‘The Lion King’s’ VR helped make a hit. It could also change movie making
The process for making “The Lion King” was a first for Hollywood. Like other computer-animated films, the studio started with a relatively crudely animated version of the movie, known as a pre-vizualization. Then the camera crew, wearing VR goggles, filmed the action much in the way they would shoot in the real world. The editors could then select from multiple shots to construct each scene. Later, MPC and Favreau brought the characters to life with detailed hair, skin and facial movements.
For a chase scene inside a tunnel, the filmmakers grappled with how to make it look like they were actually filming inside a one-foot diameter space. They miniaturized themselves “Honey, I Shrunk the Kids"-style in the virtual reality set and filmed with handheld cameras to get the shaky-cam look of the action sequence.
But now that the concept has proven successful, virtual reality and video game technology has potential to help on live-action sets, the filmmakers said.
L’Oréal brings augmented reality, artificial intelligence experiences to Shopee
Available in the latest version of the Shopee application, the feature is powered by augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, allowing users to virtually try different shades of beauty products on their skin before buying them.
The company said in a statement that Shopee BeautyCam was launched following the acquisition of ModiFace, a company that creates augmented reality tech for beauty brands.
See the full story here: https://www.thejakartapost.com/life/2019/07/27/loral-brings-augmented-reality-artificial-intelligence-experiences-to-shopee.html
The Science of Spatial Learning Inside Virtual Reality
PhilNote: this is an excellent overview of the science behind spatial understanding.
There is a strong underlying truth which continuously fuels the growth of virtual reality technology. It is not the technical supremacy or first of its kind aspects. But the astonishing biological factors which directly influences the human brain in a much deeper way.
“After two weeks, the human brain remembers 10% of what it read, 20% of what it hears and 90% of what it does.” – American educator Edgar Dale – 1946
Carefully crafted Virtual environments are very effective as they follow the same rules of the real world; 3D Objects in motion should obey the law of physics; Realistic shading, texturing and lighting to help us figure out volume, depth and distance of the virtual space; 360-Spatial audio, haptics and aroma also add value for realism.
Embodiment & Sense of Presence In VR Space
Embodiment in virtual reality is the key to induce the level of empathy and understanding. While designing first- and second-person VR experiences it is strongly recommended to use cognitive embodiment in a sensible way to increases the sense of presence and realism. This can be achieved by way of using virtually represented 3D avatars to inhabit ourselves (inside the virtual avatar) and virtual body parts for interactions.
Navigating In Space: The Real World
The Nobel Prize for Physiology in 2014 was awarded to Prof. John O’Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser for their interesting findings on how we remember and navigate in different places.
Our brain encodes the sense of space and navigation abilities using two types of nerve cells. When we enter into an environment for the first time, Place-cells inside the Hippocampus area of the brain are activated and a spatial map is created marking the locations.
At the same time, Grid-Cells in the “Entorhinal Cortex” part of the brain measures and records the distances between locations which provides a metric to the spatial maps in hippocampus. There are also “Head direction cells” which acts like a campus and “Border Cells” which stores the information on where the boundaries such as walls are. These complex networks within hippocampus constitute a comprehensive positioning system and act as the inner GPS for the brain.
Navigating In Space: The Virtual World
The interesting finding is that the brain-cells of hippocampus fires and encodes spatial memory equally both in real and virtual environments.
Another interesting finding was that in this study, the hippocampus was involved in episodic memories linking both time and space of VR experiences.
See the full story here: https://inc42.com/resources/the-science-of-spatial-learning-inside-virtual-reality/
The Knight Foundation launches $750,000 initiative for immersive technology for the arts
TOPSHOT - This picture taken on April 28, 2019 shows people enjoying their visit at the team lab borderless museum of Tokyo. - Collective teamLab, known internationally for their innovative "digital art" that combines projections, sound and carefully designed spaces to create immersive experiences. (Photo by Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP) (Photo credit should read CHARLY TRIBALLEAU/AFP/Getty Images)
The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation is looking for pitches on how to enhance and augment traditional creative arts through immersive technologies.
Through a partnership with Microsoft the foundation is offering a share of a $750,00 pool of cash and the option of technical support from Microsoft, including mentoring in mixed-reality technologies and access to the company’s suite of mixed reality technologies.
Specifically, the foundation is looking for projects that will help engage new audiences; build new service models; expand access beyond the walls of arts institutions; and provide means to distribute immersive experiences to multiple locations, the foundation said in a statement.
Here are the winners from the first $600,000 pool: ...
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/07/27/the-knight-foundation-launches-750000-initiative-for-immersive-technology-for-the-arts/
Lenovo’s Mirage VR camera
The camera has been designed to make stereoscopic capture easy. It has also been designed to make the sharing of said content easy as well, where users will be able to opt to have it automatically uploaded to their Google Photos or YouTube account.
See the full story here: https://phandroid.com/2019/07/28/lenovos-virtual-reality-mirage-camera-is-enjoying-incredible-savings-of-200/
LostPyramid purs a virtual reality spin on escape rooms
The Lost Pyramid is an ‘escape room’, an experience in which a team of players must work together to escape an area by solving puzzles and reaching a pre-determined goal. For example, the team might find themselves locked in a prison cell and can only ‘escape’ by using clues to unlock codes and by thinking outside the box in order to open the prison door.
The Lost Pyramid is an escape room with a twist — it all takes place in virtual reality. This means the creators aren’t limited by the confines of a real physical space and can let their imaginations fly. In other words, if aliens really had built the pyramids, the result would be something like Ubisoft’s vision of giant revolving platforms, lasers and death-defying drops.
See the full story here: https://www.irishexaminer.com/breakingnews/lifestyle/features/lostpyramid-purs-a-virtual-reality-spin-on-escape-rooms-939924.html
Crypto’s Next Frontier: Virtual Reality – And World of Warcraft
Imagine a massively multiplayer roleplaying game like Runescape or World of Warcraft suddenly converted to VR. Now add cryptocurrency and blockchain, what do you have? The ability to own that bow or staff in your hand. Likely even the ability to trade it for real money, via blockchain.
Some game platforms like Enjin have already built upon Ethereum, but other platforms exist and are actively trying to attract game development. Even Ripple wants in on the action.
See the full story here: https://www.ccn.com/news/crypto-virtual-reality-world-of-warcraft/2019/07/28/
England – Work Begins On The National Space Centre’s XR Lab
Home to the new NSC Creative Academy, the XR Lab will allow for the creation of virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and mixed reality (MR) content, housing workstations and a stereoscopic test dome. It’ll extend the programmes available to those working with the Space Communications team through the new Community Engagement Programme.
The versatile space will be able to support school visitors, allowing them to further their interest in these technologies, as well as help students work with experts as part of their studies.
Once completed the programme aims to involve 3,600 socio-economically disadvantaged young people from Leicester, of whom 50% will be female, in the various workshops being planned.
Immersive XR Series Brings Kaleidoscopic VR To Pasadena
Inhabiting the second floor of Ayzenberg’s sp[a]ce gallery in Pasadena, CA until September 8th, Robot Remix XR brings together the immersive works of artists, activists, and wonderfully unique thinkers. Curated by Paisley Smith and Milo Talwani, the current menu of experiences will leave you laughing, crying, and surprisingly reflective.
“I think it’s super important for artists, and potential VR artists (aka all audiences) to see what is possible in the space. Without actually experiencing these projects, it’s nearly impossible to imagine the amazing things that can be created in VR,” Paisley told me.
This idea seems to be echoed in sp[a]ce’s art gallery on the first floor, where robot-themed toys, paintings, and AR art bring a beautiful (and metallic) world to life.
Sensor-actuator device could add touch to virtual and augmented reality
A new, flexible, transparent, sensor patch, which is sensitive to human touch, is displayed in professor Liwei Lin's lab at Etcheverry Hall, at UC Berkeley in Berkeley, Calif. on July 1, 2019. The sensor is being developed by graduate student Junwen Zhong. (Photo by Adam Lau/Berkeley Engineering)
Researchers at UC Berkeley College of Engineering recently announced that they developed a piezoelectret-based device that is a sensor and actuator. The device vibrates as feedback, similar to how it works in smartphones. But this technology is also very flexible, lending itself to be integrated into clothing and other wearable technologies.
Researchers believe that this technology could significantly improve the user experience in augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) applications, changing the way they see and hear. In fact, they believe that it could provide touch feeling in immersive virtual experiences in the future.
In addition, the vibrations generated by the actuator can be customized, which could be used to help people with visual or hearing impairments communicate via vibrations.
The sensor function can generate electrical outputs without a power supply, which can turn on the actuator via electrostatic force to generate the vibrations that can be felt by human skin.
Zhong said that this device outperforms popular piezoelectric materials, showing a high piezoelectric coefficient and low driving voltage. This is key to improving the sensor’s sensitivity and the amount of electricity needed to power the actuator, he said.
See the full story here: https://www.electronicproducts.com/News/Sensor_actuator_device_could_add_touch_to_virtual_and_augmented_reality.aspx