Rogue Initiative, Emblematic Form Virtual Reality Content Agreement
Los Angeles-based digital entertainment startup Rogue Initiative has entered into a film, TV and immersive content development partnership with virtual, augmented and mixed reality content developer Emblematic Group.
The companies report that there are two productions in active development: Joan of Arc, which, "told as a political thriller, will embody her strength through a distinctly female perspective in a combined linear television and VR episodic format"; and Trashed aka Rock and Roll Hotel, a VR experience set to classic rock songs and hosted by a "legendary musician," which would "allow viewers to relive real-life instances of famous hotel room trashings and participate in the destruction."
An additional four to six joint projects are planned as part of the agreement.
Founded in 2015, Rogue is additionally developing VR content through a partnership with Michael Bay.
Enormous, Multisensory Arena Heads To Las Vegas Strip 2020
But it’s Madison Square Garden Companies latest venture into large scale, shared experiences that may have just taken the cake in terms of immersive technology-based entertainment. Breaking ground this summer adjacent to Las Vegas Sands on the Las Vegas Strip, The MSG Sphere Las Vegas is an absolutely monstrous, 18,000-seat facility that will serve as a venue for concerts, sporting events, trade shows, and various other large happenings.
However it’s the immersive technology behind the revolutionary venue that makes this entire project so exciting. The exterior of the sphere is coated in LED screens capable of transforming the structure into various objects such as a tennis ball, snow globe, alien planet, whatever suits the theme of the event happening inside.
Speaking of the inside, MSG Sphere’s interior will be wrapped in a 170,000 square-foot LED screen.
“Just sitting there, what would it take to convince you that instead of sitting here in an airplane hangar in Las Vegas, you are sitting in your chair in the polar ice cap or an Amazon rainforest?” spoke Jim Dolan, executive chairman and CEO of Madison Square Garden Company. “Obviously if you are in the polar ice cap, you have to feel cold; you have to see the glacier. That is essentially what we are building: an attempt to convince you that you are somewhere else.”
The venue will also support a location-specific audio via an adaptive acoustics system capable of directing sounds to particular locations around the arena at near-constant volumes. The company also teased advanced scent-based technology as well as physical haptic feedback – all of which changing depending on what immersive experience you find yourself engaged in at that time.
The MSG Sphere Las Vegas is scheduled to open 2020 on the Las Vegas Strip. The project is the result of a partnership between Madison Square Garden Company and Las Vegas Sands.
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/multisensory-arena-vegas-2020/?mc_cid=cf4445db0f&mc_eid=663cfa8df4
Biased Algorithms Are Everywhere, and No One Seems to Care
This week a group of researchers, together with the American Civil Liberties Union, launched an effort to identify and highlight algorithmic bias. The AI Now initiative was announced at an event held at MIT to discuss what many experts see as a growing challenge.
Algorithmic bias is shaping up to be a major societal issue at a critical moment in the evolution of machine learning and AI. If the bias lurking inside the algorithms that make ever-more-important decisions goes unrecognized and unchecked, it could have serious negative consequences, especially for poorer communities and minorities. The eventual outcry might also stymie the progress of an incredibly useful technology (see “Inspecting Algorithms for Bias”).
....“The Office of Science and Technology Policy is no longer actively engaged in AI policy—or much of anything according to their website,” Crawford and Whittaker write. “Policy work now must be done elsewhere.”
Fields Wants to Be The Augmented Reality App for Experimental Music Fans and Creators Alike
Planeta, a small product development studio based in New York, just may have struck the right balance with its new audio AR app for iOS, Fields. The free app, available to download as of today on the App Store, transforms your environment into a three-dimensional canvas for sounds, which you experience by walking around wearing headphones. Represented in the app by glowing orbs, the sounds change in volume and stereo positioning depending on the user’s real-life proximity to the orbs. Imagine standing in a forest, hearing different animals and noises as you step through your living room, or being able to experience a choral performance while nestled among the singers. Fields makes that possible.
See the full story here: https://pitchfork.com/thepitch/fields-wants-to-be-the-augmented-reality-app-for-experimental-music-fans-and-creators-alike/
Yes, HTC is working on a ‘blockchain phone’
So, what makes a phone a blockchain phone, exactly? Security and cryptocurrency support, mostly. According to HTC’s Exodus landing page, “Our vision is to expand the blockchain ecosystem by creating the world’s first phone dedicated to decentralized applications and security. With the release of the HTC Exodus we can now make this a reality.”
The Exodus will support Bitcoin and Ethereum, among others, courtesy of a universal wallet, secure hardware and decentralized apps. According to The Next Web, HTC has also outlined plans to create a native blockchain network, whereby cryptocurrency can be traded amongst Exodus users. Naturally, users will also be able to purchase the phone itself using cryptocurrency. That price and the release date, however, have yet to be revealed.
See the full story here; https://techcrunch.com/2018/05/15/yes-htc-is-working-on-a-blockchain-phone/?utm_medium=TCnewsletter
Amazon opens Sumerian 3D, AR, and VR creation tool to all developers
Amazon has announced that Sumerian, a web-based tool leveraging Amazon services to create 3D, AR, and VR applications, is generally available as of today. The tool debuted in “limited preview” at AWS re:Invent last November.
Sumerian enables developers to construct “scenes” featuring interactive characters and environments that can be accessed across multiple platforms. Using a URL link to Amazon’s cloud, scenes can be viewed in browsers with WebGL or WebVR support, headsets such as HTC Vive and the Oculus Rift, plus iOS (ARKit) and Android (ARCore) devices.
The key to Sumerian’s developer appeal, Amazon notes, is that it “does not require any specialized programming or 3D graphics expertise,” instead using a web-based editor to create scenes and a visual scripting tool to chart how characters and objects will respond to users. Developers can also draw on Amazon’s Lex, Polly, AWS Lambda, AWS IoT, and Amazon DynamoDB services to power user-character interactions.
You’ll soon be able to use augmented reality to try on sneakers
Augmented reality marketing startup Vyking is translating that buzz for sneakerheads, according to a video posted on the company’s Instagram. The video shows the ability to virtually try on a sneaker, so you can see how it’ll look on your foot before you buy the shoe online.
See the full story here: https://qz.com/1277466/a-startup-has-invented-an-augmented-reality-app-for-trying-on-shoes/
VRLA 2018 Highlights
DOOR #1
Another comedic gem from the fine folks over at RYOT, DOOR #1 is a multinarrative 360-degree live action journey back to high school for a night of love, loss and maybe even some space travel. Users step into the shoes of a high school graduate returning to his old stomping grounds for his 10-year reunion.
Users have the chance to head down several different roads in this zany comedy, each leading to a unique outcome. Talk to your highschool sweetheart, or stick with your buddy? Accept a dance with an awkward aquantence from years past, or go smoke weed in the bathroom with the janitor?
The choice is up to you, leading to several outrageous endings from smoking weed with Snoop Dog (yes, the real Snoop Dog) as you travel the galaxy in search of adventure, to straight up dying. A witty script and a few cameos make this one of RYOT’s best pieces of content.