Virtual Reality is booming, and Vancouver is leading the way
The conference and expo, which takes place Nov. 1-2 at Parq Vancouver, is supported by the biggest names in tech, such as Microsoft and Amazon, and will feature keynote addresses, panels and workshops with more than 1,000 representatives from dozens of major technology companies.
Three years ago, Vancouver was home to around 15 immersive technology companies. Now there are more than 230, from major publishers like Electronic Arts (EA), Microsoft and Nintendo, to startups like Etro Construction, which aims to implement new technologies in the construction industry and has been growing rapidly since its inception in 2015.
Even celebrities see a can’t-miss moneymaking opportunity. Virtual reality gaming company Sandbox VR, which just expanded to Canada by opening a location Richmond, announced $11 million in funding from some big names in Silicon Valley and the entertainment industry, including Justin Timberlake and Katy Perry, actors Will Smith and Orlando Bloom, and former Disney President Michael Ovitz.
Sandbox works with VR and full-body, motion-capture technology for customers to become superheroes, space cowboys, and physics-defying fighters. The company describes the experience as the closest thing to the “holodeck” that exists.
How virtual reality is helping seniors breathe new life into old memories
MyndVR is among a handful of companies now developing VR for seniors, including San Francisco- and London-based startup Virtue Health, which is now awaiting results of another study examining the impact of VR on dementia patients in the United Kingdom.
Albert Rizzo, director of the medical virtual reality program at the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies and an adviser to MyndVR, says that while it’s hard to precisely gauge its benefits for seniors and dementia patients, “VR has the capability of creating emotionally evocative experiences … Your worst nightmare when you get older is that you’re going to end up in a home and you’re going to see the same four walls all the time.”
The MyndVR system, which the company says is now used in senior facilities in 30 states, lets users try a range of experiences, from touring cities around the world to watching puppies frolic. Users can even go back to their youth — for example, ducking into a 1950s-era nightclub to take in a performance by a Frank Sinatra lookalike or visiting iconic sites along Route 66, including the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the South Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona.
The company says it charges senior centers $350 to $2,000 a month for the service, depending in part upon the specific content provided.
House of horror: Virtual reality film depicts Islamic State devastation in Fallujah
You have just returned to your home after a year of forced exile.
But instead of coming back to a place of refuge and solace, the rooms may be hiding unexploded bombs - and each step could be your last.
This was the reality for Ahmaied Hamad Khalaf, an Iraqi man who in 2017 returned to his home in Fallujah, Iraq, after fierce fighting between Islamic State (IS) fighters and the Iraqi army.
Now, through a new virtual reality (VR) documentary, people in Washington DC will have a chance to experience the terror he felt.
"If you see a bomb you would usually recognise it, but this stuff is new," Khalaf says in the film about the possibility that his home was laden with improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
The film was created in part by using photogrammetry,...
Gaedtke's company, NowHere Media, partnered with the GICHD - which works to remove IEDs around the world - to create the film, thanks to a grant from VR company Oculus.
"War is something that affects areas and people; it's not this on-and-off switch of a Hollywood movie that there is either heavy fighting or nothing is going on at all."
See the full story here: https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/Iraq-house-horror-virtual-reality-film-Islamic-State-devastation-Fallujah
Verizon CFO: Company’s Media Group is ‘Building Momentum’
He went into more detail on Verizon’s 5G strategy once again on the call, telling analysts: “We’re now up to 15 markets where we have deployed our 5G Ultra Wideband” and the company is on track to reach 30 markets by year-end. It’s continuing to deploy 5G Ultra Wideband in stadiums and is up to 13 National Football League (NFL) stadiums ready for 5G coverage, he noted.
The company is also preparing to launch the first 5G mobile edge compute center in the fourth quarter, he told analysts, noting that was “in progress, and we’re going to announce that later this quarter.”
See the full story here: https://www.mesalliance.org/2019/10/25/verizon-cfo-companys-media-group-is-building-momentum/
Always Building, From the Garage to Her Company
Ms. Ellsworth, 45, is a self-taught computer hacker and chip designer who recently started a new augmented reality gaming company, Tilt Five, based in San Jose, Calif. She is emblematic of a generation of Silicon Valley hobbyists who were passionate about computers and only later turned their passions into commercial enterprises. She originally gained visibility as an independent computer chip designer living in a rural ramshackle farmhouse in Yamhill, Ore.
Ms. Ellsworth was able to squeeze the entire circuitry of a decades-old Commodore 64 home computer onto a single advanced silicon chip, which she then tucked neatly into a joystick that was connected by a cable to a TV set. Called the Commodore C64 Direct-to-TV, her device was able to run 30 video games, mostly sports, racing and puzzle games from the early 1980s, all without the hassle of changing game cartridges.
In 2013, she created castAR, a start-up based in Palo Alto, Calif., to design an augmented reality company that planned to design a system to support desktop 3-D gaming. Ultimately, the company raised more than $1 million in a Kickstarter campaign, then gave the money back when it was unable to raise a second round of financing. With other castAR employees, Ms. Ellsworth acquired the original technology from investors and has used it to start Tilt Five, which has raised $1.3 million in Kickstarter funding.
What obstacles have you faced in your field?
There are lots of obstacles in Silicon Valley, especially for a female entrepreneur. The money that female entrepreneurs can raise is dismal compared to men. It’s like 2 percent. It rewards the kind of male bravado where you go in and get a fist bump and get a bunch of money. That’s how it feels. There’s been some really disheartening surveys recently. They followed 300 women and 300 men, and then they determined, what questions do venture capitalists ask men versus women and men get asked, “tell me all about the upside,” while women are asked, “tell me how you’re going to defend yourself from the marauders.” And so that’s been a bit of a challenge for me.
I try to be fearless when it comes to technology, and I try to adopt it as fast as possible.
National Trust to use ‘augmented reality’ headsets to show how climate change will destroy their properties unless climate change is addressed
Six historic National Trust houses will have state-of-the-art augmented reality installations showing Great Britain in 2050.
After walking inside the six-metre long mirrored boxes, visitors will be confronted by the sight of a famous property that has fallen into disrepair in the midst of a heavily polluted environment.
The shocking scenes are being used to spur people on into leading a more sustainable life.
The 8ft tall mirrored structures will be installed in Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire, Clumber Park in Nottinghamshire, Dunham Massey in Greater Manchester, Killerton House in Devon, Trelissick House in Cornwall and Montacute House in Somerset.
We've seen overheating at some National Trust places in the South East, pests and diseases harming ash trees, and landslides and flooding at many sites.
"It's easy to feel helpless in the face of climate change, but by taking small steps, such as installing a smart meter, we can make a meaningful difference together.
See the full story here: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2019/10/25/national-trust-use-augmented-reality-headsets-show-climate-change/
AWS Throws Weight Behind Deepfake Detection Challenge
Amazon Web Services (AWS) will work with Facebook, Microsoft and the Partnership on AI, on the first-ever Deepfakes Detection Challenge, a competition designed to produce technology that can detect when artificial intelligence has been used to alter a video, in order to mislead viewers.
As part of the challenge, AWS will provide up to $1 million in AWS credits to researchers and academics over the next two years, along with competition data. AWS will also offer up the support of Amazon machine learning experts to help contest teams get started.
“Building deepfake detectors will require novel algorithms which can process this vast library of data (more than 4 petabytes),” Lee wrote. “AWS will work with DFDC partners to explore options for hosting the data set, including the use of Amazon S3, and we will make $1 million in AWS credits available to develop and test these sophisticated new algorithms.” Participants will be able to request a minimum of $1,000 in AWS credits to start, with additional awards granted in quantities of up to $10,000, as entries demonstrate r success in detecting deepfakes.
See the full story here: https://www.mesalliance.org/2019/10/24/facebooks-fight-to-prevent-deepfake-dystopia-gets-a-powerful-partner-in-amazon-web-services-fast-company/