AWS launches new local zone in LA
Los Angeles, California, USA - March 23, 2016: Aerial view of the Hollywood sign at dusk in Los Angeles. The image has been taken from an helicopter flying over LA.
AWS announced a new local zone today in LA, designed to provide customers in southern California with a set of higher bandwidth, lower latency compute resources. It’s not a coincidence that this area is the epicenter of the entertainment industry.
Having a local zone gives LA-area companies, whether that’s related to video processing, gaming, ad tech or machine learning, access to a much more localized set of resources, wrote Jeff Barr of AWS in a blog postannouncing the new zone.
As he pointed out, LA is home to a lot of companies that require this kind of local compute for gaming, 3D modeling and rendering, video processing (including real-time color correction), video streaming and media production pipelines.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/12/03/aws-launches-new-local-zone-in-la/
Sony and fans fire back as Microsoft claims ‘nobody’s asking for VR’
The flashpoint was a comment from Microsoft’s Xbox chief Phil Spencer, who reportedly downplayed VR as an “isolating” experience, and said that “nobody’s asking for VR” — at least, from his customer base. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those,” he explained, though he also said “nobody’s selling millions and millions” of VR headsets. For these reasons, the company isn’t planning to support VR on its next Xbox console, codenamed Project Scarlett.
Spencer’s take apparently didn’t sit well with Sony’s Shuhei Yoshida, who led the company’s worldwide studios through much of the growth of PlayStation VR — a headset that has, in fact, sold well over 4 million units. This morning, Yoshida tweeted that “we oftentimes work hard to make things that no customers are asking for,” a fairly gentle retort that recalls the supposed quote from car pioneer Henry Ford, “if I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses.”
See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/2019/11/26/sony-and-fans-fire-back-as-microsoft-claims-nobodys-asking-for-vr/
The State Of LBVR Revealed At IAAPA 2019
Last year we talked about over sixty attractions, from simple driving simulators to free roam VR arenas that can command over two hundred thousand dollars. This year there was more, seventy-five at one count, and a dozen that use some other form of XR (AR, projection mapping). By way of organizing this massive number of VR experiences, we’re going to divide the pack into three groups, which we will treat in three posts: “The Best” (part one, below), “LBVR Enclosures” (part two), and “Vehicle Simulations, VR Coasters & Other XR Surprises” (part three). This last group includes vehicle and sports simulators that do not use HMDs, which begs the question: if an immersive simulation doesn’t use a headset, is it VR?
Hologate
Hologate is the clear leader in the multiplayer arcade segment, with nearly 300 units sold, and over 5 million games played. This year they showcased the Hologate Tower, a two-story version of Hologate for locations that need more capacity without taking up extra floor space (but will also need to have high enough ceilings). They were also offering the Hologate Blitz, a four player seated attraction on a motion bases that makes the unit look like a four legged mechanical insect, which is irresistible to boys of all ages.
Omni Arena
Virtuix has been making a lot of news with its eye-catching e-sports Omni Arena, which has been supported with over $100,000 in prizes from HTC and HP.
Their unique approach to VR has players wear overshoes and run on a slippery hard plastic disk. Sort of a foot powered mouse. They make it as fun to watch as it is to play.
VR Studios Atom and Arena
About a half-mile away, at Dave & Buster’s, the largest amusement chain in the US with over 135 locations, VRstudios’ eight-player free-roam VR Arena is doing brisk business. This requires a larger footprint, but one of the benefits of VRstudios’ Arena is that it can be flexibly reconfigured to virtually any size.
Koliseum Soccer VR (Kynoa)
Greg Bacorn, a former history teacher from Buffalo, NY, founded Barron Games eleven years ago. His company specializes in coin-op air hockey and foosball tables. At IAAPA Paris last Spring, he met the Swiss developer Kyona, whose Koliseum Soccer VR is a 4-player VR foosball game. Bacorn knew immediately he had found a complimentary product well suited to his clients’ needs.
VRquest Arena offers four to Six player arenas, open sided 6 player wireless no backpack PC. They have six titles that appeal to different demographics, but Attek and Sea Bandits are their premier titles. The simple enclosures are 14.8 ft x 18.8 ft to 14.8 x 14.8.
For a more detailed look at IAAPA VR we recommend Bob Cooney’s free IAAPA 2019 guide, which is full of details and pictures. https://www.bobcooney.com/vr-iaapa-2019/
SuperReal an Immersive Digital Art Show Inside the Cunard Building is Back
SuperReal, an immersive digital art show, dazzled audiences over the summer with mind-bending visuals projected on the interior of the landmarked Cunard Building. Now, the imaginative team at Moment Factory is teaming up with Cipriani to bring back the stunning interactive show with a new nighttime twist. Once again, starting on December 15th, the 12,000 square foot Great Hall of the Cunard Building will be transformed.
The Great Hall was once the ticketing lobby for the Cunard cruise line. The walls and 30-foot vaulted ceiling are adorned with nautical ornamentation from painted maps to sculpted sea creatures. In order to transform the space, these architectural features have been digitally scanned and projection-mapped in 360°. Half of the 12,000 square feet space features mirrored flooring that reflects vaulted ceiling above to completely envelope guests in the experience.
SuperReal will be on display from December 15th, 2019 through January 9th, 2020. Showtimes run from 10AM until 8PM each day. The SuperReal Classic experience is available on December 20th, 21st, 27th, and 28th. You can purchase tickets here!
https://untappedcities.com/2019/12/03/experience-an-immersive-digital-art-show-inside-the-landmarked-cunard-building/?fbclid=IwAR0QEO70rfSr_qxdLUKYmA1Tn2lRZJTxncstOgPbRK5lbuR2z6UlHt3Le-w
Cineplex Unveils “Cinema of the Future”: Movies, Gaming, VR, Live Events
Besides its 165 multiplexes countrywide, Cineplex already runs seven locations of The Rec Room, featuring arcade games, restaurants and live entertainment; and two Playdium destinations, with arcade games and VR experiences.
The strategy is to diversify Cineplex into media, amusement and leisure businesses to reduce its reliance on fluctuating Hollywood box office. The Canadian company is also partnering with U.S.-based Topgolf, which combines a golf driving range with other games, to open Topgolf entertainment complexes across Canada.
Doctors go to TikTok to talk to teens about vaping, birth control and how celery juice won’t cure cancer
- Doctors are starting to use TikTok to talk to teens and young adults about health issues that matter to them.
- That includes vaping, birth control and medical misinformation.
- They’re gaining huge followings, and doctors like Rose Marie Leslie are convinced they’re making a difference.
Pagoto notes that medical experts need to meet teens where they are, rather than sticking to the older methods of advertising on television or Facebook.
See the full story here: https://www.cnbc.com/2019/11/29/doctors-use-tiktok-to-talk-to-teens-about-vaping-birth-control.html
https://www.tiktok.com/embed/6748416878852443397
The 8 Best Augmented Reality Games for Kids
[PhilNote: some of these are lame and derivative, but it is a list. Short descriptions and videos at the link.]
1. Magical Park
2. Thomas & Friends Minis
3. Angry Birds AR: Isle of Pigs
4. Avo
5. Color Quest AR
6. Pokémon GO
7. AR Sports Basketball
8. AR Dragon
See the full story with descriptive videos here: https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/best-augmented-reality-games-kids/