Don’t break up big tech — regulate data access, says EU antitrust chief
“Because I still find that it’s quite tricky to understand what it is that you accept when you accept your terms and conditions. And I think it would be great if we as citizens could really say ‘oh this is what I am signing up to and I’m perfectly happy with that’.”
Breaking up tech giants should be a measure of last resort, the European Union’s competition commissioner, Margrethe Vestager, has suggested.
“To break up a company, to break up private property would be very far reaching and you would need to have a very strong case that it would produce better results for consumers in the marketplace than what you could do with more mainstream tools,” she warned this weekend, speaking in a SXSW interview with Recode’s Kara Swisher. “We’re dealing with private property. Businesses that are built and invested in and become successful because of their innovation.”
Vestager has built a reputation for being feared by tech giants, thanks to a number of major (and often expensive) interventions since she took up the Commission antitrust brief in 2014, with still one big outstanding investigation hanging over Google.
But while opposition politicians in many Western markets — including high profile would-be U.S. presidential candidates — are now competing on sounding tough on tech, the European commissioner advocates taking a scalpel to data streams rather than wielding a break-up hammer to smash market-skewing tech giants.
The commissioner has spoken up before about regulating access to data as a more interesting option for controlling digital giants vs breaking them up.
And some European regulators appear to be moving in that direction already. Such the German Federal Cartel Office (FCO) which last month announced a decision against Facebook which aims to limit how it can use data from its own services. The FCO’s move has been couched as akin to an internal break up of the company, at the data level, without the tech giant having to be forced to separate and sell off business units like Instagram and WhatsApp.
It’s perhaps not surprising, therefore, that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg announced a massive plan to merge all three services at the technical level just last week — billing the switch to encrypted content but merged metadata as a ‘pro-privacy’ move, while clearly also intending to restructure his empire in a way that works against regulatory interventions that separate and control internal data flows at the product level.
Asked for her worst case scenario for tech 10 years hence, she said it would be to have “all of the technology but none of the societal positive oversight and direction”.
On the flip side, the best case would be for legislators to be “willing to take sufficient steps in taxation and in regulating access to data and fairness in the marketplace”.
“We would also need to see technology develop to have new players,” she emphasized. “Because we still need to see what will happen with quantum computing, what will happen with blockchain, what other uses are there for all if that new technology. Because I still think that it holds a lot of promise. But only if our democracy will give it direction. Then you will have a positive outcome.”
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/11/dont-break-up-big-tech-regulate-data-access-says-eu-antitrust-chief/
Niantic’s Harry Potter: Wizards Unite is a sorcerous smorgasbord for the Pokémon GO generation
Niantic’s follow-up to the absurdly popular Pokémon GO, the long-awaited Harry Potter: Wizards Unite, has one major drawback: unlike its predecessor, you can’t explain it in a single sentence. There’s so much to do in this game that it may repel some casual players — but while its depths of systems and collectibles may be nigh endless, don’t worry: you still basically just walk around doing wizard and witch stuff.
...it’s coming out sometime in 2019 (I’d guess before Summer but they wouldn’t say), in 17 languages (listed at bottom; actual countries where it’ll be offered unknown), there’s no wand accessory yet (I asked and they all looked nervous), minimum specs are reasonable and AR is optional, and it’s free but there are in-app purchases.
In HP:WU you:
- Walk around a wizarding-themed version of the real world looking for locations at which to resupply and “foundables” to encounter
- Dispel, battle, or otherwise deal with the “confoundable” associated with these
- Earn reward items from encounters and for entering foundables in your registry
- Use reward items to level up in various professions, brew potions, and battle alongside others at “fortresses”
- Find rare foundables that advance the overall plot of why this is all happening anyway
See the full, lengthy article here: https://techcrunch.com/2019/03/11/niantics-harry-potter-wizards-unite-is-a-sorcerous-smorgasbord-for-the-pokemon-go-generation/
Real-Time AR Self-Expression with Machine Learning
One of the key challenges in making these AR features possible is proper anchoring of the virtual content to the real world; a process that requires a unique set of perceptive technologies able to track the highly dynamic surface geometry across every smile, frown or smirk.
To make all this possible, we employ machine learning (ML) to infer approximate 3D surface geometry to enable visual effects, requiring only a single camera input without the need for a dedicated depth sensor. This approach provides the use of AR effects at realtime speeds, using TensorFlow Lite for mobile CPU inference or its new mobile GPU functionality where available.
An ML Pipeline for Selfie AR
Our ML pipeline consists of two real-time deep neural network models that work together: A detector that operates on the full image and computes face locations, and a generic 3D mesh model that operates on those locations and predicts the approximate surface geometry via regression.
Once the location of interest is cropped, the mesh network is only applied to a single frame at a time, using a windowed smoothing in order to reduce noise when the face is static while avoiding lagging during significant movement.
The 3D mesh network receives as input a cropped video frame. It doesn't rely on additional depth input, so it can also be applied to pre-recorded videos. The model outputs the positions of the 3D points, as well as the probability of a face being present and reasonably aligned in the input.
Hardware-tailored Inference
We use TensorFlow Lite for on-device neural network inference.
The end result of these efforts empowers a user experience with convincing, realistic selfie AR effects in YouTube, ARCore, and other clients by:
- Simulating light reflections via environmental mapping for realistic rendering of glasses
- Natural lighting by casting virtual object shadows onto the face mesh
- Modelling face occlusions to hide virtual object parts behind a face, e.g. virtual glasses, as shown below.
In addition, we achieve highly realistic makeup effects by:
- Modelling Specular reflections applied on lips and
- Face painting by using luminance-aware material
See the full story here: https://ai.googleblog.com/2019/03/real-time-ar-self-expression-with.html
Nintendo Unveils Virtual Reality Cardboard Headset for Switch
The Nintendo Labo VR Kit lets gamers build a headset mostly out of cardboard so that they can slide in the device to create what the company calls “basic VR technology.” It’s reminiscent of Google’s Cardboard, which turns smartphones into VR goggles and was introduced almost five years ago. Priced at $80, Nintendo’s VR kit includes an alien shooting title and an ocean swimming simulation. It goes on sale April 12.
“We wanted to design an experience that encourages both virtual and real-world interactions among players,” Doug Bowser, Nintendo of America’s chief, said in a statementThursday.
Nintendo’s VR headset doesn’t require a strap-on to stay affixed. Instead, users hold it up to their eyes with one hand and control games with the other. That suggests a focus on more casual, shorter experiences and a device that’s meant to be easily shared among a group. Spending on VR and augmented reality will grow 69 percent this year to $20.4 billion, with hardware accounting for half of that, according to IDC.
The new product is Nintendo’s first move into VR in more than two decades, after the 1995 Virtual Boy flopped with consumers.
See the full story here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-03-07/nintendo-unveils-virtual-reality-cardboard-headset-for-switch
Vacation Simulator Release Date Finally Announced (For PC)
Set in the year 2060, Vacation Simulator sees robots attempt to replicate the ancient art of the human vacation.
As the trailer reveals, Vacation Simulator is comprised of four destinations. The previously-seen Beach area lets you build sandcastles and head underwater, whereas a new Forest locale allows for bird-watching and fishing. There’s also a new Winter world where you can throw snowballs and chill in a hot tub. Finally, there’s a resort hub world. As previously revealed, you can explore these locations as your own personalized avatar, too.
Vacation Simulator is Owlchemy’s first major release since it was acquired by Google in May 2017.
See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/vacation-simulator-release-date/
HaptX VR Gloves Uses Telerobotics To Transmit Touch Across The Globe
Labeled as the Avatar X initiative, the project is a result of a collaboration between HaptX–whose haptic gloves lets you grab and hold objects in VR–SynTouch, whose BioTacs SP sensors can detect haptic data of interaction to re-create a human sense of touch; and Shadow Robot Company, creators of Dexterous Hand – a robotic hand with 20 actuated degrees of freedom, force sensors, and ultra-sensitive touch sensors on the fingertips.
VR/AR @ SXSW
Scan the schedule of panels and demos at SXSW and you'll guess that entertainment is the major activity that's been pushing the boundaries of this nascent technology. People are either talking about the entertainment possibilities of it, or they're talking about how they've already offered multisensory experiences built from those possibilities elsewhere, or – like last year's "The Atrium" experience from Meow Wolf and this year's "Mars Home Planet" and more – they're offering a smörgåsbord of VR entertainment right here in the brief South By sector of River City.
What VR is increasingly being used for, though, is education – for professional training purposes, even, where an interactive mock-up of reality can be a far more effective learning medium than a textbook or a slideshow or even umpteen reels of Oscar-level but unidirectional cinematography.
Virtual Cinema
Monday-Wednesday, March 11-13, 11am-6pm
JW Marriott Griffin Hall
The majority of VR projects at the festival are arranged within one enormous room for your buffet-style pleasure, and this is that room. Each of the 25 projects, from a diversity of international producers, is a unique experience that ranges from five to 40 minutes. This is where you go to experience the thing itself before learning more about the "how and why" in panels and presentations. For your consideration, we're pointing out "-22.7°C," Jan Kounen's aurally rich documentation of recording sound in the Arctic's barren wastes; "Mechanical Souls," Gaëlle Mourre's science fiction about humanoid robots hired to assist with a fancy Chinese wedding; and Armando Kirwin's "Mercy," about a 14-year-old girl in Africa who, suffering a large tumor on her face, must travel through the jungle for days to reach a life-transforming surgery. This showcase runs for three days, remember, so you could see it all.
Creating Contemporary Art in Virtual Reality
Tuesday, March 12, 12:30pm
JW Marriott Salon 1-2
Khora Contemporary is touted as the first VR art production house in the world, ....
See the full story here: https://www.austinchronicle.com/screens/2019-03-08/vr-ar-at-sxsw/
Nreal’s Promise Of True AR Sunglasses Could Be The Real Deal
I got a quick look at the Light at MWC last week. It’s a little like a slimmer Magic Leap, with a headset design almost indistinguishable from a real pair of sunglasses. The trick, though, is that the headset gets its compute power from the smartphone in your pocket. Well, that is if you have a smartphone with a Qualcomm Snapdragon 855 chip. Otherwise, the kit can be powered by a computing unit with an 845 chip.
Light’s 52 degree field of view.
That said, tracking was solid (demos were notably directed toward a booth wall and not the busy show floor).
Perhaps the most noticeable part of the demo, though, was how comfortable this all felt. Nreal Light is slightly bulkier than a real pair of sunglasses but, at 85g, it was still much lighter than any other AR headset I’ve tried. The wire connecting the glasses to your phone seamlessly runs from the end of one of the temples, much like an earphone wire. Sure, they’re not ‘true’ sunglasses but I could easily see myself tucking the wire under my shirt to use the headset for a few hours.
Nreal isn’t yet talking about release dates and prices for the Light.
See the full story here: https://uploadvr.com/nreal-impressions/
Harman Wants to Use Robotic Speakers to Make VR Sound More Real
“Audio content that is outputted via static audio devices may not accurately represent the virtual environment and/or virtual objects included in the virtual environment,” the patent reads in part. “For example, sounds outputted by stationary speakers may not accurately reflect the distance, direction, and/or motion between the user and a virtual object included in the virtual environment.”
As a remedy for this, Harman is looking to map VR soundscapes to robotic speakers, and then move them around in a room. According to the patent, this could reproduce a wide range of acoustic phenomenons, including objects emitting sounds themselves, as well as walls that sound can bounce off, physical obstructions that can absorb sound, and more.
“Speech from a character may be more suitable for output via a robotic speaker (…) than speech corresponding to an inner monologue from the user representation, because a sense of space and distance is generally not required for an inner monologue.”
The patent goes into some detail about ways to track the position of robotic speakers in the room, and ways to position the speakers themselves. Turns out these devices don’t necessarily need to drive around on four wheels, with Harman researchers envisioning anything from one-wheelers to “a hovering mobility platform based on co-axial rotors, multi-rotors (e.g., quadcopters), or vertical gas jet based propulsion mobility platforms.”
See the full story here: https://variety.com/2019/digital/news/harman-robotic-speakers-vr-patent-1203155388/