Be At One launches AR menu alongside Bacardi
Be At One has partnered with Bacardi to launch an augmented reality (AR) menu as part of its ‘Be in The Know’ campaign, enabling customers to use the bar’s app to scan physical menu pages to reveal ‘secret’ cocktails that they can purchase.
The AR experience, created by marketing and communications agency Clarity, features secret menus, cocktail insights from Be At One bartenders, and access to three limited edition cocktails. The functionality has launched with the Be At One Christmas menu.
See the full story here: https://mobilemarketingmagazine.com/be-at-one-bacardi-clarity-augmented-reality-ar-christmas-menu
Board of Regents OKs new major at UMD focused on virtual reality design
The major is planned to help students develop design skills and apply them to interactive digital projects. It offers two tracks — “Innovative Coders” and “Emerging Creatives” — allowing students from both fields to adapt their pre-existing talents to new demands from the tech world.
“We’re not trying to make computer scientists into artists, or artists into computer scientists,” said Bonnie Thornton Dill, the arts and humanities college dean.
But rather than isolate students with different skills, the major aims to facilitate collaboration across disciplines. Each year, students would be required to work together on projects demanding design techniques and coding languages learned in class.
Upon graduation, students will be equipped for careers in animation, computer games and software development, among others, said Amitabh Varshney, the computer, mathematical, and natural sciences college dean.
He added that companies such as Pixar, Facebook and Adobe have expressed interest in hiring students who complete the major.
See the full story here: https://dbknews.com/2019/12/02/umd-virtual-reality-major-board-of-regents-approval-immersive-media-design/
(Defense Contractor) CAE launches new virtual reality trainer
CAE was inspired by the U.S. Air Force’s Pilot Training Next program, which uses virtual reality and other cutting-edge simulation technologies to immerse new pilots in flight training, allowing airment to move more quickly and effectively through training.
All of the Sprint virtual reality trainer’s hardware — including the Varjo VR-2 headset — are commercial off-the-shelf products and can be modified or swapped with a different device to meet the customer’s needs. The real value, Perey said, is the software and courseware of TRAXX Academy, in which students progress from mobile apps and VR trainers to a higher fidelity flight simulator.
Secondly, the use of self-paced tools and virtual instructors decreases the need for human instructors that could be filling other needed functions within an air force, Perey said.
See the full story here: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/itsec/2019/12/02/cae-launches-new-virtual-reality-trainer/
Rutgers professor explains virtual reality in new book
Dr. John Pavlik, a professor of Journalism and Media Studies at the School of Communication and Information, published his new book called “Journalism in the Age of Virtual Reality: How Experiential Media Are Transforming News” in September.
In his book, Pavlik discussed the idea of experiential news, an emerging kind of journalism which allows the public to virtually be immersed in the news and to experience it for themselves. Increasingly, news told through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) gives the public the opportunity to experience the news from a first-person perspective, rather than the typical third-person perspective.
Pavlik credited Nonny de la Peña, a journalist, for coming up with the idea of allowing the public to be virtual eyewitnesses to news.
See the full story here: https://www.dailytargum.com/article/2019/12/rutgers-professor-explains-virtual-reality-in-new-book
What’s a Digital Bill of Rights Without Enforcement?
More important, Sharpe says the Web Foundation is discussing with governments how to enshrine the principles into national and international laws and regulations; she declines to discuss any details. Some of the contract’s privacy requirements are already part of European privacy law, which Microsoft says it complies with globally.
Another potential issue is how to decide whether a company is contributing to human rights abuses.
See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/whats-digital-bill-rights-without-enforcement/
See the contract here: https://contractfortheweb.org
Former Go Champ Retires From Game: AI ‘Cannot Be Defeated’
Former Go champion Lee Se-dol has retired from professional competition—because artificial intelligence.
The South Korean Go master gained global fame in 2016 as the only human to defeat DeepMind’s AlphaGo computer program.
Now he’s bowing out of the sport due to the “invincibility” of AI Go programs.
“With the debut of AI in Go games, I’ve realized that I’m not at the top even if I become the No. 1 through frantic efforts,” Se-dol told South Korean news agency Yonhap. “Even if I become the No. 1, there is an entity that cannot be defeated.”
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“I rarely read comments on Internet news about me. But I got curious about how badly people were speaking of me after my three straight losses to AlphaGo,” he said in an interview with Yonhap. “Unexpectedly, few people criticized me.
“Frankly, I had sensed kind of a defeat even before the start of the matches against AlphaGo,” Se-dol continued. “People from Google’s DeepMind Technologies looked very confident from the beginning.”
See the full story here: https://www.geek.com/tech/former-go-champ-retires-from-game-ai-cannot-be-defeated-1812137/
Bastille’s 5G-powered augmented reality gig hints at the future of live music
British Indie pop band Bastille performed a surprise gig for commuters in some of the UK’s busiest train stations this week. What was surprising about the gig was not only that it was happening, but people in three different cities were able to watch the gig simultaneously thanks to augmented reality (AR).
The band played the hit Pompei at Birmingham’s New Street Station to commuters, which was simultaneously live-streamed using EE’s 5G technology to people in Liverpool Lime Street station and Edinburgh’s Shore Street.
Sure, watching the performance live was pretty special – Bastille is riding particularly high at the moment thanks to their cover of Can’t Fight This Feeling which soundtracks this year’s Christmas John Lewis advert – but the AR gig was spectacular too. Fans were able to watch the performance using Nreal’s mixed reality glasses and Samsung’s 5G devices, including the Samsung Galaxy Fold and Galaxy S10 5G. It was presented as a 360-degree experience, complete with AR graphics which featured city walls tumbling down – a nod to the song’s lyrics – as well as yetis and digital trains.
This could have a lot of potential, for instance for people with disabilities who may be unable to make it to a live event or for fans who missed out on tickets.
See the full story here: https://www.standard.co.uk/tech/bastille-gig-5g-augmented-reality-ee-future-live-music-a4299976.html
Xbox chief Phil Spencer confirms virtual reality not a priority for company’s next-generation console
It looks like virtual reality capabilities won’t be coming to Xbox any time soon.
VR doesn’t fit with Xbox’s perspective of gaming as a communal experience, Microsoft’s Executive Vice President of Gaming Phil Spencer said in an interview with New Zealand gaming site Stevivor. Customers aren’t demanding it, so it won’t be a focal point of the next-generation “Project Scarlett” console, according to the report.
“I have some issues with VR — it’s isolating and I think of games as a communal, kind of together experience,” Spencer told Stevivor. “We’re responding to what our customers are asking for and … nobody’s asking for VR,” Spencer said. “The vast majority of our customers know if they want a VR experience, there’s places to go get those. We see the volumes of those on PC and other places.”
See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2019/xbox-chief-phil-spencer-confirms-virtual-reality-not-priority-companys-next-generation-console/
AWS’ new DeepRacer Evo is an AI-powered model car with a serious mission
The new DeepRacer Evo model the Amazon.com Inc. subsidiary unveiled today enhances the original’s design with an extra lidar sensor and a pair of depth-sensing stereo cameras. It will become available in early 2020, along with a sensor kit that will enable developers to upgrade their existing cars.
“The added sensors will enable DeepRacer Evo to skillfully detect and respond to obstacles, including other DeepRacers,” Barr said. “This will help you to learn even more about the exciting field of reinforcement learning, which is ideal for use in autonomous driving.”
The cloud giant plans to up the number of in-person and virtual AWS DeepRacer League contests it holds worldwide to 54. In addition, AWS is adding two more race types: One will require participants to equip their cars with AI that can navigate around obstacles, while the other will pit DeepRacers against each other on the same track.
In conjunction, Deloitte Ltd. is launching a league of its own that will span 30 tracks in 17 countries.
See the full story here: https://siliconangle.com/2019/11/27/aws-new-deepracer-evo-ai-powered-rc-car-serious-mission/