philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Theatrical production In the Pines uses virtual reality and live performance to depict ice addiction

The play follows the highs and lows of methamphetamine addiction and its consequences and mixes live performance with virtual reality technology to immerse the audience in the story.

Creative director Jamie Harding said it was intended to be confronting.

See the full story here: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2018-08-26/theatre-production-depicts-world-of-ice-addiction/10164346

AR/VR and the Future of Immersive Problem-Solving

See the full story here: https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/318906

Magic Leap wants to create art, not just technology

Looking ahead, Magic Leap plans to have its developer and creator conference in Los Angeles on October 9th and 10th. It'll be the first chance for the company to truly gather its community together. In addition to going over every aspect of their technology, Magic Leap also plans to highlight its existing developers and partners. In particular, that includes its relationship with Unity and Fortnite creator Epic, whose 3D engines are used to build AR experiences. As with most developer conferences, there will be a keynote (that's also live-streamed to the public) and a combination of technical and experiential sessions. The company plans to open registration for the conference soon.

"[Magic Leap One] is not the kind of product that everybody on the planet knows what it is, or why they need it, and so it's very hard to just kind of put it on the shelf at the store and hope people buy it," Caraeff said. "What matters is you gotta get people to try it. Once people try it, they say, "Ah, I understand what this is, I can see this now."

See the full story here: https://www.engadget.com/2018/08/25/magic-leap-hands-on-art/

Decades-old skateboarding trick mixes with virtual reality

Hawk will be rampside to provide commentary and coaching while Corbin Harris does play-by-play for Tony Hawk's Loop Challenge.

The only way to watch will be in virtual reality. Fans can download the free NextVR app from the stores associated with Oculus Go, PlayStation VR, HTC VIVE Pro, HTC VIVE, Windows Mixed Reality, Gear VR, and Google Daydream. A virtual reality headset is required.

This is the first foray into action sports for leading VR broadcast platform NextVR, based in Newport Beach. NextVR will place eight VR cameras along The Loop for the 3D stereoscopic broadcast. Fans will be fully immersed when they're placed at the drop-in and at the peak of the loop.

Koch family’s new private school to open in Kansas

Wonder incorporates facets of the "Maker movement" and other education innovations, such as project-based lessons that don't use traditional courses, subjects, grades or classrooms.

Students will spend half of their day in the school's design studio, which is a converted garage with a stage that opens onto an outdoor play area.

The school won't seek accreditation through the Kansas Department of Education, so it won't be required to follow state regulations, administer state tests or hire licensed teachers. Without accreditation, students' credits also wouldn't transfer automatically to other schools or universities.

But many colleges accept transcripts from students at non-accredited schools.

See the full story here: https://www.mrt.com/news/education/article/Koch-family-s-new-private-school-to-open-in-Kansas-13183540.php

DecentraLand – The virtual land selling for millions

See the full story here: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/stories-45275461/the-virtual-land-selling-for-millions

This Virtual Reality Dog Could Save People from Dog Bites

One of the most effective ways to avoid being bit, researchers said, is to know the warning signs of an aggressive dog. Dogs Trust -- a dog rehoming and dog adoption charity in the UK -- wanted to develop a way to educate the public. Specifically, Dogs Trust wanted to showcase a range of stressed behaviors normally shown by dogs when they're in a situation likely to result in a bite.

"The next steps will look to enhance the detail within the immersive environment to ensure the simulation is as realistic as possible," Cant said. "Future developments will also show a wider range of dog behaviours and the dog’s reactions to user behaviour."

See the full story here: https://interestingengineering.com/this-virtual-reality-dog-could-save-people-from-dog-bites

Snapchat Gets Sweeter with Augmented Reality Experience for Ariana Grande’s New Album

It looks like Snapchat is becoming the MTV of augmented reality.

On Thursday, Ariana Grande, with her new album Sweetner, joined Drake and Nicki Minaj and other artists who are pushing new releases through Snapchat's Shoppable AR e-commerce platform. To paraphrase the old Ian Flemming line, once is an anomaly, twice is a coincidence, but three times is the start of a trend.

Available in the Snapchat app for iOS or Android via the Lens carousel (or through this Snapcode), Grande fans are treated to a front-facing camera AR effect of the artist's trademark animal ears and a face mask, as well as a snippet of her song "Breathin." Users can also open their mouths to remove and replace the face mask.

After clicking the "Shop Now" button, users can buy a real version of the face mask they wore virtually in the AR experience directly through Snapchat. According to a Snap spokesperson, the $20 purchase comes with a link to download the new album for US customers. Customers will also be eligible for access to pre-sale tickets for Grande's 2019 tour. In addition, if users capture the experience and share it as a Story, other users who view the Story can also access the shopping experience.

See the full story here: https://mobile-ar.reality.news/news/snapchat-gets-sweeter-with-augmented-reality-experience-for-ariana-grandes-new-album-0186684/

The end of buttons and touchscreens? Gesture control poised to take off

Each of those companies has developed on a foundation of falling sensor prices and the shrinking sizes of Microelectromechanical Devices (MEMS), such as magnetometers, accelerometers, and gyroscopes.

Some of the big players in the space have recently introduced technology components necessary for advanced gesture control that are just now debuting in consumer tech. In mid-2017, for example, Omron Corporationrolled out a super-sensitive MEMS thermal sensor that provides highly accurate non-contact measurements of objects.

Then, late last year, Sony debuted its time-of-flight image sensor, which is back illuminated and measures how quickly light is bounced off an object to read depth at minute detail.

See the full story here: https://www.zdnet.com/article/the-end-of-buttons-and-touchscreens-gesture-control-is-poised-to-take-off/

iFixit’s Magic Leap teardown features super precise engineering and tiny projectors

Augmented reality company Magic Leap released a “creator edition” of its ambitious, hugely hyped headset earlier this month. Today, iFixit published its teardown of the device, featuring a concrete look at technology that Magic Leap discusses in very abstract terms.

As we’ve previously discussed, the Magic Leap One Creator Edition uses a combination of waveguide lenses and tracking cameras to project hologram-like objects into your real environment. iFixit actually goes to the trouble (and it does have a lot of trouble with parts of this hard-to-repair device) of pulling out the multilayered waveguide and the little projector that shoots light through it. It also spells out the details of things like the controller’s magnetic tracking, which isn’t revelatory but also isn’t something Magic Leap spends a lot of time explaining.

The teardown reflects the basic impression we’ve had of Magic Leap: it’s an interesting device with some serious compromises.

See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2018/8/23/17772632/ifixit-magic-leap-one-creator-edition-teardown-waveguide

See the actual teardown here: https://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/Magic+Leap+One+Teardown/112245