philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Zaha Hadid Architects launches a collaborative VR experiment

Project Correl is an experiment by the Zaha Hadid Virtual Reality Group(ZHVR) in what it describes as “multi-presence virtual reality,” where users can collaborate on an ever-changing sculptural form.

Project Correl is a feature of the larger Design as Second Nature exhibition found in Mexico City’s Museo Universitario Arte Contemporáneo (MUAC), which features photographs, paintings, models, and other mediums highlighting the firm’s in-house technological research. As part of the exhibition, Zaha Hadid Architects’ Computation and Design group collaborated with ETH Zurichto create a 13-foot-tall curved concrete shell formed with a 3-D-knitted framework, dubbed KnitCandela.

The VR experiment allows up to four visitors at a time to roam a digital space and manipulate objects found within. The overarching objective for the participants is the collaborative construction of a virtual structure. Over the course of the three-month-long exhibition, successive waves of visitors will immerse themselves in the continually adapting construct, imprinting it with their own personal elements along the way.

See the full story here: https://archpaper.com/2018/12/zaha-hadid-architects-project-correl-collaborative-vr-experiment/

In the virtual reality Dreamscape, you literally walk through the screen of your own movie

“I’ve done a lot of theme park attractions,” says Vaughn. “Try as you may, you really aren’t fully immersed inside. There’s always something separating you from a lot of this stuff. And the same with film—you’re passively watching.”

Dreamscape’s visuals, audio and haptic feedback hit that full immersion mark—mostly. While you can grab onto a railing, your hand may pass right through a wall. Sometimes the real-world, hands-on moments are slightly out of alignment with their virtual counterparts. And suiting up is a multi-step process that makes the gear and space feel a bit more like technology than magic.

UW students show off virtual reality projects in another display of Seattle’s VR/AR clout

Candice Miao, a UW senior, helped build “RockIT Physics,” a VR app that helps improve student learning through interactive physics education.

“We realized how much physics students struggle with the idea of an electric field since it’s not something you can see in real life,” Miao said.

Seattle has become a nexus for VR and AR, with so many tech companies big and small in the region building related technology products and services. Sankar said the UW provides a “neutral ground” for companies to come together and collaborate on ideas. Several of them provided headsets to the students this quarter.

“The UW has a great position in this space to be a leader and an educator,” said Sankar, who also helps run the UW Reality Lab, a VR/AR research center funded by Facebook, Google, and Huawei that launched earlier this year.

You learn more about the student projects here.

See the full story here: https://www.geekwire.com/2018/uw-students-show-off-virtual-reality-projects-another-display-seattles-vr-ar-clout/

Corning and WaveOptics Supply Agreement for Augmented Reality Optics

Corning Incorporated, a supplier of high refractive index glass for eyewear, and WaveOptics, a designer and manufacturer of diffractive waveguides, have entered into a long-term supply agreement for augmented reality (AR) optics.

Corning will provide ultra-flat, high-index glass wafers for WaveOptics’ waveguides, the key optical component in AR wearable devices. WaveOptics’ specialized nano-structures will be imprinted on the glass wafers and made into waveguides using a well-defined manufacturing process.

As part of the agreement, Corning will also provide its world-class materials science expertise to support WaveOptics’ continued advancements in waveguide manufacturing.

See the full story here: https://www.novuslight.com/corning-and-waveoptics-supply-agreement-for-augmented-reality-optics_N8800.html

1990s Moscow could be making a comeback in augmented reality

The turbulent 90s could return to the streets of Moscow with a new Pokemon Go-style game reviving life in the Russian capital in the years after the collapse of communism.

Moscow ‘94 plans to use AR, or augmented reality technology, which imposes computer-generated images onto a real-time stream you see through the camera of your phone or tablet.

Using an iPad to open a visual portal into the past, players will be tasked with completing tasks and collecting virtual loot.

The team behind the project, led by Ivan Mitin and Ivan Yutinskiy, are looking for investors to launch the game with a cash injection of 8 million rubles ($120,000).

They say that they want to tap into the nostalgia of a time that was difficult for many. “Happily the 90s have gone, but their memory lives on,” their website reads. “Now, that era seems quaint and naive, even if living through it all wasn’t sweet and easy.”

See the full story here: http://www.calvertjournal.com/news/show/10863/1990s-moscow-could-be-making-a-comeback-in-augmented-reality

San Diego Opera Announces ‘Opera Hack’

San Diego Opera has announced that it will host “Opera Hack,” a two-day interdisciplinary summit with the intention of finding new ways to enhance the production, presentation, and consumption of opera.

“Opera Hack,” which is sponsored by Microsoft and is supported by OPERA America Innovation Grant and the Gordon Getty Foundation, will take place on July 27 and 28, 2019 at the Microsoft Corporation Headquarters in San Diego.

During the course of two days, experts from different fields will partner with local universities and tech companies to solve a number of scenarios.

“Scenarios might include: how can mixed reality be used to create an interactive experience for an opera production? How can projection design be used for a costume change? Can virtual reality be used to preview a production before committing resources to build it? How can augmented reality improve supertitles and our understanding of the opera,” noted the press release for the event.

See the full story here: http://operawire.com/san-diego-opera-announces-opera-hack/

How virtual reality is giving the elderly remarkable end-of-life adventures

Royal Trinity Hospice in London is currently on a year-long study to examine the benefits of VR in palliative care, and existing research into the technology is proving that VR experiences are indeed giving people living with illnesses and terminal conditions a better quality of life. A recent study from the University of Tokyo, examining VR for palliative medicine at the National Cancer Center Hospital in Japan, concluded that “VR technology can be applied to palliative medicine to support communication between the patient and others, to provide psychological support to treat neurosis and help to stabilise the patient’s mental state, and to actually treat cancer.”

For Agnew and Viarama, it’s this quality-of-life support that’s the most helpful and rewarding aspect of what they do.

“We’ve had mountain climbers climbing mountains, we’ve had artists who have dementia who have had to give up their life’s work, and we let them draw, paint and sculpt in VR,” said Agnew. “You need to let people have fun in their life, and we provide that, and it’s wonderful.”

See the full story here: https://www.bigissue.com/latest/technology/how-virtual-reality-is-giving-the-elderly-remarkable-end-of-life-adventures/

A Brief History of VR

https://finfeed.com/opinion/ctrl-alt-del/virtual-reality-very-brief-history-part-3/  

From stinky to cookies: Orlando firm creates scents for virtual reality games, military training

In a tiny office in east Orange County, a company called Global Technology Integrators is creating thousands of smells meant to bring even more life to virtual reality.

The company’s products are helping amusement parks, military trainers and others bring scents into VR, a technology that mostly has focused on sight and sound so far.

Smells already are being used at the VR attraction called The Void at Disney Springs, as part of a scenario based on Disney’s huge movie franchise “Wreck-It Ralph.”

In a 15-minute scene, the player is immersed in a short battle with cartoon rabbits, which fling cupcakes at the screen. When they hit, players can actually smell the cupcakes through a sweet scent that comes into the room.

GTI gets its base smells from a French company that supplies the perfume industry. The company then adds other liquids with specific scents to make their final products.

See the full story here: https://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/technology/os-bz-technology-smells-vr-20181211-story.html

Caltech Scientists Use AR To Help The Blind Navigate

video added to powerpoint deck. See the full story here: http://www.virtualrealitypulse.com/edition/daily-magic-leap-unity-2018-12-11?open-article-id=9394794&article-title=caltech-scientists-use-ar-to-help-the-blind-navigate&blog-domain=vrscout.com&blog-title=vrscout&fbclid=IwAR1f55vLT804BZl1hgCgBx8HAMb_98IdSkQd2yIsfYQESCFm928a3m8UMLI