Apple acquired augmented reality headset startup Vrvana for $30M
As Apple reportedly ramps up work to ship an augmented reality headset in 2020, it has acquired a startup from Montreal, Canada that could help it get there. TechCrunch has learned that Apple has acquired Vrvana, maker of the Totem headset — which had rave reviews but never shipped. The deal was for around $30 million, two sources tell TechCrunch.
The only product that Vrvana shows off on its site is the unreleased Totem headset, an “extended reality” device utilizing key technologies from both AR and virtual reality to allow for both experiences on a single headset.
The tethered device had a form factor similar to many of today’s VR headsets, but uniquely relied on several forward-facing pass-through cameras to replicate the outside world on its OLED displays inside the headset. The system of cameras enabled 6DoF tracking, a technology which allows the device to track its position in 3D space, while also using infrared cameras to track a user’s hands.
A key disadvantage in these types of systems, aside from bulky aesthetics, is that there is often noticeable lag between the cameras capturing the outside world and how quickly it is displayed in-headset.
See the full story here: https://techcrunch.com/2017/11/21/apple-acquires-mixed-reality-headset-startup-vrvana-for-30m/
YOU CAN NOW MIX ON VINYL USING VIRTUAL REALITY
With help from professional DJs, Vinyl Reality has been created to provide an accurate and realistic simulation of DJ'ing with vinyl inside virtual reality with the help of two VR controllers and VR headset.
The software features two accurately modelled turntables, with realistic behaviour, and a two-channel mixer with EQs, PLF and gains.
The German software developer has even gone to the trouble of creating a record crate so users can sift through virtual records in between mixes.
See the full story here: https://djmag.com/news/you-can-now-mix-vinyl-using-virtual-reality
Lightform raises $5 million to make projected augmented reality mainstream
[Philip Lelyveld comment: this is projection mapping using what looks like a leap motion sensor and software for real time surface mapping.]
Lightform Inc., an augmented reality hardware company, is announcing a $5 million round of funding led by Lux Capital. Other participants in the round include Dolby Family Ventures, CrunchFund, Comet Labs, Presence Capital, and Anorak Ventures. Lightform is using the capital to fund the manufacturing of their projected AR device, which lets artists and designers easily map digital video content onto 3D objects and spaces. The technology can be used in retail, restaurants, offices, and events to inform, advertise or entertain customers.
As an example, Lightform partnered with local San Francisco bakery Vive la tarte for a pilot installation using their system. A digitally updatable menu is projected onto a sculpture made of wood and steel. "We wanted to do something different and saw Lightform's technology as a great way to push the boundaries of what a menu could be," says Arnaud Goethals, Vive la tarte's co-founder and CEO. "The menu is alive, like our food, and it perfectly integrates in our space."
See the full story here: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/lightform-raises-5-million-to-make-projected-augmented-reality-mainstream-300560690.html
Phones for urns: Hong Kong turns to virtual reality to honor ancestors
Anthony Yau’s firm, iVeneration.com, offers users the ability to create virtual headstones anywhere in an augmented reality landscape of Hong Kong, including such unlikely places as a downtown park.
...allowing people to honor Confucian traditions of filial obligation in the territory where it can cost up to $130,000 to store the ashes of loved ones.
“The dead are taking so much more space than those who are still alive, as those buried use that piece of land for many years,” said Yau, as he manipulated his mobile telephone to correctly position a candle in front of a virtual headstone.
“For me, you don’t have to go to a thing to remember those passed away, it’s all in your heart.”
See the full story here: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-cemetery-vr/phones-for-urns-hong-kong-turns-to-virtual-reality-to-honor-ancestors-idUSKBN1DL0YEhttps://www.reuters.com/article/us-hongkong-cemetery-vr/phones-for-urns-hong-kong-turns-to-virtual-reality-to-honor-ancestors-idUSKBN1DL0YE
Mozilla Lays Out Plans for Web-Based Social Virtual Reality
Browser maker Mozilla is making a push to bring social virtual reality (VR) to the web: The non-profit has formed a dedicated team working on technologies to power web-based social VR and mixed reality experiences, it announced in a blog post Monday.
“Unlike traditional online communication tools like text, voice, and video, the promise of Mixed Reality is that you can be present with other people, much like real life, and engage with them in a more interactive way,” wrote Greg Fodor, Mozilla’s social mixed reality engineering manager. “You can make eye contact, nod your head, high five, dance, and even play catch with anyone around the world, regardless of where you are!”
Fodor joined Mozilla in September. He previously co-founded the social VR startup AltspaceVR, which recently sold itself to Microsoft after running out of funding earlier this summer.
Much of the team’s work will be dedicated to making sure that social VR tech can run across headsets and other devices, even if they’re made by competing manufacturers.
See the full story here: http://variety.com/2017/digital/news/mozilla-social-vr-1202619373/
Apple wins one of their First Augmented Reality Patents related to Compositing an AR Scene
The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office officially published a series of 44 newly granted patents for Apple Inc. today.
The invention was part of Apple's acquisition of Flyby Media. One of the inventors is noted as Oriel Bergig who earned his Ph.D. in Computer Vision and Augmented Reality at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.
Apple's granted patent 9,824,495 was filed in Q1 2010 and published today by the US Patent and Trademark Office. Some of the work dates back to 2008. You could explore more of this fascinating invention here.
See the full story here: http://www.patentlyapple.com/patently-apple/2017/11/apple-wins-one-of-their-first-augmented-reality-patents-related-to-compositing-an-ar-scene.html
Augmented Reality Headed to Porsche Dealer Service Bays in 2018
The high-tech glasses come equipped with a high-resolution autofocus camera powerful enough to see the threading on screws. The glasses use the latest projection technology and also include a light to illuminate dark spaces in the engine bay or under the car.
The way it works is a service tech wears the glasses, which connect through the software to a support team based in Atlanta. Back in Atlanta, the team of remote experts helps to identify and resolve the potential problems.
Porsche hopes to decrease its service resolution time by up to 40 percent based on the findings of the pilot program rolled out in July 2017. Eight dealerships in California, Florida, Indiana, New Jersey, Washington and Canada were chosen to try the software.
See the full story here: http://www.thedrive.com/flat-six-society/16277/augmented-reality-headed-to-porsche-dealers-in-2018
Venture Reality Fund Reports on Current VR/AR Landscape
November 21, 2017
The Venture Reality Fund has released its H2 2017 VR Industry Landscape map and report. The organization has generously posted the map, along with maps of the 1H 2017 European Landscape and Q2 2017 AR Industry Landscape. The VR Fund’s latest report highlights more than 450 companies developing infrastructure, tools, platforms, and applications for the VR/AR ecosystem. An interactive table, which VR Fund co-founder Tipatat Chennavasin began building in 2014, provides details of the companies.
The VR Fund evaluated more than 3,000 companies and identified the 450 that met a certain criteria of funding, revenue, mainstream coverage, and/or major partnerships that qualified them for inclusion in the map, interactive table, and report.
“Global investment in VR and AR is tracking higher than any previous period, and at a more accelerated pace,” said Chennavasin “The VR industry is healthy and growing steadily, and we are seeing increased investor interest from traditional venture funds and new VR and AR-focused funds alike.”
As would be expected, the report notes that Hollywood and game players are driving growth in the consumer VR market. On the enterprise VR side, while global companies like Cisco, HP and Accenture entered space during this period, a majority of the category’s growth was driven by startups building revenue-generating businesses for specific industry sectors.
“The number of investments in VR/AR entertainment was up 79 percent in the second half of 2017 (granted, it’s not quite over yet) compared to the second half of 2016,” reports VentureBeat. “Enterprise investments are up 69 percent. Tools and platforms for next-generation reality capture are up 56 percent, and investments in infrastructure for tethered head-mounted displays are up 47 percent.”
The VR Fund also noticed a recent shift in investments away from 360-degree video and to more interactive and immersive experiences, which bodes well for the industry in 2018.
See the original post of the story here: http://www.etcentric.org/venture-reality-fund-reports-on-current-vrar-landscape/
HTC Officially Announces Vive Focus, Its Standalone VR Headset
Today at Vive Developer Conference in Beijing, HTC announced its long-awaited standalone headset, called Vive Focus. Since we first started hearing about the prospect of a Vive standalone a few months ago, the VR community has been eagerly awaiting its public release.
Now it’s here. And it’s 6DoF.
Vive Wave marks a push by HTC to expand the scope of the Vive platform and unite its community.
According to the official website, Vive Wave “an open platform and toolset that will enable easy Mobile VR content development and high-performance device optimization for third party partners. The VIVE Wave VR SDK offers an open interface enabling interoperability between numerous mobile VR headsets and accessories, supporting mainstream game engines. This allows players with different VR devices an easy access to your extraordinary content.”
See the full story here: https://vrscout.com/news/htc-vive-focus-standalone/
