Youth Leadership Institute and the local seniors to use the latest technology, leading many to ask themselves why virtual reality was so effective in these instances. “Melting Ice” took viewers to Greenland with former Vice President Al Gore as he studied glaciers with local researchers. “Feast” delved into the Amazon rainforest as it was logged for industrial cattle ranches.
See the full story here: https://www.hmbreview.com/community/virtual-reality-leads-to-better-understanding/article_f370b946-21f2-11ea-81dd-d7c352e91c14.html
When will Star Wars droids roam freely around Disneyland’s Galaxy’s Edge?
The J4-K3 droid, part of Imagineering’s autonomous character pilot program, has more sensors than a self-driving car, according to Walt Disney Imagineering research and development manager Ashley Girdich.
During the tests, Jake appeared to recognize and interact with his surroundings — rolling up to control panels inside Launch Bay and marveling at R2-D2 and C-3PO in Tomorrowland’s Star Trader shop window. Jake even “talked” with a series of bleeps and bloops as his head moved and lights blinked on his body.
“The day he went live outdoors I was jumping, screaming and laughing,” Girdich said in the “One Day at Disney” docuseries on the Disney+ streaming service. “People were blown away. Everyone was trying to find how he was being controlled. He was his own character without a puppeteer in the background.”
The biggest challenge for Imagineering: Keeping Jake from rolling over the tiny toes of flip flop-wearing children in the sea of humanity constantly moving around Disneyland.
“Jake is an example of a technology currently in the exploratory phase, with no decisions yet on where or how we will use it,” Girdich said via email. “Tomorrowland was chosen as the location our Imagineers digitally mapped to test this technology.”
Imagineering has no current plans to use the autonomous character technology in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge or with any particular character or type of character.
See the full story here: https://www.ocregister.com/2019/12/17/when-will-star-wars-droids-roam-freely-around-disneylands-galaxys-edge/
Snagging Pearson’s AR assets and $1 million in cash, GIGXR is ready for its close up
Meet GIGXR, the new owner of all of the assets of Pearson Immersive Learning Group, a subsidiary of the education and media publishing giant, Pearson.
Formed specifically to roll up Pearson’s virtual and augmented reality assets, GIGXR is helmed by David King Lassman, the founder of streaming media company Vyclone and the Southern Californian venture capital firm White Hart Ventures.
The serial entrepreneur had been in discussions with Pearson for the better part of a year to acquire the company’s VR and AR assets.
The group has intellectual property for virtual and augmented reality training programs for hospitals, nursing schools and universities, according to a statement.
Based in Los Angeles, GIGXR now owns flagship products including HoloPatient and HoloHuman, mixed reality training programs for medical schools that operate on the new Hololens 2 headset.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/18/snagging-pearsons-ar-assets-and-1-million-in-cash-gigxr-is-ready-for-its-close-up/
Robert Downey Jr.’s Next Big Project Is An AI Documentary
SANTA MONICA, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 10: 2019 E! PEOPLE'S CHOICE AWARDS -- Pictured: Robert Downey Jr. speaks on stage during the 2019 E! People's Choice Awards held at the Barker Hangar on November 10, 2019 -- NUP_188995 (Photo by: Emma McIntyre/E! Entertainment/NBCU Photo Bank)
It’s called The Age of A.I. (debuting December 18), which might sound like a bland documentary title, yet the content looks to be more than a little revealing. Hearing the latest advancements about AI will likely shock viewers on just how advanced it’s become, despite still having plenty more room to grow.
One thing the show will tell viewers is AI isn’t at the level of an omniscient being yet like a real HAL 9000.
What the show will tell everyone is the positive things AI is doing to make the world run more efficiently, including helping us find answers to our biggest challenges. As seen in the trailer, Downey cryptically tells the viewer “We’re at the dawn of a new age.“
See the full story here: https://www.cheatsheet.com/entertainment/robert-downey-jr-s-next-big-project-is-something-tony-stark-would-have-loved.html/
How LeftTube Is Rebranding Liberal Philosophy
Philosophy Tube is a rising star of a group called LeftTube, or BreadTube, named after the 1892 book The Conquest of Bread by the anarchist Peter Kropotkin. These channels are gaining momentum as they try to counter the rise of the far-right online.
As toxic, extremist messages on YouTube have become more common, more attention is being paid to online ideological discourse and the damaging effect it can have.
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Stokel-Walker learned a more utopian solution while researching his book: Make YouTube’s algorithm serve up opposing viewpoints. That would do a lot to stop susceptible people falling down the alt-right rabbit hole, though it isn’t likely to happen with YouTube’s current business model which relies upon people staying on the site for as long as possible.
“It might be what’s best for society,” Stokel-Walker said. “But it’s not what’s best for YouTube.”
See the full story here: https://onezero.medium.com/how-lefttube-is-rebranding-liberal-philosophy-de945a73cfc2