Siggraph 2019 offers a sneak peek into what’s next for AR, VR, and CG
This story is an excellent overview of Siggraph art and products.
https://venturebeat.com/2019/07/30/siggraph-2019-offers-a-sneak-peek-into-whats-next-for-ar-vr-and-cg/
Virtual reality to solve personal problems / Embodied as Sigmund Freud
A research team of the University of Barcelona (UB), IDIBAPS and Virtual BodyWorks, a spin-off of both institutions and ICREA, has used immersive virtual reality to observe the effects of talking to themselves as if they were another person, using virtual reality. Study results, published in the Nature Group's journal Scientific Reports, show that conversation with oneself embodied as Dr Sigmund Freud works better to improve people's mood, compared to just talking about your problems in a virtual conversation with pre-scripted comments. Researchers claimed that the method could be used by clinicians to help people dealing with minor personal problems.
The study was led by Mel Slater and Solène Neyret, researchers at the Experimental Virtual Environments Lab for Neuroscience and Technology (Event Lab), a research group of the Faculty of Psychology of the UB. Clinical psychologist Guillem Feixas, of the UB Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology and the Institute of Neurosciences of the University of Barcelona (UBNeuro) also guided the study.
Previous studies developed by this research team have shown that when we adopt a different body using virtual reality, we change our behaviour, attitude and perception of things.
The participant can explain their personal problem to Dr Freud, and then switch to being embodied as Freud. Now, embodied as Freud, when they look down towards themselves, or in a mirror, they will see Freud's body rather than their own, and also this body will move in synchrony with their own movements. "They will see and hear their own likeness explaining the problem, and they see their virtual self as if this were another person. Now they themselves have become the 'friend' who is listening and trying to help," said Mel Slater.
See the full story here: https://www.newswise.com/articles/virtual-reality-to-solve-personal-problems
VR massages: Like ‘Black Mirror,’ but actually enjoyable
Despite being called a "VR massage," there is nothing virtual about the massage itself. A session gets you 30 minutes in a cushy massage chair that works on your back, bottom, and legs, yes, but also calves, feet, neck, arms, and hands. There's no human masseur involved, but, as an Esqapes employee put it, the two chair models they use are more luxe than "what you find at the mall."
However, to my surprise, the draw of the VR massage is more about the VR than the massage. Jackson designed 10 different "environments," that range from the "tropical retreat" I experienced, to secluded glens, luxurious cabins, and exotic temples. Nothing happens, per se, in the VR worlds, except the passage of time as you would experience it in the real world: the sun moves across the sky, waves ripple, birds fly. The fact that you are earthbound in a massage chair forces you to simply look around and be. And that is what turns Esqapes from something that sounds like a silly, vaguely dystopian-sounding gimmick, to a novel and effective way to induce calm.
"The massage chair I was like, is perfect," Jackson said. "It gives you a reason why you're just in this world and just looking around, there's no expectation to do anything, you know? That was kind of the twist."
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The world is getting hotter. Can temperature-controlled clothing provide some relief?
The device is controlled using a smartphone that allows users to adjust their body temperature. After performing hundreds of simulations, Sony claims the device can lower the wearer’s body by 23 degrees or raise it by about 14 degrees.
Sony claims the Reon Pocket only weighs about three ounces, making it easily concealed inside a “neck pocket,” which “can be worn without a sense of incongruity in appearance.” The rechargeable device will cost around $120 and be available only in Japan when it goes on sale next year, Sony said.
Facebook is funding brain experiments to create a device that reads your mind
The news: In 2017, Facebook announced that it wanted to create a headband that would let people type at a speed of 100 words per minute, just by thinking. Now, the social-media giant has revealed that it has been financing extensive university research on human volunteers.
How? It’s developing “speech decoders” able to determine what people are trying to say by analyzing their brain signals. It’s important research as it can help show if a wearable brain-control device is feasible.
Eventually: Facebook wants to create a wearable headset that lets users control music or interact in virtual reality using their thoughts.
The ick factor: It’s an early example of a giant tech company being involved in getting hold of data directly from people’s minds. To some neuro-ethicists, that means we are going to need some rules, and fast, about how brain data is collected, stored, and used.
See the full story here: https://www.technologyreview.com/s/614034/facebook-is-funding-brain-experiments-to-create-a-device-that-reads-your-mind/
Disney’s Latest VR Film ‘A Kite’s Tale’ Is Adorable, Albeit Very Short
...a kite’s tale continues Disney’s trend of blending conventional, hand-drawn animation with cutting-edge CG, offering audiences a nostalgic experience that’s as cute as it is technologically impressive.
Directed by Bruce Wright, Effects Animator at Walt Disney Animation Studios, a kite’s tale follows a rambunctious puppy kite who becomes “tangled up” in the affairs of a stuffy old dragon kite.
That was arguably the most impressive aspect of a kite’s tale: its ability to deliver a genuine sense of nostalgia. It feels as though you’re watching a classic animation, despite the fact you’re viewing the action on a piece of cutting-edge technology. Overalll the biggest negative I found was in the run-time. As soon as I found myself beginning to connect with the characters, the credits had already begun to role, leaving me desperate for more of the dynamic duo.
With two impressive VR short films now under their belts, Walt Disney Animation Studios Short Circuit experimental program is quickly becoming one of the most impactful VR filmmaking programs currently in circulation. No doubt the funding and resources offered by Disney will prove indisposable to the growing VR filmmaking industry.
Samsung wins Patent for Augmented Reality Contact Lenses
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office published a granted patent for Samsung earlier this month for Augmented Reality contact lenses.
Samsung invented specialized contact lenses with a hidden camera built--in. The main selling point of Samsung's contact lenses is that they're primarily designed for realizing augmented reality. Samsung notes that an external device like a smartphone may include a program interacting with the smart contact lens.
See the full story here: https://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2019/07/samsung-wins-patent-for-augmented-reality-contact-lenses.html
Apple offers new augmented reality art sessions
Apple today opened registration for a series of new art-based Today at Apple augmented reality (AR) experiences, called [AR]T, offered at Apple Stores around the world. The three new sessions include an interactive walk featuring works by some of the world’s premier contemporary artists, an in-store session that teaches the basics of creating AR using Swift Playgrounds and an AR art installation viewable in every Apple Store worldwide.The Encryption Debate Is Over – Dead At The Hands Of Facebook
In Facebook’s vision, the actual end-to-end encryption client itself such as WhatsApp will include embedded content moderation and blacklist filtering algorithms. These algorithms will be continually updated from a central cloud service, but will run locally on the user’s device, scanning each cleartext message before it is sent and each encrypted message after it is decrypted.
The company even noted that when it detects violations it will need to quietly stream a copy of the formerly encrypted content back to its central servers to analyze further, even if the user objects, acting as true wiretapping service.
Facebook’s model entirely bypasses the encryption debate by globalizing the current practice of compromising devices by building those encryption bypasses directly into the communications clients themselves and deploying what amounts to machine-based wiretaps to billions of users at once.
The problem is that if Facebook’s model succeeds, it will only be a matter of time before device manufacturers and mobile operating system developers embed similar tools directly into devices themselves, making them impossible to escape. Embedding content scanning tools directly into phones would make it possible to scan all apps, including ones like Signal, effectively ending the era of encrypted communications.
Governments would soon use lawful court orders to require companies to build in custom filters of content they are concerned about and automatically notify them of violations, including sending a copy of the offending content.
Putting this all together, the sad reality of the encryption debate is that after 30 years it is finally over: dead at the hands of Facebook. If the company’s new on-device content moderation succeeds it will usher in the end of consumer end-to-end encryption and create a framework for governments to outsource their mass surveillance directly to social media companies, completely bypassing encryption.
See the full story here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/kalevleetaru/2019/07/26/the-encryption-debate-is-over-dead-at-the-hands-of-facebook/#732554825362
New Disney tech to add augmented reality to sports events, more
Consider a new patent the company published on July 23 dubbed "event enhancement using augmented reality effect." The technology would look at how event attendees can be provided more insider knowledge of a sports game at at Walt Disney World's ESPN Wide World of Sports, for instance, thanks to the use of an augmented-reality device, like glasses.
For example, those special glasses could provide attendees at the game with a look at the same things viewers watching a game on TV can see, like a superimposed virtual line in football indicating how far players have to go for a first down, or the placement of the strike box in baseball.
Or, the special glasses could provide other details during a live performance in a theme park, such as thought bubbles or song lyrics next to performers.
See the full story here: https://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/news/2019/07/26/new-disney-tech-to-add-augmented-reality-to-sports.html