philip lelyveld The world of entertainment technology

Everipedia – Wikipedia with Blockchain security and editor buy-in

Everipedia already uses a points system where creating articles and approved edits amasses “IQ.” In January, when the site moves over to a blockchain, Everipedia will convert IQ scores to a token-based currency, giving all existing editors an allotment proportionate to their IQ—and giving them a real, financial stake in Everipedia. From then on, creating and curating articles will allow users to earn tokens, which act as virtual shares of the platform. To prevent bad actors from trying to cash in with ill-founded or deliberately false articles and edits, Everipedia will force users to put up a token of their own in order to submit. If their work is accepted, they get their token back, plus a little bit for their contribution; if not, they lose their token. The assumption is that other users, motivated by the desire to maintain the site’s value, will actively seek to prevent such efforts.

Everipedia wants to create an entirely new class of of truth-seekers. “Wikipedia is largely older white men,” Forselius says. “We’ve tried to focus on getting a lot of female edits, younger editors, and diverse background and ethnicities.” (A 2011 survey found that 90% of “Wikipedians” are indeed male, and 28% are over 40.)

See the full story here: https://www.wired.com/story/everipedia-blockchain/

HTC’s Vive Pro gets sharp enough to read text, goes wireless

The new headset is backwards compatible with the original base stations, and features a 10m x 10m tracking space.

The new Vive Pro headset will not supplant the original Vive headset, but they’ll be sold as contrasting options — like the iPhone 8 and iPhone X, the basic model and the premium model. What that means is the Vive Pro will likely be very expensive, and the original HTC Vive might see a price cut similar to what we saw out of the Oculus Rift earlier in 2017.

On top of that, Vive Pro will support a new “Vive wireless adapter” that will finally let you experience VR without being tethered to a computer. The wireless adapter mounts to the top of the headset, like a set of high-tech antlers, and it will use Intel’s WiGig to minimize interference from other wireless devices and deliver a seamless experience. A battery pack is included, too.

See the full story here: https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/htc-vive-pro-announcement/

Content Creators Discuss What Is Driving Augmented Reality

As to AR’s biggest challenges, Leventhal identified hardware as “one of the primary things holding us up.” “We don’t have a lot of units out there,” he said. “That keeps people from developing content for them, and that creates a cycle.”

Cornish said that developing the cinematic language of storytelling and having a great user experience in AR are the biggest obstacles. “We have to figure out the experiences that are addictive,” he said. For Hildebrandt, working in the enterprise sector also has a main challenge. “To be a successful platform in enterprise, you have to embrace the workflows that they will continue to use,” he said. “You have to have the patience and energy to work with those big companies.”
See the full story here: http://www.etcentric.org/content-creators-discuss-what-is-driving-augmented-reality/

Intel Studios is a high-tech soundstage for capturing 360-degree video

Intel built a high-tech soundstage in Los Angeles for capturing volumetric video in real-time. More than that, the chipmaker has forged an "exploratory partnership" with Paramount Pictures to see what's possible with the technology that can capture a scene from pretty much any point of view -- even that of a horse during a Wild West shootout.

The chipmaker has spent over a year building out the 25,000 square-foot studio with 10,000 square feet dedicated just for video capture. To house all the data generated from shooting, there are 10 petabytes of local storage. Needless to say, if you're making 360 degree video, this is where you'll want to shoot.

In December, news broke that New Zealand- and Los Angeles-based holographic capture startup 8i had to lay off half of its staff as it was looking to refocus on its core initiatives.

See the full story here: https://www.engadget.com/2018/01/08/intel-studios-paramount-partnership/

and http://variety.com/2018/digital/news/intel-studios-los-angeles-volumetric-video-capture-1202656079/

Turing’s Segway-based patrol robot can give humans a ride

Inmates Use VR To Prepare For Life On The Outside

Moeller has designed an eclectic catalogue of instructional VR applications that educate users in everything from bagging groceries and using a debit card, to doing laundry and de escalating potentially violent confrontations. The idea is to prepare these soon-to-be released prisoners with the necessary life skills they missed while incarcerated as teenagers.

Statistics have shown that specialized outreach programs have done wonders in the re education and rehabilitation of prisoners.

See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/inmates-vr-prepare-life-on-outside/

Everything is too complicated

I think the most important questions we can ask right now are actually the simplest: how does it work? How do you set it up? What happens when people don’t understand something? Do I need to create a new username and password? Is all of that secure? Does it work well with other things I’ve already bought? What assumptions are you making?

These are all the same questions our friend Walt Mossberg started asking in 1991 when he first started reviewing personal technology, and kept asking through the end of his run with us last year. They’re even more important now.

See the full story here: https://www.theverge.com/2018/1/7/16861056/ces-2018-bad-assumptions-smart-assistants-tech-confusion

Robots and virtual reality steal the show at Asia’s biggest toy fair in Hong Kong

“The adult segment accounts for 40 per cent of the toy market in the US and 60 per cent in Japan, but only 1 per cent in China now.”

“AR and VR technologies are pretty mature now, and they will start to become part of our daily life,” Cheung said.

Just one month into the launch of its new toy arrow, which comes with an AR mobile game, sales already topped 1,000 units. In 2017, they sold more than 200,000 AR toy pistols.

See the full story here: http://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/economy/article/2127339/robots-and-virtual-reality-steal-show-asias-biggest-toy-fair

Looxid Labs Wins a CES 2018 Best of Innovation Awards in Virtual Reality

Looxid Labs received the Best of Innovation Awards following last year’s honoree Google (PRNewsfoto/K-ICT Born2Global Centre)

Looxid Labs, a tech startup developing a user emotion recognition system optimized for Virtual Reality (VR), announced that LooxidVR -- a mobile based VR headset for eye tracking and EEG recording -- has earned a CES 2018 Best of Innovation Awards in Virtual Reality.

LooxidVR is a mobile based VR headset, analogous to Samsung's Gear VR and Google's Daydream View, embedded with EEG sensors and eye tracking cameras and thus can keep track of a user's brain activity, eye movement, and pupil dilation. In particular, LooxidVR allows time-synchronized acquisition of eye and brain data concurrent with VR contents and provides an expandable API, which can be widely applicable in various VR industries that require better understanding of users' emotional status such as stress level, preference, and engagement.

find Looxid Labs at Booth #52907 at 'Eureka Park'

See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/looxid-labs-wins-a-ces-2018-best-of-innovation-awards-in-virtual-reality-300578657.html

What the Star Wars VR Experience at Downtown Disney Is Really Like

We entered into a small room in Anaheim decked out in concrete slabs adorned with ancient runes — quite fitting for a Rebel hideout. We were welcomed into the Rebel Alliance, filled out foreboding "don't sue us if you die in here" waivers and were prompted to use the force to open a nearby door to receive our mission briefing (a friendly castmember used a button to open the automatic door, but I swear I felt something when I waved my hand).

Ushered into the next room, our small group of four would-be rebels stood in rank file before a floor-to-ceiling video screen. Upon scanning our nifty new wristbands, the screen flashed to life and we were greeted by a familiar face: Cassian Andor (Diego Luna) from Rogue One. He briefed us on our mission (I won't spoil it, but it involves collecting some precious cargo while undercover as Stormtroopers) and were ready to be fitted for our spec-ops assignment.

Rows of backpack vests and helmets hung from the ceiling in the next room,...

With our backpacks strapped and our visors on, my team and I stood in a small corridor that magically transformed into a docking bay straight out of an Imperial cruiser. For me, a VR novice, this was incredible enough. Clearly I underestimated the technology's power. A door opened to our left and, lo and behold, we walked through it.

To my surprise, and my cohorts, the remainder of the VR experience was not us simply sitting in this transport, as it quickly docked and we were sent on our way to collect our bounty. In what undoubtedly must look hilarious from an outside perspective, my three squadmates and I ambled from room to room (which to us were incredible vistas of lava-filled space worlds and Imperial cruisers) in clunky helmets and tight backpacks, ooh-ing and aah-ing as we gave thumbs up and peace signs to passing creatures and stormtroopers.

Then things got intense. ...

Tickets for Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire are are on sale now at www.thevoid.com for $29.95 at Disney-adjacent locations.

Read the full article here: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/star-wars-secrets-empire-downtown-disney-review-1071738?mc_cid=7f538a3718&mc_eid=cd6a4d9ecf