philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Watch Villette’s Virtual Reality video for ‘Money’

See the original post here: https://www.thefourohfive.com/music/article/watch-villette-s-virtual-reality-video-for-money-152

Star Wars virtual reality at The Void in Disney World and Disneyland

To borrow from another science fiction mainstay, the experience is not quite like entering a holodeck. But it does allow visitors to boldly go where no one has gone before — namely the magma-encrusted planet of Mustafar — in a largely convincing (if highly illogical) way. Yes, the gear is still clunky, and the imagery is a notch or two below Ultra HD. Users can’t help but be aware of the technology that makes the illusion possible, thereby compromising total immersion into the story. But VR trickery (at least The Void’s application of it) has accelerated to the point that transcendence, breaking down the barrier between virtual and reality, is tantalizingly close.

Among the elements that distinguishes “Secrets” from other VR attractions and works in its favor is that participants can see virtual renderings of their entire bodies, including their hands. Mine looked like human hands with arms outfitted in the white uniforms of stormtroopers. Also, I could see, as well as talk to and hear, the fully formed bodies of the digitally transformed guests who were joining me on the mission. As opposed to the disembodied and isolating aspects that plague some other VR presentations, “Secrets” is highly social.

It’s also multi-sensory. The smells of burning embers, the sensation of heat, the low rumble of vibrating floors, the rib-tickling sensations delivered by haptic vests, and other “4D” effects all help convince participants that their Mustafar mission is really happening. Surprisingly, the enhancements extend to the sense of touch. For example, K-2S0, an imposing, but friendly droid (who sounds suspiciously similar to Anthony Daniels, the actor who voices the gold-plated C-3PO), helps guide participants through the experience.

See the full story here: https://www.13wmaz.com/article/news/nation-now/star-wars-virtual-reality-at-the-void-in-disney-world-and-disneyland/465-21d6fff4-3b90-4266-afbf-579b7f541259

Disney Patent Previews More Star Wars AR Gaming

A newly-filed patent application from Disney Enterprises, Inc. teases more augmented reality lightsaber duels, either for at-home gaming or for the media behemoth's forthcoming Star Wars theme park.

The patent, titled "Augmented Reality Interactive Experience," describes a system that would involve a networked application running on computers and head-mounted displays that also connects to peripherals that transmit and detect infrared light, and an "AR venue" in which the experience would take place.

Players would carry swords or blasters equipped with IR emitters, with light-detecting cameras embedded into the headset or a wearable component that reflects light to determine position. The application would run the experience and keep score of IR hits. The patent also notes that one implementation of this patent could involve an inserted smartphone acting as the computer, display, and IR detector.

See the full story here: https://next.reality.news/news/disney-patent-previews-more-star-wars-ar-gaming-0184839/

A virtual reality baptism will strengthen Oregon man’s faith

This Sunday, Brian Leupold will become one of the first people baptized in virtual reality.

In his rural home in Amity, Leupold will slip on his Oculus Rift virtual reality headset, step into the VR Church he helped found, and immerse himself in the digital waters of spiritual renewal.

VR Church exists wholly in the realm of AltSpace, a virtual reality, social media landscape that, as of a year ago, had about 35,000 monthly active users. The tech is in its infancy – cartoonish and occasionally glitchy. But here, Leupold sees the future of an inclusive church community.

During a recent Sunday service at VR Church, Pastor DJ Soto's avatar, or digital persona, arrived as a white, legless, Preacherbot whose disembodied hands bobbed up and down as he gesticulated about God's grace.

The community of Christian virtual reality early adopters is relatively small, so it wasn't long before Leupold met two other men working on similar concepts. Alistair de B Clarkson, based in Australia, was developing a virtual reality Bible app to take users through stories from the Old Testament. DJ Soto was traveling in an RV across the U.S. and giving live sermons in AltSpace.

See the full story here: http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2018/05/virtual_reality_church_co-foun.html

Watch A Lifelike Striptease In Augmented Reality With Newly Released Demo

The adult entertainment industry has been one of the main adopters for new AR and VR technology as it continues to find new breakthroughs in bringing immersive entertainment to its users. The latest development from BaDoinkVR and ARPorn.com sees users able to bring the well known adult star Susy Gala into their own home and enjoy a virtual striptease with impressive, lifelike visuals.

The demo can be enjoyed with a head-mounted display (HMD) such as the Microsoft HoloLens, or a compatible smart device that is then used to view a placed AR marker which functions as an anchor point to then start the experience. By using ARJs and WebGL Polyfill stereo rendering, the lifelike experience can be achieved on mobile devices at a stable framerate.

See the full story here: https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/05/watch-a-lifelike-striptease-in-augmented-reality-with-newly-released-demo/

MIT Researchers Are Using Virtual Reality to Prevent Drone Collisions

The “Flight Goggles” system, developed by MIT's Laboratory for Information and Decision Systems along with its Computer Science and Artifical Intelligence Laboratory, reportedly allows the unmanned aerial vehicle to “see” a complete virtual environment and navigate around intangible objects.

“We think this is a game-changer in the development of drone technology, for drones that go fast,” said Sertac Karaman, associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics at MIT. “If anything, the system can make autonomous speed more responsive, faster, and more efficient.”

Members of the development team will present its findings at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers International Conference on Robotics and Automation next week.

Video footage shows the UAV flying rapidly through what's, in reality, a completely empty room. In virtual reality though, there are several obstacles, and the drone successfully navigates around them. This may not seem exciting to the casual onlooker, but this may help make autonomous drone flight safer and more reliable.

See the full story here: http://www.thedrive.com/tech/20935/mit-is-using-virtual-reality-to-prevent-drone-collisions

Houston Symphony Experiments With Live Music, Dance, And Virtual Reality

...artist and director Klaus Obermaier, who created The Rite of Spring 3D in collaboration with Ars Electronica Futurelab.

The performance piece combines Igor Stravinsky’s iconic score with a live dancer, whose movements are captured by stereoscopic cameras. Complex computer programs then translate the motion into real-time 3D animations – or avatar dancers – projected on stage.

As the orchestra plays, their soundwaves are also fed into computers and influence the animations. The audience wears 3D glasses to be immersed in this virtual reality.

See the full story here: https://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/arts-culture/2018/05/18/286171/houston-symphony-experiments-with-live-music-dance-and-virtual-reality/

Gatwick’s Augmented Reality Passenger App Wins Awards

The new Gatwick passenger app won the Mobile Innovation of the Year award at the National Technology awards recently, along with picking up the Mobile App of the Year award at the Real IT awards as well. Once more the airport itself won the Cloud Project of the Year award and the Real IT awards after becoming the world’s first major airport to introduce a cloud-based Flight Information System (FIDS).

See the full story here: https://www.vrfocus.com/2018/05/gatwick-airportsaugmented-reality-passenger-app-wins-awards/

AR wave guide display mftr. DigiLens nabs $25M

DigiLens manufactures “waveguide displays,” which have been in use for a while but are pretty much the best technology available for making AR headset displays.

What distinguishes DigiLens is that their manufacturing process relies on them “printing” these reflective elements directly onto the sheets of glass, a feature the company says helps them keep costs lower than its competitors.

Though Sunnyvale-based DigiLens has perhaps gotten the most press for its work on miniature waveguide displays perfect for the first generation of augmented reality headsets, like many other display makers in that space they’ve found more immediate opportunity in making heads-up displays for cars and motorcycle helmets. This significant investment from Continental now pins the company’s equity stake in DigiLens at 18 percent, the company tells me.

DigiLens has raised $60 million in funding to date from investors, including Sony and Foxconn according to Crunchbase.

See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/17/augmented-reality-display-maker-digilens-nabs-25-million/

Here’s how to hack an Ikea lamp and transform it into a mixed-reality projector

“The team wanted to explore the relation between augmented reality and everyday objects,” DelGaudio saidd. “We started by sketching possible containers that a projector might sit inside while in a home. A lamp is a natural fit because it is movable and already projects light. From there, the team iterated on various housing configurations and interaction design for assigning content, using the physical form.”

See the full story here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/cool-tech/ikea-lamp-mixed-reality/