Virtual Reality Expedition to Ancient Israel
Date:
Location:
Free and open to the public
“Travel” in fifteen minutes to an archaeological site in Ashkelon, Israel to explore the first-ever excavation of a Philistine burial ground. For years archaeologists have searched for evidence of these Biblical people. Transport yourself to the center of 360° scenes of an archaeological expedition while your gallery facilitator explains what you are seeing. Borrow a device from the museum or download the virtual reality app on your smart phone and bring it to place in a 3D viewer at the museum for an immersive experience.
https://semiticmuseum.fas.harvard.edu/event/virtual-reality-expedition-ancient-israel
Google is working on cheap AI-based hand tracking for Google Glass
MediaPipe can map up to 21 points on the hand and fingers with up to 96% precision and do it all on a mobile device (ie not in the cloud), opening up the possibility of using the tehcnology in other applications such as controlling applications on your smartphone.
See the full story here: https://mspoweruser.com/google-is-working-on-cheap-ai-based-hand-tracking-for-google-glass/
(Keck School of Medicine of USC) Augmented Reality Glasses May Help People With Low Vision Better Navigate Their Environment
“Using a different approach — employing assistive technology to enhance, not replace, natural senses — our team adapted AR glasses that project bright colors onto patients’ retinas, corresponding to nearby obstacles,” Humayun said.
Patients with retinitis pigmentosa wore adapted AR glasses as they navigated through an obstacle course based on a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-validated functional test. Using video of each test, researchers recorded the number of times patients collided with obstacles, as well as the time taken to complete the course. Patients averaged 50% fewer collisions with the adapted AR glasses.
How the AR system works
The AR system overlays objects within a 6-foot wireframe with four bright, distinct colors. In doing so, the glasses provide visual color cues that help people with constricted peripheral vision interpret complex environments, such as avoiding obstacles in dimly lit environments.
See the full story here: https://scienmag.com/augmented-reality-glasses-may-help-people-with-low-vision-better-navigate-their-environment/
(Within) THIS 8-MINUTE GALACTIC PRIMER IS THE FUTURE OF AR EDUCATION
Clio's Cosmic Quest, the latest augmented reality experience from VR/AR company Within, is meant to help kids learn. It asks children questions and is designed to coax them into reading aloud. It turns any surface they're near—a dining room table, a bunk bed, a park bench—into another galaxy and then explains how it was formed. It might be the best 8-minute astronomy lesson out there. It's not alone.
"We launched with those [first three] to see if there was a signal that people were into augmented reality storytelling for children, since it was a totally foreign concept," says Chris Milk, Within's CEO and the driving force behind Wonderscope. "The signal came back that they were excited about it, so we started a new production cycle to make a bunch more stories."
A paper in the Journal of Educational Technology Development and Exchange noted "the potential of AR books to appeal to many types of learners, through many paths, is undeniable, and exciting for educators" way back in 2011.
See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/how-we-learn-augmented-reality-wonderscope/
It’s Hard To Notice, But Marketers Are Absolutely On TikTok
It may not be as obvious as it is on other platforms, but TikTok is the new frontier of social media advertising. Savvy marketers are leveraging influential TikTokers to promote brands and music.
For Leanne Bailey, marketers came a-calling once she hit 1 million fans on the app. Bailey runs the @thebaileybakery channel, named after her real-life bakery business in Kentucky.
Now at more than 4 million fans, Bailey said she posts a sponsored video about once a week. She didn't want to get into specifics about the brands she's worked with, but said she's often paid by a music label to use a particular song.
She said she's making a "good little side income" from the posts and has done dozens of sponsored videos.
By the time a sponsored song gets beyond its initial push, no one is tagging the video as an ad, which can make it appear to be an organic trend. But even before that, it's rare to see a video tagged "#ad" on TikTok, even on videos that were definitely paid for. Legally, the tag should be there.
TikTok is still a relatively new platform ,and it seems likely that sponsored content will only increase. The question is whether we'll be able to tell.
See the full story here: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/laurenstrapagiel/tiktok-influencer-marketing
Art Disappears in Private Hands. Can Social Media Resurface It?
Private art collections are notoriously secretive. A collective website aims to make them viewable by all.
The Oralkans have uploaded their personal collection online, as have Mr. Toscano and about 1,200 others. Anyone with a computer can now scroll through images of the work they own. Using and accessing it at a basic level is free. But users can sign up for two higher-tier plans (one at $15 a month and another at $125 a month) that provide access to features like passes to art fairs and the opportunity to to be interviewed for the site’s editorial platform.
In addition to sharing, art collectors are seeking tools to organize growing collections, connect online with gallerists and curators and, perhaps, to humblebrag about what’s on their walls.
“Collecting used to almost be like a private club with people who were very traditional in their privacy and comportment,” Ronald Varney, an independent fine art adviser in New York, said in an interview this week. “Nowadays, it’s often, ‘How much publicity can I get out of this?’”
Collecteurs is attempting to harness the energy of social media without all of its associated noise, and offer a window into the secretive and exclusive world of private collections.
See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/14/arts/design/art-collection-digital-museum.html