philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Granted Apple patent shows off immersive AR maps projected from iPhone

Apple was granted a patent today for an augmented reality viewing system to display 3D flyover data from Apple Maps onto a desk or any other flat surface from an iPhone.

Filed initially back in May 2016, this feature may or may not ever make a debut. However, with Apple’s heightened push into AR, it could be more likely to become a reality than other patents.

Interaction with the map is primarily controlled by device motion rather than “fingertip manipulation”, meaning users will likely physically walk closer, farther, left and right to visualize the entire mapped area being displayed.

It seems clear the feature will most greatly benefit tourists, especially those visiting a large, well-mapped out city, as it seems Apple’s own 3D Flyover data is required to generate the 3D environment.

See the full story here: https://9to5mac.com/2018/12/20/apple-patent-shows-off-immersive-ar-maps-projected-from-iphone/

(WithIn) Wonderscope’s Apple AR app unfurls new trick: ‘Spatial storytelling’ with bunnies

The company said that in the coming year, it'll speed up how quickly it releases interactive stories in the app. That's partly thanks to the Storymaker platform that Within, Wonderscope's creator, is building. The goal is for outside creators to jump into AR animation without having to reinvent the wheel.

Next year may also feature a story starring Blob, Wonderscope's emcee who guides you through the basics of how AR works.

"We'll still negotiating Blob's contract," Chris Milk, the CEO of Within, said Wednesday. "He has a really powerful agent."

To get a sense of Wonderscope, imagine if Snapchat filters or Pokemon Go went to work at Pixar after graduating from Juilliard. It's experimenting with what Milk calls "spatial storytelling," or tales that unfold like a miniature, interactive plays on the floor or table in front of you. Speaking your lines in the script unlocks the action, and the characters look you in the eyes and talk back.

Wonderscope has frequently ranked as a top 10 iPhone download for US kids ages 6 to 8 -- the age demographic it's shooting for -- since it launched in mid-November, according to data from App Annie.

Milk also noted that the app has been popular for younger children who can't read and their parents, who read the app's scripted lines aloud on their kids' behalf. In that way, Wonderscope is like an evolution on classic storytime where a kid sits on a parent's lap and absorbs the visuals of a story while the adult reads aloud, he said.

See the full story here: https://www.cnet.com/news/apple-ar-app-wonderscope-adds-cartoon-bunnies-to-make-sense-of-spatial-storytelling/

Tipton ahead of the game with virtual reality lab

Robertson cut the ribbon Monday in the official public grand opening of Tipton High School’s 12-computer virtual reality and esports lab. It’s the first dedicated VR and esports arena in a high school in the state, and possibly the country, according to Robertson.

See the full story here: http://www.kokomotribune.com/news/tipton-ahead-of-the-game-with-virtual-reality-lab/article_c855d8a0-02f3-11e9-a867-130e0d37c22a.html

New Alliance Formed to Steer Blockchain Adoption in the Entertainment Industry

Industry participants in the newly formed alliance include Millennium Media, FilmTrack, Capstone Group, RightsTrade, Purely.Capital, Home Box Office Singapore, Portugal’s CineMundo, Berkley Media Group, PlayArte Pictures, Havoc TV, Bulgaria’s Nu Boyana Studios, Sweden's Cinezen, Germany's Cinemarket, and Scandinavia's Scanbox Entertainment and Take One.

Asked about the potential involvement of Hollywood studios and Netflix, Ovtcharoff responded, “I believe they will all join. It might take time because of their size. The idea to organize the BGEA was born last month and I have not spoken to any of them yet. My initial outreach was to international distributors.”

Ovtcharoff said that the alliance aims to complete a report explaining blockchain technology and how it relates to entertainment by early January. The alliance is also looking to hosting an event focused on blockchain, possibly as soon as late January or February.

See the full story here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/blockchain-alliance-formed-entertainment-industry-1170527

A Toaster on Wheels to Deliver Groceries? Self-Driving Tech Tests Practical Uses

Not even half the size of a Volkswagen Beetle, the toylike vehicle had no driver and no passengers. Instead, it held six bags of groceries from the Fry’s Food Store down the road. One observer oohed and aahed over how cute the car seemed.

Designed by a start-up called Nuro, the vehicle was making a test run as part of a partnership with Fry’s on an autonomous delivery service. Starting this week, Nuro said, two of these small, electric cars will chug along local streets at no faster than 25 miles an hour to deliver groceries to nearby homes.

See the full story here: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/12/18/technology/driverless-mini-car-deliver-grocerieshtml

Oculus reveals DeepFocus, an open source AI renderer for varifocal VR

While the details of DeepFocus are technical enough to be of interest only to developers, the upshot is that Oculus’ software uses AI to create a “defocus effect,” making one part of an image appear much sharper than the rest. The company says the effect is necessary to enable all-day immersion in VR, as selective focusing reduces unnecessary eye strain and visual fatigue.

“With deep learning, our system was able to grasp complex effects and relations, such as foreground and background defocusing,” explained Oculus research scientist Anton Kaplanyan, “as well as correct blur at occlusion boundaries. And by generating a rich database of ground truth examples, we were able to cover a much wider range of defocus effects and set a new bar for depth-of-field synthesis.”

See the full story here: https://venturebeat.com/2018/12/19/oculus-reveals-deepfocus-an-open-source-ai-renderer-for-varifocal-vr/

Coty Inc. launches VR experience for its perfume portfolio

To take part in the virtual reality experience, in-store shoppers at Julieraque, located in Buenos Aires, Argentina, are prompted to wear a virtual reality headset and pick up seven scented stones within the virtual setting in order to activate an eight-second unique video. Each stone is tied to a broad fragrance concept, like “citrus-watery,” “floral-fruity,” or “oriental-spicy,” rather than a particular perfume or brand. Before people try out the experience they are asked to input information on an iPad, including their name and email addresses, as well as what scents they are drawn to and what perfume they currently wear. At the end of the video, and based on their top three favorite fragrance concepts, consumers can receive up to six recommendations from the eight Coty luxury brands available in Argentina, such as Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein and Gucci. Customers then receive a follow-up email, asking if the experience helped them discover a new fragrance or led them to purchase one.

See the full story here: https://www.glossy.co/fashion/coty-inc-launches-vr-experience-for-its-perfume-portfolio

Space-age VR ‘SEX HELMET’ lets lovers film their bonking sessions in 8K virtual reality

The original VRB Head Rig was literally a mannequin head stuffed with microphones and cameras.

This made life difficult for male actors, who would have to lie underneath the creepy mannequin head.

But the new VRB Head Rig 2.0 can be worn just like a helmet, which should make life more comfortable for everyone involved.

The device is equipped with seven hi-def cameras, which capture images that can be stitched together into a virtual reality scene.

The sex helmet also includes two binaural microphones, to capture sound in full 360 degrees.

See the full story here: https://www.thesun.co.uk/tech/8019521/vr-sex-helmet-virtual-reality-porn/

Computer chip will sniff your armpits and tell you when you have BO

The idea is that the chips will be small and cheap enough to be built into clothing, allowing an AI to keep tabs on your BO throughout the day. Arm also wants to add the chips to food packaging to monitor freshness.

The e-noses are part of a project called PlasticArmPit, in which Arm is developing smart chips made from thin sheets of plastic. Each chip will have eight different sensors and a built-in machine learning circuit.

It will look like a piece of cling-film with bits stuck to it, says James Myers at Arm. “PlasticArmPit will be the first application of machine learning in plastic electronics.”

Smells are made up of different combinations and concentrations of gases. The sensors on the chip will detect different chemicals in the air and the AI will take that complex data and identify it as a particular whiff.

The chip will then score the smell. If it is in the armpit of your shirt, it will tell you the strength of your body odour from 1 to 5, says Myers. “It’s the job of the machine learning to collect and interpret all the data and then alert the user if action is needed.”

E-noses are not new. Julian Gardner, who pioneered the technology at the University of Warwick, UK, has been building them for three decades. In 1993 he co-founded a company called Alpha MOS that sells e-noses to the food industry.

The trouble is that these devices cost around $20,000, says Gardner.

An AI-powered nose could also be tuned to pick up different types of smell. “Flexibility is important because beef doesn’t spoil in the same way as fish,” Bond says. “And a pork loin may be classed as spoiled, but still be suitable to be turned into sausage.”

See the full story here: https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24032095-000-computer-chip-will-sniff-your-armpits-and-tell-you-when-you-have-bo/

Magic Leap’s Luna Moondust Garden points to an augmented future

Luna Moondust Garden, a simple point-and-click narrative in which one creates a garden, made of different elements, is already available on virtual reality platforms as Luna, but in AR it’s a very different proposition. Magic Leap allows me to see my surroundings while I play.

Luna Moondust Garden is a nice, little piece of entertainment, but its role is to encourage other creatives to play it, and to decide that AR needs something different.

It’s a modular piece of fun, which feels like the basic genesis of something much bigger and better, maybe three years in the future.

“We’re doing something that’s important for games as a whole,” Hunicke says. “Maybe we can design something that’s better, that’s more human.”

See the full story here: https://www.polygon.com/2018/12/18/18145613/magic-leap-luna-moondust-garden-ar-game