Lightform leaders put AR tools in non-techie hands
Lightform, backed by $8 million in venture capital from Lux Capital, Dolby Family Ventures and Seven Seas Ventures, will ship its first 2,000 projected AR systems in November after strong advance demand. A second wave is expected to ship early next year.
The scanner – which works with most brands of projectors – and app list for $699. A package that includes an Epson projector and various accessories lists for $1,499.
So far Lightform’s primary customers are businesses that want to integrate digital content into their surroundings rather than relying on screens that make their establishment “look like a sports bar,” Brett said.
“The main markets we’re focused on are installations within retailers, hotel lobbies and restaurants and then temporary activations for events like trade shows and weddings,” he said.
See the full story here: https://www.microsoftalumni.com/s/1769/index-social.aspx?sid=1769&gid=2&pgid=1579
Aberdeen airport looking for volunteers to test virtual reality app
It is hoped the app, which will be used with a virtual reality headset, will help those who experience sensory difficulties in busy environments such as airports, shopping centres and other highly populated areas.
With the app and headset, the user will be able to decrease noise levels and numbers of people around them at stages of the airport travel process, such as check-in, boarding, at a cafe and on the aircraft itself.
Now in its final stages of development, the team is looking for 70 volunteers with hidden disabilities to register their interest in assisting with the research.
See the full story here: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/aberdeen-airport-looking-for-volunteers-to-test-virtual-reality-app/
10 critical points from Zuckerberg’s epic security manifesto
Mark Zuckerberg wants you to know he’s trying his damnedest to fix Facebook before it breaksdemocracy. Tonight he posted a 3,260-word battle plan for fighting election interference. Amidst drilling through Facebook’s strategy and progress, he slips in several notable passages revealing his own philosophy.
Zuckerberg has cast off his premature skepticism and is ready to command the troops. He sees Facebook’s real identity policy as a powerful weapon for truth other social networks lack, but that would be weakened if Instagram and WhatsApp were split off by regulators. He’s done with the finger-pointing and wants everyone to work together on solutions. And he’s adopted a touch of cynicism that could open his eyes and help him predict how people will misuse his creation.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2018/09/13/zuckerberg-strikes-back/?utm_medium=TCnewsletter
How to use the augmented reality Measure app in iOS 12
With iOS 12, Apple is expanding it’s Augmented Reality capabilities with ARKit 2, and has built-in a new utility app called Measure to show what Augmented Reality can do. It’s a simple app that reliably measures linear distances, and obsoletes some of those early, simple AR measuring apps.
You’ll need an iPhone 6s or later, an iPad Pro, or a 2017 or later iPad.
The best way to improve the accuracy of Measure is to start off in a well-lit area. Make sure there’s plenty of light before you open the app and go through the process of moving it around to orient it. Measure also works best when you place points at areas of high contrast or sharp corners.
Finally, remember that Measure is meant to give you a sort of ballpark figure.
See the full story here: https://www.macworld.com/article/3304290/iphone-ipad/how-to-use-the-augmented-reality-measure-app-in-ios-12.html
Natural History Museum partners with USC for augmented reality experiences at La Brea Tar Pits
Emily Lindsey, assistant curator and excavation site director for the La Brea Tar Pits, and Benjamin Nye, the director of learning science at the USC Institute for Creative Technologies, are the principal investigators. Gale Sinatra, the Stephen H. Crocker Professor of Education Psychology at the USC Rossier School of Education, and William Swartout, chief technology officer for USC ICT, are co-PIs.
A key aspect of the project is to use AR to provide additional information about what visitors see to help dispel misconceptions.
See the full story here: https://phys.org/wire-news/298130734/natural-history-museum-partners-with-usc-for-augmented-reality-e.html
Take a Rollercoaster Ride Through a Duck’s Vagina in Virtual Reality
Because I study genital evolution, having animals trained in this matter was very useful. Muscovy ducks are also fairly promiscuous, so that is another beneficial thing about them.”
As we begin the VR experience, Brennan shows me a few photos of ducks—standing, mating, generally chillin’ out—while a CGI duck stands in the “room” in front of me and preens.
I’m proud of this duck, actually. Each twist and turn inside this labyrinthine reproductive system is a new challenge, to be met only by the most worthy mate.
“We kind of felt like VR might lend itself well to this form of immersive storytelling,” he told me in an email. “Plus, Patricia and her team had a 3D scan of a duck vagina, which I knew could be inserted into a 3D world really nicely. We shrunk the viewer down, inserted the 3D vagina model, programmed the journey and then... voila.”
See the full story here: https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/59azyk/vr-duck-genetalia-explorer-duck-vagina-app
In real life and in virtual reality, The Better World Museum works to live up to its name
Community outreach is one of the Better World Museum’s top priorities. The museum hosts events regularly, from VR yoga and participatory murals to karaoke and live DJs.
The museum’s latest community-focused endeavor is called “Garden One.” Dansinger describes it as an indoor edible garden, hoping it will be a resource that sparks community building and educates people about edible plants.
“The idea is that anyone in the community may participate in growing, eating, harvesting and sharing,” Dansinger said.
Of course, there is also a VR component. The spherical garden, crafted from wood, has been recreated in a VR parallel universe using Dansinger’s favorite VR-compatible app “Tilt Brush.”
See the full story here: http://www.mndaily.com/article/2018/09/a-in-real-life-and-in-virtual-reality-the-better-world-museum-works-to-live-up-to-its-name
VR Research Finds Large Sex Difference in Navigational Efficiency
After spending a day exploring a new city and it’s time to return to your hotel, do you tend to rely on landmarks and routes that you’ve learned, or do you consult a “mental map” that you’ve created of the area, to try to devise a short-cut back? If you’re a man, you’re more likely to try the latter – whereas women tend to use routes they know, according to a new paper in Memory and Cognitionby researchers at the University of California, Santa Barbara.
Earlier studies have either found no gender differences on navigation challenges, or found that the male participants did better. This study goes a little further, in that it investigates the kinds of strategies that men and women tend to choose themselves. (Interestingly, the strategies that the participants actually used didn’t match up well with the kinds of strategies they reported generally taking.)
See the full story here: https://digest.bps.org.uk/2018/09/11/virtual-reality-research-finds-large-sex-difference-in-navigational-efficiency/
‘Superhot’ Studio “Never really left VR,” Considering VR Version of Upcoming Expansion
With the unique ability to control time with your movements, the embodied gameplay of SUPERHOT VR (2016) can make you feel like you’re in The Matrix. Available on all major VR platforms, the game has come to be known as a top VR title. Since then, the indie studio behind the game has been relatively quiet about the potential for future VR projects as they remain heads down on a standalone expansion called SUPERHOT: MIND CONTROL DELETE. While the studio isn’t currently building Mind Control Delete for VR, a new interview suggests they haven’t written off the possibility.
Superhot: Mind Control Delete will not include a VR component. The studio describes the expansion, which is currently available in Early Access, as a “rogue-like twist on the linear nature of the original SUPERHOT.”
earlier this year a job posting indicated the company was seeking a Producer for “a shiny new VR project,” and the studio further said that their next VR title would not be a sequel to Superhot VR, but “a proper evolution.”